Ice Maker Feeler Arm / Paddle

thingiverse

Update 4/14/17 The original paddle has been working flawlessly for weeks now. The mass of cubes was likely an issue with defrosting causing the cubes to fuse, and is not a problem lately. I don't expect there will be any more updates. Update 3/12/17 While the paddle shuts off the icemaker before it over fills the bin, It appears that in our refrigerator a mass of cubes that freeze together near the back of the bin prevents the paddle from moving to the fully extended position, thus preventing it from making new ice until the block of stuck-together cubes is moved out of the way. It looks like a change is needed in the location of the sloping line, making it more flag-shaped rather than trapezoidal. I added another design, but haven't tried it yet. It's not as elegant, but limits the sensing more to the middle of the bin, rather than also at one edge. Although the original part may not be functioning correctly, it may work to an advantage in our situation, where we prefer to operate the icemaker only on the weekends when we are off peak (in the summer time). Update 3/4/17 This Thing has been operating on our ice maker for a month now, and it seems to do everything it should, without a hint of a problem. The auger pushes ice towards the front of the bin, so the bin is full to the top in the front, and the paddle controls the level at the back end. UPDATE 1/30/17: I installed the paddle with the 14 mm lip in the ice maker. The lip clears the top of the ice maker bin by slightly less than a centimeter. It should result in the ice maker shutting off with the least amount of ice in the bin, but SHOULD be reliable in shutting it off when full. There are two other versions of the paddle, one with an 11 mm lip and one with an 8 mm lip. The shorter versions will raise the level of ice in the bin. I don't know what is best or most desirable. I also don't know the amount of the curve that exists in the replacement paddle, so there is some guess-work in this design. The 14mm one with roman-arch looking brace is undoubtedly a waste of time; it was just that I was trying a few things with my meager knowledge of the Sketchup CAD program. . - - - - - - - - - - When I replaced the Ice Maker in our GE refrigerator, my wife reminded me that she routinely turned it off when there was enough ice because the ice maker over-filled the bin and didn't shut off when it should have. I found that there was a replacement part that corrected this problem. According to the part supplier, this ice maker design may be used in many brands of refrigerators. The replacement part is available below:http://www.appliancepartspros.com/ge-feeler-arm-field-wr49x10103-ap3717431.html This Thing is an attempt at creating a part that functions like the available replacement. Print Settings Supports: Yes Resolution: .3 LH Infill: 25% Hex Notes: I printed the version with the 14 mm lip in PLA with 2 top and 2 bottom layers. It is very strong and ridged using hexagonal infil. Support is necessary to keep the mounting cavity open, unless you stop the print and fill the cavity with sand or something else before the cavity top surface is printed. If you print the 14 mm version and later decide a shorter lip would be desirable, it is easy to sand the lip down by a mm or two.