So occasionally, I’d want to be able to clean up around my MPCNC with my vacuum, but the hoses were attached with hose clamps, and frankly, I’m lazy. So things would stay dirty until I dragged the shop vac out closer to the CNC.
Then someone posted a pic of a magnetic connector that they were complaining about the cost, and how it was “too strong”. So I drew this up. And then printed one side to fit my dust collector hose, and another side to fit my home-made Z-height independent dust system.
Here’s the result. For a first go-round, it works pretty well with 3 magnets. I can disengage it without too much trouble, but it’s stuck together well enough that I’m not worried about a disconnect. I used 1/2" rare earth magnets, about 3mm thick. I figure I’ll print a few more adapters for different tools in my shop, so I can easily connect things together, and maybe another re-sized version for my 1.25" hose tools, like my router and ROS sander.
It IS modelled after a commercial connector, but designed entirely from scratch by me, and with a reduced number of magnets. The STEP file was included if someone wants to design pieces of their own.
I made a similar system, but never got around to posting to thingiverse. I have versions to fit 4" pvc, 4" hose, 4" to 2 1/2" adapters, and caps to close off unused pipes. I’ve been using this with my Lowrider for about a year now. Some pics.
I’m using 6 magnets 8mmx8mm, and reverse the polarity on every other magnet. That way they always attract with at most a 60* twist. I embed the magnets in the print.
I have something similar too. It works well. Just make sure you don’t use heat to seat the magnets. I learned thatagnets lose their magnetism when heated. But the second time was a charm.
I like the look of @CNeufeld’s connectors better than mine. MIne are perfectly functional, but the scalloped edge looks better.
When embedding magnets, I found I had to turn off the bed heat when I placed the magnets. The PWM bed heat current would vibrate the magnets so hard they could jump right out of place before they got printed over!
Mine are just glued in. But I didn’t buy the same magnets the part was designed for, so I thought I would just scoot them in with some heat, and it worked, but the magnets didn’t. This wasn’t a small amount of heat. It was enough to melt the plastic.
When I printed them looser, I was able to just CA glue them in. Or it might have been epoxy.
The bottom and top of the magnet space is 1mm thick. My printer has a glass bed, so I don’t know about the magnetic bed.
Threading for the hose would definitely be an improvement, and I like @CNeufeld’s scalloped edges too.
I should note that they aren’t really up to suspending much 4" hose. The only 4" hose I use rests on the floor so not a problem for me, but I tried connecting it to one of the overhead ducts and the weight was more than the magnets could support.
I used PETG, I find PLA too prone to breakage for something like this. The PETG has held up well.
Thanks for that! I have about a metre of hose to hang for my thicknesser, jointer and drum sander which all share one connection, so a bit of experimentation is needed I think, although it’s not as bad as it sounds as the joint will take most of the weight.
Perhaps I’ll start with no embedding of the magnets and use 8 of them. “Start” in this case probably means if that doesn’t work, I’ll give up!
Embedding them even 1mm means a 2mm gap. Now it’ll be a race between my LR parts and the magnets as to which gets to me first!
There’s 1.5 meters of hose hanging down to the floor, and that works just fine as long as I don’t pull sideways on it.
I think I was having problems when trying to use it to vacuum the floor, and kept pulling it off. I have a length of “stretch” hose which is heavier and I could hang 2 meters of that too. If the tools are close together and the hose won’t be pulled sideways it’s probably fine.
In my excitement I mistakenly ordered 8x6 magnets, so I’ve drawn a 12 magnet connecting piece.
If that doesn’t work I’ll double them up, or double every second one, but I reckon I’ve got six weeks till they arrive to refine my thoughts, and the rest of my life to play with alternatives!
Who knows if I muck around long enough I may even cut them on the LR2!
I did end up doing the alternating polarity magnets in my current setup. As someone mentioned, it means you can’t really screw things up, even in a “print in place” setup, which I didn’t do. But another nice feature is that if you give the connectors a slight twist (which is easier to do than pulling them apart, especially with 6 magnets), the magnets actually push the connection apart.
Apparently, he is happy to have you make your own, so there is no licensing issue once you buy the template, assuming they are eventually back in stock.
My magnets have been stuck in a depot in China since the 19th - or I’d share my plan! I am not a fan of the Izzy Swan one as I think it will wear over time, but to each his own. I have used a tapered aluminium tube length and jam fit for 30 years - so I have no idea why I’m reinventing the wheel at this stage.
It might have to do with procrastination and not actually starting on my LR2 build yet.
It’s a 4" connector so it probably should have it’s own " magnetic connector for 4" dust collector hose" thread, but oh well…
Thanks so much all of you for distracting me from the main game! In my excitement I ordered 8x6 magnets instead of 8x10 so I have left enough depth in the magnet sockets to double up if I need more stick. So far so good, in fact I’m super happy despite having successfully used the old “push the hose on and hope” method for 30years!
The magnets are a push fit, the bottom skin .8mm and the holes in the bottom so I can push them out again should I wish to. You can see from one of the pics that my “maker space” is just a bit too close to the living area of our house for comfort, so I’m a bit careful with dust!
