{"id":1402,"date":"2014-06-23T16:49:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-23T20:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pappp.net\/?p=1402"},"modified":"2014-06-23T19:54:16","modified_gmt":"2014-06-23T23:54:16","slug":"lab-fridge-repair-thinking-with-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/?p=1402","title":{"rendered":"Lab Fridge Repair: Thinking with 3D Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m posting this because it&#8217;s such a nice example for the standard &#8220;What are 3D printers really good for?&#8221; question. <\/p>\n<p>When I got to the lab today, I was told the can chute in our mini-fridge was broken.  Inspection showed that too many of the little plastic inserts\/bushings that retain the bars were missing and\/or broken.  This is a years-old cheap GE minifridge, so it isn&#8217;t even worth looking for OEM replacements. <\/p>\n<p>Now we get to the &#8220;Thinking with 3D printing&#8221; part: I plucked one of the remaining ones, went over it with some calipers, transferred the measurements into OpenSCAD, and printed one off to test fit.  The ID was a little tight, so I adjusted the model, printed 6 more, and fixed the problem.  <\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1402 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1412'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1412\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1412'>\n\t\t\t\tThe lab fridge&#8217;s can chute fell apart, because the little bushings that hold the retainer died.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1413'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1413\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1413'>\n\t\t\t\tRack with intact bushing on the floor. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1414'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1414\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1414'>\n\t\t\t\tBushing installed properly.  They&#8217;re sort of loose. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1415'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert4.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1415\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1415'>\n\t\t\t\tGrab some calipers and describe the bushings to OpenSCAD. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1416'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert5.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1416\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1416'>\n\t\t\t\tPass the model through Cura and the M2 to get a test fit.  Slightly too tight on the ID. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1417'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert6.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1417\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1417'>\n\t\t\t\tIterate model, print 6. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1418'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert7.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1418\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1418'>\n\t\t\t\tOEM and Custom comparison.  Made them a little bigger. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1423'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert8.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1423\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1423'>\n\t\t\t\tID looks cleaner on the ones that were printed in a group, more cooling between layers. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/pappp.net\/?attachment_id=1421'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert9.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1421\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1421'>\n\t\t\t\tAnd fixed.  Note also the awesome retention bar made out of a chopstick from a previous repair. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>In case the model is useful for anyone else: <a href=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert.scad\">OpenSCAD<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FridgeInsert.stl\">STL<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Important Details:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> This took like an hour from start to finish, and wasn&#8217;t the only thing I was doing at the time.  The printing itself was around 1 minute per insert.\n<li> The new inserts are <em>better<\/em> than the originals.  Not quite as pretty in some ways (though they are blue and glow-in-the-dark, because that&#8217;s our current junk filament), but the fit is considerably better.\n<li> That &#8220;iterate&#8221; step in the middle, where you just try it and adjust if needed is among the most beautiful things about 3D printers.\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m posting this because it&#8217;s such a nice example for the standard &#8220;What are 3D printers really good for?&#8221; question. When I got to the lab today, I was told the can chute in our mini-fridge was broken. Inspection showed &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/pappp.net\/?p=1402\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1,10,3],"tags":[264,265,234,266],"class_list":["post-1402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy","category-general","category-objects","category-school","tag-3d-printer","tag-fridge","tag-m2","tag-repair"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}