MEP EP#319: Work to Automate the Work

MEP EP#319: Work to Automate the Work

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MacroFab Updates

• KiCad 6 support!


• PI DAY Contest
  
  
  • March 14th (3/14)
  
  
  • Stop by the MacroFab website to take a pop quiz for a chance to win some free pizza
  
  
  
  

Testing Ratchet Wrenches

• Wrench qualifications
  
  
  • Ratcheting Wrench
  
  
  • Non-Reversible
  
  
  • Zero-degree offset
  
  
  • ½” hex
  
  
  • 12 or 6 point
  
  
  
  


• Have collected 20 ratchet wrenches so far


• Why? Broke one and wanted to try out all the different styles and brands before buying a set


• What are we testing?
  
  
  • Thickness of the wrench
  
  
  • How does it feel?
  
  
  • Max torque to either failure or cam out
  
  
  • Any other tests?
    
    
    • Thickness to torque rating
    
    
    • How much mechanism play
    
    
    • Measure ratchet dimension
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• How?
  
  
  • Quick tests show I need more than 100ftlbs but less than 250ftlbs of bolt torque
  
  
  • Load cells to measure the clamping force between 2 plates
  
  
  • Need a “screw” drive to handle the force
  
  
  • A normal ½” bolt is usually 5/16-18” which handles ~30ftlbs before pulling the threads
  
  
  • Two Paths
    
    
    • Take a ¾” bolt and machine the head into a hex
    
    
    • Take a ½” allen socket with a ¾” square drive and attach that to a bolt
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Automate the Boring Stuff

• Spending 20 hours to save 1 - the engineers life


• Making API calls with the requests library


• Requests: HTTP for Humans


• Openpyxl for creating excel


• Commenting code


• Automate the Boring Stuff