This was one of those moments when as soon as I understood how it worked I just had to take a step back. This is definitely one of those special clever ideas. One that is simple but highly effective.
The power of differental is under utilized in so many ways ... Location, force, speed, electronics, hydraullics, etc.. Nice practical use. And perhaps an even better demonstration of differental potential elegance in design. Very nicely done.
Wow Adam. Amazing design and selections of parts. It takes a smart person to build something that does a specific job but it take a very smart person with tons of experience and a deep understanding about how things work and how things are made, to transform something very complex and expensive into something so simple and low cost. Congrats for the design.
Been checking out machinists looking for a replacement for Robin (super accurate, out-of-the-box), and as I live and breathe he shows up! It must be a sign! Good to see you Robin, miss your PHD-level machining.
Excellent shortcut for getting ready-made differential threads. Love it! I usually end up with tapping an M12 x 0.5 mm and single-pointing a 0.4 or 0.45 mm pitch about the same diameter on the other end of a rod to get a 100 or 50 micron per turn effective rate, but never thought of using 3D printed supports/tensioners. Nice.
This is such a clever and powerful design. Especially given most of the components are off the shelf parts. Probably like most people watching this, you've got my gears turning on how else this could be applicable. Great idea and thanks for sharing!
It breaks the 'no machining' rule, but it could be an interesting solution to the stability issue: the height setting on the Tripan toolpost uses a piece of spring steel in a slot milled perpendicular to the threads. It bows out a little bit so it gives some pressure on the mating threads.
Hi Adam, If you drill a cross hole in the male threads, and push in a slug of nylon or ptfe so it's just proud of the base of the threads, you'll have your solution for your 'wobble' problem.
WOW! I have been looking at making some differential adjusters. I had not thought of mixing freedom units and metric. I love this!!! Thank you for sharing.
Very clever. Early in my career I made some similar leveling parts for Xerox, their design, with about 1" diameter with 2 different pitches. Never asked what they used them for but always thought it was clever.
I was thinking about making something very similar just the other day. You beat me to it. Now I don't have to think about it - I can just use your design. Thank you muchly.
When a Toolmaker says 'really great performance' and 'remarkable' about something to do with metrology, you better take notice. (As I've learnt from some of the YT greats now commenting on your videos). Thanks for blowing my mind with less than $12.
Love this idea, very creative. Always love to see functional hybrid 3d-printed and metal assemblies. Affordable&quality machinists jacks are certainly hard to find.
Combining off the shelf hardware with 3D printing is a great idea. I am not too sure though how easy it is to get these adapters over here in Europe but I think that an M10x1.5 to M8x1.25 adapter or even M14x2 to M12x1.75 is a fairly standard item. Just putting some thicker grease or copper-paste on the thread might reduce the jiggle and make it move a bit smoother.
BRILLIANT! Instead of the PTFE tape, try the paste. You might need to drill a tiny breather hole at the base of the female threads. Otherwise, you'll be compressing the air as you shorten the jack.
Congrats, this is the first time that the concept of a differential screw has clicked for me - of course the rotation of the nuts has to be constrained for it to work! Great concept, love your the demonstrations of kinematics and preload.
Really love seeing these ideas using 3d printing to make precision tools. Your video on the v-blocks was eye-opening. Thanks for taking the time to show us!
The ability of thinking outside of the box is a wonderful thing to behold. Actually came here to recommend liquid PTFE for dampening backlash on the threads but, I note someone else has already posted that :)
I just found your channel tonight and I'm beyond impressed with your innovative mind. An idea I had to give more stability, precision, and repeatability to the adjustment, and bear with my terminology as I am not a machinist by trade: A bar spring, such as the magazine release spring in a glock, held in place on one end in the upper mount, that interfaces with a inverted cycloid-tooth cog mounted as a collar around the hex of the thread adapter. The inverted cycloid geometry of the teeth should allow the bar spring to cycle between The bottom lands of the cog when enough torque is applied, while otherwise holding the thread adapter at relatively repeatable angles. The level of precision from this system could be tuned by increasing or decreasing the number of teeth on the cog. Thank you for this incredible library of information on machining; I will be diving into more of it throughout the week
So I finally got around to testing this idea, and as I'm sure was obvious to some of the more experienced here, the inverse cycloid shape was a mistake. I ended up reshaping the detent to just be a sinewave and it works a treat
Cleaver idea ! To get that precision "stickey" thread feel, split the male part of the thread lengthways and then stretch it open a little with a wedge the thread will then bind a little taking out all the back lash and also preventing it from moving with vibration but will still be easy to turn, have used this technique many times before
Man i need to take the time to read stuff better, I didn't realize who it was this channel belonged too. Or i would of subscribed much sooner. Having watched a number of videos featuring you at NYC CNC. I have learned something, or new approaches and thought processes to things.
An excellent way to get a fine adjustment is to use wedges with a very low angle in combination with a fine threaded screw. You can easily get as little as .001 movement per revolution. You can also use "differential" wedges for even finer control, but it's probably not necessary.
Another very cool idea combining creativity and intellect. If you're open to it ... perhaps sharing the file for the 3D printed 'springs'. I know they're not difficult, but I wouldn't be surprised if some clever thought went into yours that others might appreciate.
I'm a getting older die/mold maker. I really loved what you did with the ball bearing in the screwhead. Very nice. One small critique, instead of using a 3D printed part for compression, why not a simple spring for expansion?
I played with that a little , the only issue was it made the assembly a little wider . Not much , but enough that I was concerned how small of a part I could get three of these under.
Adam, you've got a terrific vocabulary and use the correct terminology in your video's and I thank you for that. What is your background? Education, etc...?
This may be a horrible idea, but to stabilize the threads, how about some putty eraser. This is a clay-like/rubber substance that doesn't harden. Not sure how it responds to oil. It may dissolve. And if it doesn't work, you can still use the eraser to clear chips and oil from difficult to access holes and corners. I use it a lot for that.
How did you 3d print them? Looks like SLA resin printed parts. Would like to motorized them for automation leveling, such as auto level a bed, have any good advice on how to achieve that? Thanks. 6:31 - Interesting measuring device, shows two decimals. Simply just wow, it seems like this leveling jack is not "high" but rather "ultra" resolution, it seems to hold well down to 25 nanometers (0.000.001") accuracy. This could be further improved to hold down to < 10 nanometers, possible using anti-backlash nuts.
Try some nyogel 767a on the threads. It's a dampening grease that might improve things. At this level of precision I suspect the threads need to wear in a little as well.
Question for ya. A 1.25mm pitch takes 20.32 turns to move an inch. If one were to use a 1/4 20 pitch thread, would that not make the differential even smaller than an 18 pitch thread? In fact, as long as I use a 20 pitch thread and a 1.25mm pitch thread, I could put those thread pitches on a 1 inch diameter rod and make a very sturdy jack?
That would definitely work. I try to do these projects with only using off the shelf hardware and was limited in selection. The goal was to give students and hobbyist ways to explore precision without needing access to machinery
@@adamthemachinist Excellent. Your goal of inspiring others has worked on me! Definitely see the usefulness with off the shelf stuff, but if one can, then this idea can be adapted. I see 1/4 20 to M8 adapters for 3 bucks on ebay!
This was one of those moments when as soon as I understood how it worked I just had to take a step back. This is definitely one of those special clever ideas. One that is simple but highly effective.
That’s why I love machining. There’s always another way to do it that you havnt thought of. The education never ends.
a 1/4" ball in a 6mm hex and the inch->metric adapter for an off-the-shelf differential thread are two ideas i'm /definitely/ stealing for future use
The power of differental is under utilized in so many ways ... Location, force, speed, electronics, hydraullics, etc..
Nice practical use.
And perhaps an even better demonstration of differental potential elegance in design.
Very nicely done.
Wow Adam. Amazing design and selections of parts.
It takes a smart person to build something that does a specific job but it take a very smart person with tons of experience and a deep understanding about how things work and how things are made, to transform something very complex and expensive into something so simple and low cost. Congrats for the design.
Very nice design Adam! You might try lapping the threads with fine garnet abrasive while loaded then clean and add some moly lube.
How do you lap the threads? Just put the two components together with the abrasive inside?
Been checking out machinists looking for a replacement for Robin (super accurate, out-of-the-box), and as I live and breathe he shows up! It must be a sign! Good to see you Robin, miss your PHD-level machining.
@@jonludwig8233
Yes.
@@Bob_Adkins Doesn't he actually have an engineering degree like Tom Lipton?
Such a elegant design 👍👍
Excellent shortcut for getting ready-made differential threads. Love it! I usually end up with tapping an M12 x 0.5 mm and single-pointing a 0.4 or 0.45 mm pitch about the same diameter on the other end of a rod to get a 100 or 50 micron per turn effective rate, but never thought of using 3D printed supports/tensioners. Nice.
This is such a clever and powerful design. Especially given most of the components are off the shelf parts. Probably like most people watching this, you've got my gears turning on how else this could be applicable. Great idea and thanks for sharing!
Glad you like it!
It breaks the 'no machining' rule, but it could be an interesting solution to the stability issue: the height setting on the Tripan toolpost uses a piece of spring steel in a slot milled perpendicular to the threads. It bows out a little bit so it gives some pressure on the mating threads.
I love the use of close inch/metric pairs to make such a fine differential screw!
Bravo - great stuff. Last time metric and imperial units were mixed, Mars ended up with a 327 million dollar orbiter cratered into it.
Wasn't Hubble blinded by the same "issue" ? 🙄😏
How did it take me so long to find this channel. Really interesting concepts and designs. This guy is really creative and cunning.
metric+imperial differential threads is brilliant
Hi Adam,
If you drill a cross hole in the male threads, and push in a slug of nylon or ptfe so it's just proud of the base of the threads, you'll have your solution for your 'wobble' problem.
Or use a nylon fastener and bed it in a few times until it eases off?
That's a really slick design, thanks for sharing it!
Very Cool! Differential screws are just incredible what they can do
I thought differential screws were very difficult to make. You showed they are not!
Thanks for the insight. I am definitely looking into this subject.
wickedly smart, and a tour de force of DFM. incredible work!
I like how you approach the problem, how you do the work, and how you explain it. Win-win-win!
Please keep posting this type of content. You are sharing gold with us.
WOW! I have been looking at making some differential adjusters. I had not thought of mixing freedom units and metric. I love this!!! Thank you for sharing.
Give your politicians a freedom unit & they'll take a mile... legalised insider-trading for Congress critters is my favourite example , Joel... 🙄😂
Very clever. Early in my career I made some similar leveling parts for Xerox, their design, with about 1" diameter with 2 different pitches. Never asked what they used them for but always thought it was clever.
Imperial and metric, in harmony at last!
I was thinking about making something very similar just the other day. You beat me to it. Now I don't have to think about it - I can just use your design. Thank you muchly.
When a Toolmaker says 'really great performance' and 'remarkable' about something to do with metrology, you better take notice. (As I've learnt from some of the YT greats now commenting on your videos). Thanks for blowing my mind with less than $12.
Love this idea, very creative. Always love to see functional hybrid 3d-printed and metal assemblies. Affordable&quality machinists jacks are certainly hard to find.
Combining off the shelf hardware with 3D printing is a great idea. I am not too sure though how easy it is to get these adapters over here in Europe but I think that an M10x1.5 to M8x1.25 adapter or even M14x2 to M12x1.75 is a fairly standard item.
Just putting some thicker grease or copper-paste on the thread might reduce the jiggle and make it move a bit smoother.
Damn youtube is sleeping on this channel. Incredibly clever setup. Amazing precision. I am smashing the subscribe button.
Great work. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎
Love this as a mech eng student. Super smart design
BRILLIANT! Instead of the PTFE tape, try the paste. You might need to drill a tiny breather hole at the base of the female threads. Otherwise, you'll be compressing the air as you shorten the jack.
I just found your channel. I LOVE your content. Thank you for creating it. I really like the simple, relatively short videos.
Picomotor from newport might be interesting, to motorise these kind of adjusters
What a terrific idea and beautifully resolved design.
Congrats, this is the first time that the concept of a differential screw has clicked for me - of course the rotation of the nuts has to be constrained for it to work! Great concept, love your the demonstrations of kinematics and preload.
That's a sweet design! I'll add a build to my to-do list.
Awesome job Adam very clever solution
By far the best use of 3d printing I've seen!
Awesome! This is an awesome technique and very worthwhile to explore. Thank you!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Adam
no need to fight! metric + SAE = LOVE!
you're on a roll pal
Really love seeing these ideas using 3d printing to make precision tools. Your video on the v-blocks was eye-opening. Thanks for taking the time to show us!
The ability of thinking outside of the box is a wonderful thing to behold.
Actually came here to recommend liquid PTFE for dampening backlash on the threads but, I note someone else has already posted that :)
That's brilliant Adam. Love the differential action.
Awesome design!
It really shows what a great mechanical minded person you are.
Adam,
Thanks for sharing. Clever design. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Cheers,
Reuben
Truly interesting approach. I have a couple of things coming up where a variation of this technique would work nicely. Thanks!
I just found your channel tonight and I'm beyond impressed with your innovative mind.
An idea I had to give more stability, precision, and repeatability to the adjustment, and bear with my terminology as I am not a machinist by trade:
A bar spring, such as the magazine release spring in a glock, held in place on one end in the upper mount, that interfaces with a inverted cycloid-tooth cog mounted as a collar around the hex of the thread adapter. The inverted cycloid geometry of the teeth should allow the bar spring to cycle between The bottom lands of the cog when enough torque is applied, while otherwise holding the thread adapter at relatively repeatable angles. The level of precision from this system could be tuned by increasing or decreasing the number of teeth on the cog.
Thank you for this incredible library of information on machining; I will be diving into more of it throughout the week
So I finally got around to testing this idea, and as I'm sure was obvious to some of the more experienced here, the inverse cycloid shape was a mistake. I ended up reshaping the detent to just be a sinewave and it works a treat
Thanks so much for sharing, it’s really impressive to see a product so simple and cheap being so effective
Another great video! Great idea on the metric/inch differential threads!
Very clever, thanks for the video
I am 100% making these! Mcmaster cart already loaded.
Very nice Adam.
Cleaver idea ! To get that precision "stickey" thread feel, split the male part of the thread lengthways and then stretch it open a little with a wedge the thread will then bind a little taking out all the back lash and also preventing it from moving with vibration but will still be easy to turn, have used this technique many times before
Absolutely genius
Brilliant! Thanks for this!
Awesome design, thanks for sharing.
What a great and practical idea! I appreciate how well you explain the details as well!
Simple, elegant, brilliant
Man i need to take the time to read stuff better, I didn't realize who it was this channel belonged too. Or i would of subscribed much sooner. Having watched a number of videos featuring you at NYC CNC. I have learned something, or new approaches and thought processes to things.
Very cool, practical mechanism and great video Adam! Keep it up!
Gday Adam, fantastic idea and affordable, im really enjoying your channel, cheers
Wow! Another great video Adam!
Brilliant solution very cool idea.
Simply brilliant.
cool designs, WD-40 does a PTFE spray that might work on the threads although it would need reapplying over time
An excellent way to get a fine adjustment is to use wedges with a very low angle in combination with a fine threaded screw. You can easily get as little as .001 movement per revolution. You can also use "differential" wedges for even finer control, but it's probably not necessary.
That's pretty freaking awesome 👍👍👍
Another great information video
Another very interesting video. Thanks.
This is amazing!
Excellent channel, thanks so much for sharing
thanks for making another video, fantastic content,
Another very cool idea combining creativity and intellect. If you're open to it ... perhaps sharing the file for the 3D printed 'springs'. I know they're not difficult, but I wouldn't be surprised if some clever thought went into yours that others might appreciate.
Really nice video Adam 👍🏼
Damping grease on the threads will give a nice feel, NYE will send you a sample pack for free if you want to try various types.
Briljant engineering!
Genius, well done. :-)
I want to print one for my tool box Adam!
I'm a getting older die/mold maker. I really loved what you did with the ball bearing in the screwhead. Very nice.
One small critique, instead of using a 3D printed part for compression, why not a simple spring for expansion?
I played with that a little , the only issue was it made the assembly a little wider . Not much , but enough that I was concerned how small of a part I could get three of these under.
Great design! I was thrown off a little by the inconsistent volume, but great video!
Adam, you've got a terrific vocabulary and use the correct terminology in your video's and I thank you for that. What is your background? Education, etc...?
Very cool! Would be neat to make an xy stage as well. Heavy grease may be a good choice for the threads
This may be a horrible idea, but to stabilize the threads, how about some putty eraser. This is a clay-like/rubber substance that doesn't harden. Not sure how it responds to oil. It may dissolve.
And if it doesn't work, you can still use the eraser to clear chips and oil from difficult to access holes and corners. I use it a lot for that.
Great idea.
Very clever 👍
How did you 3d print them? Looks like SLA resin printed parts. Would like to motorized them for automation leveling, such as auto level a bed, have any good advice on how to achieve that? Thanks. 6:31 - Interesting measuring device, shows two decimals. Simply just wow, it seems like this leveling jack is not "high" but rather "ultra" resolution, it seems to hold well down to 25 nanometers (0.000.001") accuracy. This could be further improved to hold down to < 10 nanometers, possible using anti-backlash nuts.
Would it be possible to share the 3d stl file? That would be a great little project for some of us home shop guys!
Brilliant.
Great info
Try some nyogel 767a on the threads. It's a dampening grease that might improve things.
At this level of precision I suspect the threads need to wear in a little as well.
This is very cool.
What brand of 3d printer are you usung and what plastic are you printing?
Question for ya. A 1.25mm pitch takes 20.32 turns to move an inch. If one were to use a 1/4 20 pitch thread, would that not make the differential even smaller than an 18 pitch thread? In fact, as long as I use a 20 pitch thread and a 1.25mm pitch thread, I could put those thread pitches on a 1 inch diameter rod and make a very sturdy jack?
That would definitely work. I try to do these projects with only using off the shelf hardware and was limited in selection. The goal was to give students and hobbyist ways to explore precision without needing access to machinery
@@adamthemachinist Excellent. Your goal of inspiring others has worked on me! Definitely see the usefulness with off the shelf stuff, but if one can, then this idea can be adapted. I see 1/4 20 to M8 adapters for 3 bucks on ebay!
Great video, thanks!
Looks great!
Very nice ! + thanks for sharing +
Silicone diff oil from model RC cars might replace the PTFE tape.
How can I find people developing from your ideas? I'd love to see what people have done with this