kevin.hoyt
Acrylic Corner Guide
I build a lot of project enclosures out of acrylic. I've gotten pretty accurate with cutting notches, and using t-slot joints. The problem with a t-slot joint however is that there are so many pieces to hold still at once. You have to hold the two pieces you are joining, the nut perfectly placed against the flats, and then the screw itself. And you'll probably have to swap out for a screwdriver at some point.
The result is that you often drop the pieces, the nut, the screw, or the whole dang thing, and spend the next several minutes hunting for small pieces on the ground.
To solve this problem, I designed a 3D printed corner guide. To use the guide, you place the two pieces of acrylic that you are joining into the provided slots. One you have them in place, you can turn the joint to an inverted "v" position, and place onto your working surface. The two pieces that form the joint will stay in place enough for you to place the nut and the screw.
Of course, your material doesn't have to be acrylic. This guide is sized for material 3.175mm (0.125") in thickness. It occurs to me now that I could also provide for other sizes in the same guide. I'll have to revisit the design next time I go to print it out. This will come in very handy for kids workshops.
Acrylic Corner Guide
I build a lot of project enclosures out of acrylic. I've gotten pretty accurate with cutting notches, and using t-slot joints. The problem with a t-slot joint however is that there are so many pieces to hold still at once. You have to hold the two pieces you are joining, the nut perfectly placed against the flats, and then the screw itself. And you'll probably have to swap out for a screwdriver at some point.
The result is that you often drop the pieces, the nut, the screw, or the whole dang thing, and spend the next several minutes hunting for small pieces on the ground.
To solve this problem, I designed a 3D printed corner guide. To use the guide, you place the two pieces of acrylic that you are joining into the provided slots. One you have them in place, you can turn the joint to an inverted "v" position, and place onto your working surface. The two pieces that form the joint will stay in place enough for you to place the nut and the screw.
Of course, your material doesn't have to be acrylic. This guide is sized for material 3.175mm (0.125") in thickness. It occurs to me now that I could also provide for other sizes in the same guide. I'll have to revisit the design next time I go to print it out. This will come in very handy for kids workshops.