Gear Box Signaler (Dishwasher Sign)

thingiverse

Made a minor update to some .stl files and added the Sun turret: Ring.stl Tallbolt.stl Capnut.stl Sun_turret.stl The dishwashers I've used can generally only be trusted to splash the dishes, so I've used the Planetary Gear Box design as a source for creating a dishwasher sign to confirm it. It's called the Gear Box Signaler because the dishwasher sign is just one application. See the video for a couple of others, and see VegOilGuy's information about the Planetary Gear Box. The gear ratio is 4:1, so Gear Box Signaler features about a 16th of a circle's constraint for the turret switch in the front, which provides a 1/4 circle turn for the sign. So a 90° turn of the sign provides for displaying the message at opposing quarter sections of the sign disk at top and bottom, or revealing the other pair of opposing quarter disk sections when switched back. Innate friction keeps the switch in place. (Might work well for an elementary school science project. I may not be smarter than a fifth grader, but I might avoid embarrassment by using this.) Paint the raised text or use permanent markers in the appropriate colors. If you have a fancy 3D printer, or add-on printing gadgets, you might wish to print colors to layers where the raised text and art begin and end. Tape a couple of magnets (coin-shaped) to the back to attach it to a dishwasher, or use some fancy double-sided tape, such as Gorilla Tough & Clear, EZlifego Double Sided Tape Heavy Duty, or AlienTape: https://gistgear.com/product/B07YB1ZXG6 You may also choose to be creative and make your own signs. A blank sign template (BlankSign.stl) file is included to help with that. Here are some pointers about 3D printing text, but you may not need help because the sign template provides the background. However, if you want to print the text independently and glue it onto the blank sign template later (so you can print your own color choices), they may help. Just remember that anything added to the sign can't be very thick, or the sign won't be able to rotate properly. https://www.fabbaloo.com/2017/06/four-ways-to-join-letters-for-3d-printing Print the parts in these quantities: 1 each: Base Ring Carrier Hider Cover 1 each: Either Plainsign, included Customsign ("Splashed!"), Washed_sign, or your own custom sign and either Sun_turret or Grip Turret 3 each: Planet 4 Each: Tallbolt Spacer Either Capnut or Capnut2 (Capnut2 is slightly bigger if you have trouble getting Capnut onto the bolt) For a single new Gear Box Signaler, 11 files must be downloaded, and the number of pieces needed for assembly is 22. See assembly video for details (https://youtu.be/ZextoXJO11Y). Careful with the small parts, don't overtighten or they'll break.