Week of 3/9 - 3/14

This week I started by redesigning my band machine thing so that I could put bearings on it and also to make it a lot more stable. I also wanted to be able to put standoffs in between the two plates to give it extra stability and make sure that it can be sturdy enough for the high rpm. I designed most of what I wanted then I started to make it. I cut out the two acrylic plates and they came out perfectly. I used thicker acrylic this time, 1/4 in instead of 1/8 in. This added to the sturdiness and made sure that it would not break, and also it was to make it the same thickness as the bearings so they could be flush with it.

Mostly finished design

Then, I needed to pick out standoffs, I made the holes in the acrylic with m3 screws in mind but when I tried using the ones I had in mind for them, they didn't work because they werent long enough so I needed to find other ones but thankfully I found ones that I could attach to each other so that I could have screws on either end which would make them long enough for the plates.

I put them together and it was very sturdy which is what I wanted. The standoffs were actually better than the ones before because they were a little bit thinner, so the cylinder would have more room nad I could make it a bit bigger before it would hit the sides. I also tested the bearings and they fit really well so I should be able to just add a little bit of glue and have them fit, but they are already a pretty tight fit so it should be okay. I also found a dowel that fit really well so I can base the cylinder width off that to find the perfect diameter so it won't fall off when I attach it.