Vacuum hose adapter

myminifactory

I was constructing a cabinet for my 3D printer and required access to my sander. I did not want fine dust to spread everywhere, so I decided to connect it directly to my vacuum cleaner. However, I had misplaced the adapter that would fit from the vacuum hose to the sander. To resolve this issue, I printed a new part that threaded onto the vacuum hose, thereby bypassing the original adapter chain altogether. This modification greatly enhanced the flexibility of the hose while sanding. Initially, I planned to create an adapter that would connect the original vacuum hose fitting directly to the sander. The total length of the adapter chain would have been approximately 6 inches in this scenario. Since all adapters are rigid, having 6 inches of stiff plastic between the sander and flexible hose would have caused significant interference. I discovered that the first vacuum hose fitting threaded onto the flexible hose with a reverse thread. Having just mastered thread creation in Solidworks, I was able to design and print the thread quickly. As I recognized that the part would experience substantial stress due to its constant back-and-forth motion as it dragged the relatively heavy vacuum hose while sanding, I printed it with solid infill for added durability. Ultimately, the entire adapter chain ended up being about 2 inches long, resulting in a significantly improved design.