Need to drill repeatable holes and don’t have a mill or even a drill press. Printed drill start guides make for easy work and the tape measure gets to stay in the toolbox.
Great idea. ABS or PLA? Do you think PLA would last long enough?
@Shauki the trick is to not apply to much force and just use them to drill start… Not go all the way through where bit walk could ruin them.
Down side is you need a printer so this is not an option for people building their first. I did the same thing before with scrap acrylic on my first build. Make one and now the parts are consistent. But accuracy depends on how good you make the template.
@djC653 pla
This is what’s called a drill jig. Places like Carr-Lane sell drill jig bushings, which are hardened sleeves you can press into the jig (These are actually standardized components, so someone elsewhere may have some bargains). But that would only be worthwhile for someone who wanted to use this idea for production. The bushings are only a few dollars each. With a drill press, and jigs with hardened bushings, you could really accelerate the process while improving accuracy.
@Dale_Dunn I will look those up. Luckily these hole are only for access to Allen heads so accuracy is not critical. But I have always been a sucker for consistency. It is amazing how the human brain can notice minor inconsistencies in square, level, and linear alignment.
If you made the holes slight larger you could insert brass or Aluminum tubing so the jig keeps its accuracy longer.
@Daniel_Joyce it held up for the 64 holes I drilled pretty well. To be honest I was surprised. It even survived a bit snap. But I will use the tube trick on the next one. I have lots of bits of stainless tubing around from my previous job doing fluid dispensing equipment. Its always good to find uses for what you already have around.
Now I just need to find a use for 1500ft of 1/4" & 3/8" poly tubing I have laying in the shed. I used to go through that stuff fast making pneumatic control panels.
@Shauki these are Misumi because they are cheaper if you don’t plan on using them for guide rails. I know someone makes wheels that go over standard bearings for 20x20 misumi. I think seemecnc uses them on their printers. You might contact them.