{"id":3453,"date":"2012-03-31T13:42:24","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T21:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/?p=556"},"modified":"2012-03-31T13:42:24","modified_gmt":"2012-03-31T21:42:24","slug":"an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/","title":{"rendered":"an OpenSCAD script for 3d printing potentiometer knobs"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>I learned some OpenSCAD!<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-558\" title=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad_-1024x666.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"666\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-7\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-7'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-7-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-7\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad_-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-1-1\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-1-1'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-1-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-1-1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-2-1\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-2-1'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-2-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-2-1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-3-1\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-3-1'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-3-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-3-1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-4\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-4'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-4-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-4\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-5\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-5'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-5-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-5\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/openscad-potknob_parametric-scad-6\/' title='OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-6'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/OpenSCAD-potknob_parametric.scad-6-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"OpenSCAD - potknob_parametric.scad-6\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/meshlab-v1-3-0-1\/' title='MeshLab v1.3.0-1'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/MeshLab-v1.3.0-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"MeshLab v1.3.0-1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/meshlab-v1-3-0-1-1\/' title='MeshLab v1.3.0-1-1'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/MeshLab-v1.3.0-1-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"MeshLab v1.3.0-1-1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/meshlab-v1-3-0-2\/' title='MeshLab v1.3.0-2'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/MeshLab-v1.3.0-2-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"MeshLab v1.3.0-2\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/photo-2\/' title='photo'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/photo1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/31\/an-openscad-script-for-3d-printing-potentiometer-knobs\/photo\/' title='photo'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/photo-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This script has a *lot* of variables you can tweak. \u00a0I don&#8217;t even feel like I&#8217;ve put everything into this script that I want to, either.<\/p>\n<p>an incomplete list of parameters you can adjust:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>knob radius<\/li>\n<li>knob height<\/li>\n<li>shaft hole radius<\/li>\n<li>shaft hole height<\/li>\n<li>set screw inclusion, radius, and location<\/li>\n<li>flatness of shaft hole<\/li>\n<li>rounding on top (thanks very much to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iheartrobotics.com\/2011\/02\/openscad-tip-round-2-of-3.html\">http:\/\/iheartrobotics.com<\/a>\u00a0for the articles on edge rounding!)<\/li>\n<li>indentations<\/li>\n<li>directional indicators<\/li>\n<li>plus a <em>lot<\/em>\u00a0more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>About<\/h3>\n<p>One of the most stressful things about making multiple copies of an electronics project is\u00a0reliably locating interface controls that you like. Maybe you can locate them one time, but can you locate them a year from now? two years from now? And how much do they cost?<\/p>\n<p>For example, I found some slide potentiometer knobs at Mouser.com for about $0.50 apiece two years ago, and they ran out of them&#8230; forever. I tried sourcing them elsewhere, and the best I could find was a seller that had them for $4.00 apiece (!!wtf!!). So that really sucks.<\/p>\n<p>One strategy is to buy in bulk. But, buy too few and you may run out and pay twice for shipping. \u00a0Buy too many and you \u00a0end up with unused knobs sitting around not making your money back. That also sucks.<\/p>\n<p>Round potentiometer knobs are somewhat readily available. But still, they can be from $0.80 to $5.00 each, and if you can&#8217;t find enough for your project, that can be problematic. Mostly I&#8217;m tired of paying multiple dollars for things that should basically cost $0.25 apiece. Aesthetics are important too, so having options beyond what&#8217;s out there is nice.<\/p>\n<p>A different strategy is to\u00a0<em>print<\/em>\u00a0them yourself as you need them. \u00a0No shipping, no running out, and you get to call the shots on how it looks and how it fits. Now, I like this way.\u00a0Plus, for <a href=\"http:\/\/beatseqr.com\/\">my project<\/a>, making the knobs just goes along with the rest of the stuff I&#8217;ve done myself.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_572\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 310px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=572\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-572\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-572\" title=\"parametric potentiometer knobs\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/IMG_2402-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"knobs\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Well&#8230; some are better than others. Limited success is better than no success at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Download<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/potknob_parametric.scad\" >Click here to download the parametric potentiometer knob generator OpenSCAD script<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>License<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\" rel=\"license\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-width: 0;\" src=\"http:\/\/i.creativecommons.org\/l\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/88x31.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nparametric potentiometer knob generator by <a href=\"http:\/\/sc-fa.com\/\" rel=\"cc:attributionURL\">steve cooley<\/a> is licensed under a <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License<\/a>.<br \/>\nBased on a work at <a href=\"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\" rel=\"dct:source\">sc-fa.com<\/a>.<br \/>\nPermissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at <a href=\"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/contact\" rel=\"cc:morePermissions\">https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/contact<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I learned some OpenSCAD! This script has a *lot* of variables you can tweak. &nbsp;I don&rsquo;t even feel like I&rsquo;ve put everything into this script that I want to, either. an incomplete list of parameters you can adjust: knob radius knob height shaft hole radius shaft hole height set screw inclusion, radius, and location flatness [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","iawp_total_views":147,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,2,33,34,35,36,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d","category-general","category-knob","category-openscad","category-parametric","category-potentiometer","category-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sc-fa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}