@Headshop I’d be interested to see a picture where the drag chain loops.
yep was planning on sharing a few photos. Im going to do as you suggest and mark the hose lines on the straight sections and continuing that spacing along the curves and placing the marks on the mounts around the curves
Photos will have to wait until the am. The prints didn’t finish up until after 6:30pm. I ended up plumbing the overhead dust collection to the Altmill instead
So I got it all installed. The hoses are a little smoother since both of them are closer to the centerline of the chain. I ended up installing it by running the Y axis all the way forward and lifted the top of the chain coming off the y rail parallel with the table and installed the hoses on the first four brackets. Then I ran the machine all the way back and the rest of the chain was flat on the table and installed the hoses on the rest of the brackets. No measuring needed. I’m still getting a bit of bunching up of hoses at the very back when the machine is fully forward but its not going to be in the way of anything and its not nearly as bad as it was in the last go around. BTW, the hole in the middle works perfectly! This will save my clips since I dont have to go at them at an angle to get them to release. I have acces to them straight on. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-jVx8-f_cEHzR9-0_zSLUM8YUeskndDO/view?usp=sharing
Id say we have gone as far as we can with this endeavor. I wanted to thank everyone for all their help and ideas and especially Chucky_Ott for all his design work in Fusion 360. Version 12 checks all the boxes for me. It keeps both hoses away from the work area and the clips are easy to release.
Sorry to all those that tried to watch the video. the link should not be open to all
@Headshop Mind if I somewhat hijack the OP’s request with an adjacent request? Can you make a modified version for the Longmill Mk2? Attached are pics of the mods I’m requesting. Thanks in advance if yes.
For those wondering, Yes I’m adding a water cooled spindle to my Longmill. @Headshop Also here is the dimension of the latch which has the rectangular top’s dimensions in mm. The altmill v12 version you created slid on nicely so the with is the same.
@Djosefchuk Sure, but it will have to wait until the weekend. Also, it’s better if the tubes are side by side at the drag chain’s pivot point instead of on top of each other. The tubes won’t bunch up when the drag chain loops if they are at the pivot.
The OP needed them on top of each other to save space for a rapid change tool.
That all would be awesome! And your proposed change make complete sense. Having the tubes side by side will make it easier to get to the chain cap clip too. tkns!
Hey sorry was on a 24 hour detox from everything electronic! But looks like you found the right person as Chucky_ott was the person that generously worked with me and made all the changes I needed. He will get you where you need to be!
It might or might not be t be easier to start with the original design that I posted a week and a half ago? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T5x1ebkKNTMdZOVzqsPFnY6oDI5lsdMW/view
And Chucky_ott is right in that a side by side orientation along the chord line is far better than stacked one on top of another. As you tend to get bunching in the radius where the chain bends as the tubes move at different rates inside the radius.
@Djosefchuk On which side of your drag chain is the hinge for the clips? You want them to be on the opposite side of the tubes so that the tube holder can flip up.
@Chucky_ott @Headshop First, thank you both! Second, Headshop why are you reading this; you are supposed to be detoxing from all thing electronics. Seriously, do it! Concerning the side, as was designed the tubes are on the opposite side of the clips so were are good there. But here is a radical thought, why not put the tube holder on the top - T style (not on the side)? Yes the radius is tighter but may not be too bad. See attached mock up. Thoughts?
and photo of tubes on inside of chain radius.
@Djosefchuk With the tubes on top like that, they will most certainly bump out like I show in the diagram
As you show, it looks fine. But when the drag chain actually moves, the straight runs of tubing will compress by the difference in circumference between the drag chain center line and the tubing centerline. It’s not insignificant.
@Djosefchuk It might work on top if the holes are loose enough that the tubes can slide freely. I can make a model like that as well and you’re welcome to try it out.
Not sure how that’s any different to them being on the side other than the radius is a bit tighter so the bump it’s might be a bit greater.
If not too much trouble that would be awesome. And then we’ll know for sure about bump out impacts.
Maybe you should start your own thread ?
Anyways, here are two versions. The second one with the tube on the top has the flared tube opening. I don’t know how easily a tube will slide in there but it can be modified easily (I think) if required.
josefchuk_v1.stl (1.1 MB)
Tube_Holder_JosefChuk_V2.stl (1.1 MB)













