Next project on the block: making a new drag chain bracket. I actually made one ages ago mostly with hand tools, and it worked to a degree, but there definitely was some room for improvement.
So here it is, compared to the old one (I had to cut through it to release the cables that were already in place):
Overall the design is fairly similar, but this time around I offset the top somewhat so the drag chain aligns perfectly. The hole for the cables to pass through is a bit larger and has a channel now so I can pull all my wires through it without having to disconnect and reroute them all. The uppermost holes will hold the X-axis drag chain, the ones in the smaller block are for the Y-axis drag chain.
Milling was without issues, and with increasingly faster settings just to see how the machine would handle it. The small block I ended up cutting at 400mm/min, 0.4mm DOC with a 1/8″ VIPER endmill. That is pretty good if you ask me. There was some rubbing at the sides of the profile, but I blame that on the small diameter endmill vs. thick stock. I cut dry and didn’t clear chips… Oh well, the result was pretty much perfect anyway. I drilled and tapped the profile mounting holes by hand.
And here it is countersunk and assembled:
Because of all the wires and other hardware that’s in the way, it was hard to take good pictures of the mounted bracket, but here you go anyway, a few views from different perspectives:
The white box is just some electronics from my LED strip underneath the X-axis.
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