Frame for MJKZZ mini rail (done)

Yawns · Post by **Yawns** » Tue Feb 18, 2020 5:52 pm

It's done...the parts arrived and it is assembled..

From CAD to reality by antonio caseiro, on Flickr

V-Slot Extrusion.. some 3D prints to make some parts play well.. mainly the tube clamps.. I want the tube axis perfectly aligned with the tip of the insect pins I use.. My stage only allows 1cm adjustment in the vertical, and the easiest way was to design clamps with the exact height in the base.

Untitled3 by antonio caseiro, on Flickr

Not sure if it is a good idea to have the flashes mounted in the frame (vibrations).. it's practical but... (anyway I use led panels most of the time)

No wires around (but the power cable for the controller) .. everything is inside the frame.
Small .. only fills a square base of 45 cm (18"")

A fisrt test only to check if everything was running fine.. just used one Jansjo lamp.

2020-02-16 17-25-00 (C,Smoothing4) copy by antonio caseiro, on Flickr

I also did it compact to fit inside a small dome .. I would like to try stacking outside in the patio with natural / sunlight rather than artificial light.. I'm not sure if it works, and I fear the heat generated inside the dome will make subjects to move during the shooting...
The parts for the dome did not arrive yet...

Screenshot 2020-02-13 at 22.50.34 by antonio caseiro, on Flickr

António

Smokedaddy · Post by **Smokedaddy** » Tue Feb 18, 2020 9:09 pm

Wow, very nice.

Macro_Cosmos · Post by **Macro_Cosmos** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:44 am

I love that case! You're a master at this CAD stuff, it took me several hours to make a small cube with 3 holes.

I'm going to make a very similar case for my 600x600mm optical breadboard. Not sure how much it would cost, these t-slots are unacceptably expensive in Australia.

Yawns · Post by **Yawns** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:09 pm

Smokedaddy wrote:Wow, very nice.

Thank you...

Yawns · Post by **Yawns** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:22 pm

Macro_Cosmos wrote:I love that case! You're a master at this CAD stuff, it took me several hours to make a small cube with 3 holes.

I'm going to make a very similar case for my 600x600mm optical breadboard. Not sure how much it would cost, these t-slots are unacceptably expensive in Australia.

Thank you...

aluminum extrusion is expensive everywhere ... and it's very misleading ..

you look at the individual parts and they all look cheap, a few cents to a half dozen dollars .. but then when you realize that you need 12 of this 24 of that, ... the shopping cart goes up by the hundreds ...when I did the vertical frame it took like 25-30 dollars only for screws and nuts... you need to do a good drawing first, see what is redundant and can be removed, do not fall into the temptation to use "fancy" parts .. a "Cast 90 Degree Corner Bracket" it costs 85 cents ... a 90 degree Angle Corner Connector costs 2.80 and does the same function ... if you need 12 they are 24 dollars difference, only for one type of part ... but one is more beautiful than the other ... you have to think hard the drawings and be very sure before you start... because if you start to make changes in the middle of the work then it gets even more expensive ...

The CAD is nice because I don't get any bad surprises at mounting time.. if something doesn't works, has a wrong measure or doesn't joins correctly or doesn't fits etc..... i see it in the drawing before ordering the parts..

Macro_Cosmos · Post by **Macro_Cosmos** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:55 am

Yawns wrote:
Macro_Cosmos wrote:I love that case! You're a master at this CAD stuff, it took me several hours to make a small cube with 3 holes.

I'm going to make a very similar case for my 600x600mm optical breadboard. Not sure how much it would cost, these t-slots are unacceptably expensive in Australia.
Thank you...

aluminum extrusion is expensive everywhere ... and it's very misleading ..

you look at the individual parts and they all look cheap, a few cents to a half dozen dollars .. but then when you realize that you need 12 of this 24 of that, ... the shopping cart goes up by the hundreds ...when I did the vertical frame it took like 25-30 dollars only for screws and nuts... you need to do a good drawing first, see what is redundant and can be removed, do not fall into the temptation to use "fancy" parts .. a "Cast 90 Degree Corner Bracket" it costs 85 cents ... a 90 degree Angle Corner Connector costs 2.80 and does the same function ... if you need 12 they are 24 dollars difference, only for one type of part ... but one is more beautiful than the other ... you have to think hard the drawings and be very sure before you start... because if you start to make changes in the middle of the work then it gets even more expensive ...

The CAD is nice because I don't get any bad surprises at mounting time.. if something doesn't works, has a wrong measure or doesn't joins correctly or doesn't fits etc..... i see it in the drawing before ordering the parts..

Yeah I figured the same thing. They look cheapish, but for $3 a cut and various sections that are $4 each which one needs a dozen of... it immediately springs into several hundreds of dollars. I don't have the tools to cut them, so I would have to pay that $3 per cut... or maybe I can lug the thing to work... no that's just being a buffoon.

I thought about making an opening door mechanism which is very expensive. I think I'll just order a frame and a piece of plastic cover to seal the setup from dust. Dust is so annoying.

These stuff look very cheap in China, I might just end up waiting.

jmc · Post by **jmc** » Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:51 am

Wow, that looks awesome. I love how it's so compact.