Gauge for Nozzle 3d Printer

I followed an idea published a little while ago about making an electric circuit with the heatbreak and nozzle of a 3d printer with the bed and in between a gauge of 0,1mm. The usual method is to to use an a4 paper or thin plastic sheet. I bought gauges in a package, see the pictures with tools I used. By using smaller gauges you can level it in the utmost possibility. When the nozzle is being aligned on the fan casing and and a middle alignment on the gauge, then you can push it under the nozzle when there is a gap between the nozzle and the heatbed. When you push the carriage over the x axis and gauge and you feel more or less friction then adjustment can be done with the screws. The parts have been printed in petg filament see the .stl files.

Materials

1. Copper foil 5x20mm
2. Aluminium foil 5x40mm, 22x44mm, these are measurements for cutting out the foil.
3. Thread length total 46 cm(centimeter)
4. Resistor 100 ohm
5. 3mm led.
6. Crocodile clamp mine is 3cm in length
7. Solder tin
8. Glue for petg. I used uv resin with pen
9. Heat schrink tube or isolation tape
10. Stainless steel 1,2mm screws in diameter
11. 2mm screw, 2 washers and nut. In case you don't use the solder option

Tools

1. Multimeter
2. Grinding tool + bit, see picture
3. Solder iron
4. Screw driver to screw the heads of the 1,2mm stainless steel screw, see picture
5. Plier
6. Plier for thread stripping
7. Heatgun for schrink tube
8. Gauges see picture
9. Thin marker

After the 3d parts have been 3d printed, you can use the circumferences of the plastic plate and hole, to draw these on the aluminium foil. Then you take the plastic plate away and draw with a fine marker in alignment with the middle hole lips on each side with a widht of 6mm and 20mm in length side. See picture. With a small hobby knife you carve the marker lines, not the whole way through the foil. With some helping carved lines you can now bend up and down along the carved lines until it breaks off. Bits you cannot bend away, use a small scissor. For the hole in the middle you have got to cut it all the way through, when you have carved it from above and turn it over you see the carved lines, cut it again and that bit will come off. After this you first align it between the walls of the gauge holder and then the middle axe of the gauge holder, fit it with a bit of friction.

The 3d printed plastic plate

Its circumference has got to be sandpapered, first do this until it fits between the 2 walls of the gauge holder keep some friction. Drill the hole from 4,85mm to 5mm, then draw the bit on the circumference that still doesn't fit and use the grinder on that spot, keep some friction. After that take the plastic plate away and fold the aluminium cut foil over the edges of the plastic plate and fits it over the axis of the gauge holder, push it firmly down. Now use the multimeter in beep mode and confirm the contact between the gauge and the aluminum foil.

In my former model of the gauge I only used flexible wire and that ended up in not being able to read the led as it turned upside down. So I selected a non flexible wire for the first 3cm, I soldered on the anode side of the led the resistor in line with each other as well as the soldering of the wire, resistor and the anode of the led in line with the copper foil contact in such a way that the head of the led faces upwards in a fixed way. On the cathode side I soldered the flexible wire and the crocodile clamp. To make this soldering work presolder the parts, after bending the leads of the led put it in a crocoldile clamp of your hand hold, hold the resistor in a plier, put you wrist on the edge of table and hold the presoldered end against the pin of the led and solder it with your other hand. Before soldering it to the + copper foil contact push a heatschrink tube to cover the resistor and contact pins and before soldering the crocodile clamp push heatschrink tube ove the flexible wire.

This part has got to be worked on.The holes at the bottom of the container have support, break this away with a srewdriver trimmer. The battery has a to tide fit in the container. The inner shell needs grinding, With grinding you also remove messy things behind after printing as for instance hairs. Grind the inner perimeter of the container, do not hold the grinder firm against the shell, when you have done one round, see how the battery fits. Before you fit the battery turn it upside down, you see 4 rectangle holes, you fold the aluminum strip 6mm in width through the two outer rectangle holes and fold it back in the 2 inner holes on the other side the bottom of the container. Take the cut copper foil 4mm in width and 20mm in length. Fold the copper foil 1mm from the bottom towards the upper edge of the container, fold it then down half way along the outer shell and then in 90 degrees outwards. Make a bridge of glue over the copper foil on the top edge and a bridge of glue over the copper foil along the outer shell. Solder the wire with a solid core on the lip of the copper foil. You can also make a thread in the 3d printed holes 1,5mm in diameter, make the thread with the 2mm screw. Make the screw in length, with a nut and washers under the head of the screw. Make an eye in the thread solder it hammer it down and make it fit for 2mm by drilling. Measure with multimeter if your screw has reached the side of the battery, which is a +, You should see 3,3 volt between + en -(your folded foil on the bottom of the container)

Hold them together in your vise as the battery holder is smaller you can use a piece of wood or plastic and put it on the edges of your battery holder and put the 2 parts in your vise. Do not do a firm tide to prevent breaking. With a drill of 0,8 mm drill 2 holes on each side. After that take a drill bit of 1,2mm and drill 2mm inside. This is to set your 1,2mm screw in this hole, then take your precision screw driver which fits in the head of the stainless steel screw. Select the appropiate length of the 1,2mm screw, turn your screwdriver firmly to make the thread in the plastic.Align the gauge holder with the battery container and mark the edges for the left and the right side. Unscrewing and screwing can be done now in the precise way. Measure with you multimeter the + which is the screw or copperfoil contact and hold the minus lead of the multimeter on the gauge.

Renew battery

Unscrew the battery holder, turn it upside down, lay it down on the table and push with the screwdriver through the outer holes the cr2032 on to the table. Then hold the battery container in one hand and push the screwdriver again through the outer holes until there is a gap, push a screwdriver through this gap and upwards, the battery will pop out. Remember more grinding is less friction.

The first picture is how the crocodile clamp has been put between the wires, the nut and the magnet in the yellow magnet container. The second picture from the left shows the nozzle and the bed with the gauge in between. You can also feel the friction with the gauge. By pushing the x carriage over the gauge and the bed, when you do that in phases you can feel if the friction increases or decreases, with a decrease the led will switch off.

The third picture is, when you hold some magnets under the gauge, it is certain, that the gauge is flat on the bed. I put 2 magnets at the end 2 near the containers. If you have got a flat undersurface of your bed you can put magnets under it bij designing a magnet holder as this cannot be done with hands.

Another tip is to align the nozzle on the fan casing on both sides and draw a middle line in the length of your cauge, and make a grid of 2 or 1 cm with a marker, when you have got a glass bed, pei sheet or aluminium bed.

Another tip is that the battery container fits with friction in the gauge holder decide for yourself if you use the 1,2mm screws to secure it.

The following instructable I intend to write is light for under the fan casing to monitor for instance the first layer.

Regards