Plugs For Quick Couplers

[npalen]

Messin' around on the lathe today and made a couple of these out of 1" delrin rod. I know they can be bought for about four bucks apiece but needed something to do. One groove is for retaining in the female and the other is just a finger grip.
Got to thinking that this would be a project for someone with a 3D printer. Could produce a bunch of them in one run.

 

[mikester]

Id stick with making parts on the lathe or buying the injection moulded parts. 3D printed stuff tends to be more fragile

 

[Zebrafive]

Nice, it should out last the rubber ones that get brittle and fall apart. I would drill the end for screw eye and attach a cord or light chain for a "keeper".

 

[ruffdog]

A cnc lathe would kick those plugs out way quicker than a 3D printer. Machining UHMW would be much quicker but the material is more malleable and less stable. Delrin and nylon machines nice but will start chipping if pushed too hard.

 

[npalen]

I've machined quite a bit of UHMW over the years but how does one get rid of the frizzies?

 

[not2old]

I'm not too shy to ask a stupid question. What is the purpose of this plug? I don't think I've ever needed one.

 

[npalen]

Just to keep dirt out of the coupler when not being used.

 

[ruffdog]

I've machined quite a bit of UHMW over the years but how does one get rid of the frizzies?

Higher feed, sharp positive rake HSS bit, bigger radius to get finish with the higher feed, angled chip breaker to curl thick chip. With cnc you can achieve the higher feeds even in tight quarters.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Messin' around on the lathe today and made a couple of these out of 1" delrin rod.

:thumbsup: Ive got a list if youre that bored.

 

[Big Barn]

Nice work. And the hard Delrin plugs are easier to wipe clean than the rubber ones.