Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

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Mike_K
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Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Mike_K »

A week ago Frank asked how the progress was going on the 3D printing of a OS Pixie MK2 and I had to admit there hadn't been any progress.

Since then I have had a few hours to kill waiting for my daughter on school trips where they have been delayed for a few hours and as I had a tablet with me, I had another go. Using a text editor on the tablet I typed the code and then cut-and-pasted into it into the OpenSCAD editor on my PC (everything is just a text file). The render time is 5 minutes even on my i7 with 16GB ram and nVidia graphics and it isn't no where near complete yet. Having put the 3D next to the photo I can see I've got the raised bits where the "PIXIE" and "OS" text will go a bit too high and the textured parts have the wrong radius, but it is progress. Another few hours should have the lid finished as I've worked out how to do all the parts (though I'm not sure how well they'll 3D print).

Cheers

Mike

OS_Pixie_MK2_1st_Effort.jpg
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Wayne_H
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Wayne_H »

Thanks for the update Mike, appreciate your efforts ;)
Cheers,

Wayne
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tiptipflyer
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by tiptipflyer »

Thanks Mike,
it looks pretty good so far.

Frank
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RON
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by RON »

Great job Mike,
I can see another pixie set in the making. :D

Ron.
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Mike_K
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Mike_K »

A bit more progress with the OS Pixie MK2 case, but a bit of a set back as well.

I cut and pasted the "PIXIE" text from the MK1 to the MK2, without realising that the font had changed a bit between the MK1 and MK2 versions. The nearest font I could find was Arial, stretched horizontally 60%. But this isn't the correct font as some parts of the "P" are too wide, the "E" is all wrong and the ends of the S are wrong as well. Is it near enough? Well if I'm going to draw it, it should be as near as I can get it, not "near enough".

Does anybody recognise what font the "PIXIE" and the "OS" are or something more similar than the Arial I'm using?

It would save a lot of time just to use an existing font. If I don't find a similar font then I'll have to draw the "PIXIE" and "OS" with cubes and polygons in OpenSCAD or more probably draw it in Autocad, export as a dxf and then extrude the dxf. Or I could use a Truetype font editor and modify Arial to suit.

I haven't 3D printed the lid yet as I'm waiting until I get it "near enough" for my satisfaction, but I've uploaded the STL file so you can view it in a STL viewer (there's an inbuilt one in Windows 10 or you can import it into OpenSCAD). I'll post the .scad file once I've finished it and put in some comments. I've still got to draw the main case which will be in two parts, but they are more straightforward as they have much less detail.

Cheers

Mike

OS_Pixie_MK2_Lid.jpg
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RON
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by RON »

Looks superb mike,
That font looks near enough to me :-)

Ron.
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tiptipflyer
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by tiptipflyer »

It looks great Mike.
That font is also good for me. No one will notice the difference.
Good work.

Frank
Stewart
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Stewart »

Mike,
Did you complete the body of the Pixie mk2 ? you've posted the front( lid) of the case. Is there any more?
Stewart
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Mike_K
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Mike_K »

Stewart wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 09:10 Mike,
Did you complete the body of the Pixie mk2 ? you've posted the front( lid) of the case. Is there any more?
Stewart
The answer is yes and no.

I did complete the enclosure in a similar style to the MK1 Pixie, but the pillar for the fixing screw never seems secure enough and having to print it in one piece "inverted" with supports so the back of the enclosure is not on the printer bed is not ideal. I have attached a picture from OpenSCAD with how far I previously got.

So I have started re-drawing the enclosure in two parts, the back will be the same basic shape as the lid and will be glued onto the main part of the enclosure. I'm doing away with the pillar to screw the lid on with (giving an uninterrupted space in the enclosure) and the lid will now be held on with magnets and the screw will only be there for show.

I only did an hour or so on it a few weeks back, and I won't get a chance to do anything else for a few weeks as I must get some encoder boards finished for a few friends before I go on holiday. I'll upload the OpenSCAD and STL files as soon as I've finished them and they print OK.

Pixie_MK2_enclosure.png

Cheers

Mike
Stewart
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Re: Progress so far 3D drawing for a Pixie MK2

Post by Stewart »

Mike,
No problem, I'm still assembling my 3D printer, and then I'll have to learn how to use it.
But as how the Pixie mk2 was my first r/c set Iéd like to build it.
Stewart
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