So I bought this analog multimeter at a pawn shop for $5 and it was missing the battery cover. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to 3D print something practical instead of Star Trek ships.
I took CAD in college and I was pretty good at it. So I fired up AutoCAD 2019 and started messing around with it. Admittedly, it was much different than what I was use to but I have always been a quick study.
After taking some careful measurements with my micrometer and ruler and scribbling down the notes of how I intended on tackling this I dug my heels in. It took me a few days just because AutoCAD 2019 is so much different than the CAD programs I have used. They say ‘measure twice, cut once’ and that adage couldn’t be closer to the truth when it comes to designing something and then waiting a couple hours for it to print. While you can adjust minuscule miscalculations with a file and some sandpaper — a major one means you will have to alter the design and print again.
My 3D printer is a Creality Ender 3 with a BLTouch automatic leveling sensor. After 30 minutes of tenuous worrying that I had gotten it all wrong I had a battery cover
Chris Bond is the owner of this website, the father of three children, the husband of a wonderful woman, and the tinkerer of gadgets. He enjoys gaming, flying drones, building Gundam models, collecting robots and solving problems. He is currently a Senior Web Developer at NDIC.