Shop vac switcher

[Andy]

This is pretty cool:

pete on Instagram: "#throwbackthursday repost of the V2 Vacuum Switcher project. Still in operation and used almost every day. YouTube video showing how there is almost no loss in suction: https://youtu.be/Fnq0Wk_u63o Free plans on my website if you

97K likes, 604 comments - petesquared23 on June 9, 2022: "#throwbackthursday repost of the V2 Vacuum Switcher project. Still in operation and used almost every day. YouTube video showing how there is almost no loss in suction: https://youtu.be/Fnq0Wk_u63o Free plans on my website if you would...

www.instagram.com

The video shows it off really well, but dude's website has a ton of different plans on it that I'll definitely be mining for future projects.

 

[Eric]

I remember seeing that! Absolutely beautiful custom solution, I love any functional design that starts to stray into art like that.

I am going to be working on a similar shop vac manifold, I don't know if I'll be stealing that sliding design or not yet, I was originally thinking just blast gates at each tool...

 

[Andy]

Nice, I can't wait to see what you come up with! Dude posts the files for it (and a bunch more) on his site if you're wanting to steal this one

 

[Eric]

Okay it's a month later and I'm starting to actually think about making this project. I watched his whole YouTube video and checked out the plans on his website. I really like it but I think it's actually more work than I want to do, at least until I am more comfortable with the CNC router. I thought about printing the plans and cutting them on the bandsaw and cleaning them up at the belt sander. Sometimes a project like that is bliss but right now I just don't really want to stand at the belt sander that long.

But then I had an epiphany, why I am even bother making it out of plywood like some sort of skilled woodworker, I am 3d printing nerd, why don't I just print it? I used the fusion360 file from their website and made some adjustments to make it into a model instead of layers of plywood. I included the hose attachment points as a part of the model but that definitely negated my printing without supports plan. If I rework this design I would like to make the nozzles insert as a second piece so they can all be printed without support. I was lazy and didn't want to deal with making that a strong joint so I just made them part of the model.

Mine is missing magnet holes but I am also missing magnets so that can go in V2 after a trip to the Amazon. I made some concessions in the larger part to save plastic but there could be more done on that front, I will wait to try the prototype first though.


Aww he's a little bread man. I thought I was going to print it upright so that flat bottom for was ease of printing. I later donked that up with my attachment hose site.


Oooh shiny!


Welp, see you in 24 hours printer!

 

[Andy]

Ooh, nice! I'd be interested to see how it slides after it's done--it looks like you left enough tolerances, but I still wonder if the layer lines are going to make it sound like one of those tube toys

 

[Eric]

Ooh, nice! I'd be interested to see how it slides after it's done--it looks like you left enough tolerances, but I still wonder if the layer lines are going to make it sound like one of those tube toys

Totally, I think thats an inevitability but hopefully doesn't actually catch on itself. The part could be redesigned to print on its backside with a new flat edge there, that would make the layer lines parallel to the travel of the part. The licensing doesnt allow me to share the design files modified or otherwise though so next version will be done from scratch up after testing this one.

I did give it a 0.4mm tolerance which is double what I usually use for moving parts. I also used silk filament because of its higher lubricity but it will still not sound great when you slide it around. As long as I don’t have to fight it to slide it around I think I will be happy.


Half way there on the test pieces. On the version I design from scratch I would really like to make
it so there is no support. Even the best support that comes off easily will leave the surface pretty rough which adds friction and potential sticking points for wood splinters to start clogs.

Another thought for fixing the rough sliding and support roughness would be to use polysher filament and then alcohol vapor smooth the parts. I have not tried polysher yet but the products are here if I need to.

 

[Andy]

This is awesome. Also, I don't think it'll be a bad sound at all--I think grabbing a thing and having it make a super loud zipping sound would be pretty satisfying.

I get what you're saying about not being comfortable with CNC to make this, but I'm curious how hard this is to make vs CNC-ing it, as well as how durable it is compared to something that's effectively solid wood.

 

[Eric]

I would predict this will be comparable to the wood in terms of durability/functionality in normal use. I would be surprised if it had any trouble with the kind of weights these hoses will be applying but I think the plywood would be more accepting of a errant hammer swing than the PLA. The CNC is going to be connected to this and the bandsaw though so maybe once I'm using it I'll be able to find the issues and carve out a plywood version. Wood has a lot of other benefits though. I think it would biodegrade faster and in more environments than PLA and it looks way cooler. I am going to make a plastic tool, he made functional art .

In terms of difficulty, for me, it's way easier to 3d print this, the assembly on the CNC version is very labor intensive, the actual carve time is short but the amount of time spent doing glue ups, sanding, dowel making, and waxing is a lot more than a printed piece will require. I still may do the plywood or other wood species version in the future, I would rather be around things made of wood than PLA.

 

[Eric]

Here was how that modified version turned out. Tolerances are good and I'll keep that 0.4mm tolerance for sliding.


An inevitability of using same-material supports on a cylinder printed on it's side is it's roughness. It's dimensionally mostly fine, especially if it was cleaned up some more but it's going to have little gaps and rough spots that stuff will catch on easily and make it a likely location for clogging. Printing these with the opening perpendicular to the build plate solves that problem but the rest of the design must accommodate that orientation too.




The new from-scratch version is started in fusion360 but I thought I'd write down what I think it needs to provide myself some accountability:

Goal(s):

• Use only filament, no additional purchases excluding the hoses that it attach to it.
• Open source the new design with permission from the original designer.

Features:

• Narrowed body - the wide curvy shape is pretty but not needed with a 3d print. You want some substance for plywood but the functional part of this is like 1/4" wide, this only needs to be marginally wider than the 2.5" hoses inlets to accommodate the rail locking features.
• Threaded hose inserts that are printed separated. - This will be similar to the original design but the part will be printed instead of purchased. It will thread onto body and sliding mechanism. 3d printed threads are very functional if you make them large, fine threads are not good if you want to ever unscrew it.
• Handle for the slider, the handle will also function as a lever for a D-tent style bump to lock it in position over each hole eliminating the need for magnets.
• Modular mounting points on each hole-rail-piece

 

[Eric]

From scratch prototype Is finished!

I designed the slider piece to be printed on it's side, but that means the threads for the hose attachment are not going to come out clean on a FFM printer like mine. Threads always come out better when they are parallel to the build plate so I knew this was probably not going to work out. I will instead make that a separate piece that you glue to the switcher. I think that's cheating because now it needs glue but I don't see a better way forward at the moment. The use of threads is ideal so the actual hose size can vary from tool to tool or brand to brand. I already found my hoses are two different sizes even though they are both sold as 2.5" Flexi hose.

You can see the bad threads on the gold slider piece here. The established tolerances are working great, the lever needs to be pulled up to slide it around as intended. The ball shape under the lever helps snap it to position similar to a magnet.


The ball and slot for it.


Threads came out great on the base unit, I have no pressing changes to implement on the main silver part. Triangle is for registration and holes are for reducing plastic used.

V2 is on the printer now, I'm going to have to print some more of the base units too. In all I would like to have 6 ports total so I never have to disconnect the hoses. The nice thing about if this works though is that since it doesn't use threaded rods or end rails it should be modular to where you can add one to the end of your row without any disassembly. There is little chance I have bought all my tools I'm ever going to own.

 

[Eric]

V2 is off the printer with functional threads now, I used weld-on 3 to glue the insert piece but superglue would be a good option for PLA too. Printing the threaded hose adapter for my hoses and then will print more of the silver base units so I can actually have something to switch to!

 

[Eric]

Okay!

Pete has given me the go ahead to share the files and positive vibes to help recharge my maker-soul so I will put some more work into making it printable for everyone and remix-able.

I want to make sure the lever is strong enough to work without cracking, a fillet in that corner would probably go a long way to helping that problem.

Another revision is that I want to remove the glue requirement from the threaded ring. At the Humboldt-maker-social-hour-virtual-meeting this week, @Andy suggested tabs that slot it in place which would be less finicky about the fitting compared to existing threads. I think that is a great solution so I am trying to visual how to do that best with 3d printing in mind.

I originally pictured making the threaded ring have tabs to fit inside the slider removing the need for glue. I eventually realized I should just be skipping the ring and put the tabs on the hose adapter itself. Do this for both the slider and base unit so they can use the same hose adapter file.

I'm going to let the tabs render in my brain for a while and then see about printing some smaller prototypes of just the tabs/slots to minimize print time and waste materials during the prototyping.

Pete was super nice and said he might need to make it for his modular workbench he has been posting videos of lately. That was the nicest compliment he could have given but I think a genius like that guy will probably come up with a better solution for his specific setup. He has so many maker skills at his disposal he will probably not be able to help himself. It was a very nice compliment all the same.

 

[Andy]

That's such a cool response!

 

[Eric]

Guess who found the animation tab on fusion 360?
View attachment 2.5_ flexi-vac hose adapter Tabbed Version v1.mov

 

[Eric]

Here is how I printed my test pieces for the locking tabs.

I printed the ring on it's side with support like it will be printed in the slider. I also printed it on it's on back, that way if the the upright print version didn't work I could confirm if the design even works at all or if it's just the print orientation that is stopping it from working.




This is the supported vertical ring, the roughness is within tolerance to not cause any issues with the fitting so these turned out much better than the threads. Thanks @Andy !



It locks in great!



Not clearly photographed but the tabs on the hose adapter had the narrow end of their wedge trimmed back. I did this in the design so they could be rotated past their natural resting position shown in the video of the previous post. The "lock" of this design is friction so we want to get those 4 tabs wedged in tight so it doesn't unlock itself. This is the mechanicanism of the threads but highly reduced so we can print it on it's side. It's also faster to put on than threads. Over time the plastic will wear but with the removed material on the end of the wedge we can keep pushing it further in to keep it locking. I think it will suffer a delimitation break along the layer lines before those wedges wear down enough to not fit tightly.

The only down side I'm seeing is that it's not going to be as tight of a seal as threads but there are other ways to help reduce leaks too. Fortunately, in this use-case, leaks are just efficiency loss and not as critical like with plumbing water. That said you could print TPU gasket for inside to help but I won't let that be a requirement since it's a difficult plastic to print and source compared to PLA or PETG.

This has been a great exercise in learning how tabs work mechanically and the nuances of their design features.

 

[Eric]

Update time! The design is complete and now I'm just waiting on the latest version of the slider to print out before posting the files for download.
This version I redesigned in Fusion360 to start from the side profile with the rail guides and then used as few as steps possible to make the step file less confusion for anyone who remixes it in the future. It is definitely far from optimum and too many steps but it is much better than the original file's meandering path to the final part.

There are only a few changes to the design since the last posted version.

• The triangle registration guides on the ends were replaced with diamonds. Triangles are cool for 3d printing because they are self supporting during the print. Using a diamond means it's two triangles so you can double your possible print orientations that come out nicely. I do a tall triangle where my base angles are 50 degrees or greater, through this project I have found I don't get great results with angles less than that, even 45 is is pretty sloppy looking though doesn't necessarily cause a print failure.
• Tab rings installed, these came out great and were definitely the way to go. They work just like you would expect and are easy to use but don't feel like they will fall off on their own.

Here is my mini-dust collector system. The shop vac inlet is passed through a dust deputy cyclone that drops most of the collection off in the 5 gallon bucket. I have the bucket braced by a MDF sheet with a hole cut in it for the bucket, this prevents the bucket from being able to collapse under the negative pressure of the shop vac. The shop vac then has a HEPA filter bags and cartridge but because of the cyclone it doesn't fill up ever, I just use it for the fine particle collection while the main chips and dust are in the bucket.

I have it connected the CNC router, the band saw, the long hose with floor attachment, and then an extra slot for the belt sander which has not had it's hose connected yet. I can only squeeze one more line on this location but I think that might be enough for now. If I really need more the unit can be remounted somewhere else, it's still fully compatible with being mounted horizontally as well in either direction.

 

[Andy]

This is so cool. When I was scoping out my shop, I was going to run a line of PVC across my back wall, cut/install some T-connectors next to each tool, and then figure out how to attach flexi-hose to those. This seems like a way better system, since you can control the suction on a per-device basis. "Some day" I'll get my shop set up more, and start building something like this myself.

 

[Eric]

Thank goodness you posted this originally! I have been thinking about the same thing and blast gates and all that but this should really help prevent the urge to get big laguna blower and dust collection system. I am happy with the suction of these 2.5” lines run directly but 4” manifold reducing to 2.5” lines per tool would have probably been asking a lot of this craftsman shopvac.

I still would like to get some particulate meters and connect them to esp32s and a display but the project merry-go-round is all full up at the moment!

 

[Eric]

Well that was a fast 5 months! I finally got this uploaded and document on printables.com so this available for all to use!

Download here:

Printables

www.printables.com

Since the last post the only change I have made after 5 months of use is to add a slot around the lever and slider that supports a rubber band. This is optional but will help make sure the lever has more strength at forcing the slider into registration with the detent slope on the underside of the lever and potholes on the main body parts. I think if you pick the right plastic you might not need one ever. My lever eventually didn't keep it's memory any longer and needed a little nudge to register, the rubber band solved this problem for me though.