3D-Printed Diaphragm Tensioning Jig

[jarvis]

Hey everyone,

since my last thread about tensioning jigs went a little bit downhill, I'm opening up a new one to share some results. Fristly, thanks everyone that got me on the right track with their hints and ideas in the last thread!

I had a little time on my hands this week and decided to design and print some parts and try to make a jig like the one detailed in the Williamson article. And I think it went pretty well! The parts are a little on the thicker side, since I wanted them to be durable and not to bend in any way. It works but looks a bit bulky. I also printed a little pedestal to put the capsule on. It's a little to tall and looks silly but it was okay to handle. I might change that one out in the future though.

Anyhow, attached are some results of that little project. Don't mind the wrinkly diaphragm with the fingerprint in the last picture, I was a little too fast trying the whole thing out for the first time and the are the results of handling errors, not the jig's fault - I promise! I attached the STL-files for the jig and the pedestal if anyone's interested in printing it at home. Additional parts you need are: 4 M3x12 and 4 M3x30 screws, 8 M3 nuts to set into the second ring and 4 knurled screws to set the tension at the bottom.

Best
Jannis

 

[kingkorg]

 

[Sidebstudio]

Thank you very much for this!
Yesterday I want to test your pedestral (why not having one more!) and works great.




Maybe I'll try your jig, too.
But I'm bit worried putting it into chamber (when sputtering gets a little warm and it's not good deforming it.

Thanks again Jannis!

 

[granger.frederic]

Hi, as the melting point of your PET film is way lower than the filament used for printing, you can probably safely put the pedestal in the chamber
Best
Fred

 

[jarvis]

Thank you very much for this!
Yesterday I want to test your pedestral (why not having one more!) and works great.

That's great to hear, I'm glad it works for you too!

Since my jig is a little bigger than yours, I made the pedestal a little taller but I'd gladly make a version for you that is a little lower, if that would be more convenient for your purposes.

Not sure about the temperature in your sputtering machine but you could try printing it in ABS or something with a higher melting point if your printer is capable of doing that.

Best
Jannis

 

[Sidebstudio]

Hi, as the melting point of your PET film is way lower than the filament used for printing, you can probably safely put the pedestal in the chamber
Best
Fred

Pla start to soften at 60°C, Meltin point at 160/170°C.
Mylar melting point is at 270°.

 

[granger.frederic]

Melting point of PET starts usually at 240°c , an ABS filament is printing at 255°c and its melting point is around 245°c.
However, i thought that, during sputtering process, the temperature should never exceed 100°c on the film surface to avoid film alterations...
Gas contaminations are perhaps more problematic , depending on the filament used...

 

[Tim Campbell]

Yes Frederic you really don't want plastic in a sputtering chamber because of gas. I have only used non magnetic metals.

 

[granger.frederic]

Ok, thanks Tim...
Even if we print with PET filament (not easy) , there's too much additives inside, like glycol... gas release is inevitable and will ruin the coating...

 

[samic]

very nice achievement, can you describe how you go about adjusting the tension?

 

[jarvis]

very nice achievement, can you describe how you go about adjusting the tension?

Thanks, it's very simple and straight forward. You clamp the foil in between the 2 discs and screw them together and then put the the 4 long screws through the bottom piece. The foil stretches over the rim of the protruding part of the bottom piece and you adjust the tension by screwing in the knurled washers that you put on the end of the screws.

Hope that helps in any way.

Best
Jannis