I often see a lot of anti-AI chatter on social media, and I think that’s for the most part…totally valid…there is a lot of garbage out there, so much garbage. When I find a good use for ChatGPT where I can truly advance the task in a way that is data driven…I do it. Every time. I no longer waste as much time spinning my wheels. Knowing how and when to use a tool is sometimes the toughest part but you when you find the proper use case, it is grand.
Case in point.
I am currently working on designing a 3D printed tool block to store a set of Imperial hex wrenches. I could not find something that I really liked on any of the major STL sites, so I broke the first rule of print club, say it with me, “Never create your own ST…alk about…print club, yeah.”
So I started framing out my OWN block with inserts for each wrench. I figured this was a good learning experience and worth the trial and error. I plan to share the trials and the errors here, and how I used ChatGPT to save time when and where it made sense in the design process.
Prototype 1 and Prototype 2
I printed a few sample blocks and quickly realized I had repeated a few rookie, design mistakes. For example, my first wrench is a 1/4″ hex. My first test print took 20 minutes. It was quick and dirty. I wanted to test two things:
- Test the fit of the wrench in a void created using an SVG as a template (Coming Soon: Using an SVG to Create New Primitives)
but it was done I realized I had once again made a rookie mistake by forgetting…
A 5mm block does not fit in a 5mm hole.
. I wanted the tolerances to be snug, but not too tight. I didn’t want someone ripping my multi-board off the wall trying to grab a wrench. I started experimenting w/ tolerances and then took a moment to ask ChatGPT.
This is a beautiful engagement.
https://chatgpt.com/share/685a2c10-7ca8-800c-b941-cf8d5c7303e4
Prototype 3
Tired, will write more later…but the gist of it is…I scrapped my own custom block size for duh…a 2×1 Gridfinity bin. I started w/ a solid bin, and then duh…remembered lids. A snap in lid!
I am going to use a snap in lid as my base assembly, and then using SVG’s…create the holes for the tools. I will probably end up adding a reinforcing block underneath as well.
