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Diy Equinox One Piece Straight Shaft


Alluminati

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Thanks Steveg. ?

Alright I have the test cuff on there. It already feels better, especially with the strap on there, though I will probably be taking the strap off as I don't really need/use them if the cuff fits reasonably well. Either way I guess.

There is a bit of rain here and there, but I think I am going to go try it out out in the water.

Test cuff.jpg

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I managed to get out for a good couple of hours before the thunder chased me away.

My field test went very well. I kept my expectations realistic, the result was a pleasant experience. 

I didn't think I would notice much of a difference in the water, but I did. I attribute this to three things.

-The tilted handle is just more comfortable for me, it allows my arm to operate in a more natural "curled" position that relieves pain in the muscles along the inside of my arm. The same day I got my Equinox I gave my elbow a good whack on a door and I've been feeling it ever since with the new machine. Today was the first day in a while where I didn't have pain almost every swing. Take that with a grain of salt because I had 2 Advil liqui-gels before I headed out.

-The arm cuff fits better. This is pretty straightforward, the stock Equinox cuff is very wide and has almost straight sides. This new cuff has a smaller diameter (100mm same as XP Deus) and has a round profile that lets the strap integrate into the cuff better, feeling more continuous.

-The shaft is just plain stiffer. Before I had a piece of tape in the factory shaft that removed the infamous slop, (That tape held up all this time BTW) however I never realized how much flex the stock 3 piece shaft has even with the slop fixed. This Kevlar shaft just feels more responsive and snappier in the water. The detector has a nice tactile feel to it now, swinging it on land feels great.

I am going to make another iteration or two of the arm cuff then I will print one off in Nylon. I will also make a little plug I guess to put on the top of the tube.
This has been a very worthy project, I am glad Mineslab went with the standard 7/8" bicycle handle bar diameter shaft, it makes for a machine that we can customize easier compared to the Explorer series style of shaft. 

Field test.jpg

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That is a really, really nice end result!  I've been following this thread from the beginning waiting for the end result.  I had never thought of kevlar as a shaft material, but it seems like a great, high quality choice for top performance.  Thanks for posting all the pics and the step by step process.  

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I am getting ready to print another prototype tonight, I'm just waiting for the model to finish slicing then I will see what happens lol.

Feet have been added, holes for the clamping mechanism have been spread out 5mm each to accommodate the feet. Revised some fillets. (Curves on the edges, some added, some removed)

It will sit a little lower then the factory shaft, perhaps adding stability while sitting. The trade off being the clamp mechanism hangs down between the feet a bit more then the factory shaft, this could get center bound on rocky terrain. Not a huge concern IMO, I like to keep the feet functional, yet compact. The feet are 10mm (about ~3/8") narrower in stance compared to the factory shaft, as I didn't want it wider then the cuff itself.
In reality they should function the same as the factory feet, a little narrower, a little lower but same general stance.

Hopefully this will be done before I head to work tomorrow morning. There are lots of things I can do to speed up the print, but this is also trial run for the Nylon print, speed is secondary to quality so I will just let it do it's thing.

2nd Cuff.png

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Well done!

I need a 3D printer... :laugh:

The problem is - I am more the technical person than designer :ph34r:

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Me too, without a ruler I can't do anything. I'm not so much designing as I am building and tearing down with virtual lego.

Here is the revised cuff that finished yesterday, with the feet added. I've already made one revision to make the top of the feet a little thicker, as seen as the drawing, however I don't think I will do a print just for that reason yet. I will give it some thought this week, most likely I will be printing a Nylon version this weekend. I can't forget the little plug too for the end of the shaft, I could probably squeeze that in in the evenings after work.

 

 

With feet.jpg

3rd.png

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I have my final version printing. I made some slight cosmetic changes and switched the material to polyethylene as the Nylon was looking a little rough for my taste. I didn't want to commit to the all night print after seeing the first quart inch. It's temperamental stuff. 

 Polyethylene will be plenty strong enough and is easier to get a decent looking print from, fingers crossed.

I used the red prototype with the feet added today during a water hunt. I am satisfied that the feet aren't overly big, I didn't notice them catching on my pouch any more than others. I should just get a different pouch, but still, I like as much clearance between my hip and the machine as possible.

 

3rd cuff.png

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