Sleeve Lock Regulator Replacement with PHOTOS

[irox]

Hi,

Sorry I was offline due to power being cut to prevent wild fires...

I've some what hastily tried to make the clip available via

https://www.shapeways.com/product/2D...onId=129957846


Let me know how you find the experience, all feedback welcome. It would be great to get people using the clip so we can find out if there are any improvements needed to increase longevity.

Thanks,
Ian.

[bwb3]

The order went through smoothly.
Gene

[irox]

Great, glad to hear it went well. Thanks very much for testing. Somebody else placed an order as well, hopefully that went well. I don't get to see who placed orders, just the order and number of parts.

Gene, I'll mail your original back with a couple of spares this week. Thanks for enabling the whole thing!

Thanks!
Ian.

[alia176]

Nice work Ian. I may not need one but at least I learned about the issue and the resolution here.

[irox]

For those who might want to 3D print there own (the print a temporary one while shapeways prints a nylon one), you can get the file from here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4234854

Sorry I didn't get this out sooner....

Also, any feedback from folks who've already installed one?
I'm happy to iterate over the design a bit and improve it where needed.

Thanks!
Ian.

[blackbolt94red]

Placed an order today, fingers crossed, won't ship for a while but who's going anywhere? Thank you for sharing this and going the extra mile to make this possible.
Upside?: Finally get to replace the absolutely trashed speakers. With old age comes hearing loss, was oblivious to the deteriorated condition of the speakers.
Thanks again,
Bruce
UPDATE :6/16/20
parts arrived from Shapeways. Beautifully made. Fit perfectly. Super simple to install.
Bruce

[Conn SVX]

I printed 100 of them. I have a STL. File on Thingivers.com. Can’t print? I can send them out for $ of postage. Runs about 6 $ and I seeD u 4 or 5 at a time.

[**Ewie**]

I'm looking at getting some of these from Shapeways.. works out about $10 USD ea plus shipping to New Zealand... about $50 NZD (ouch!) Have they stood the test of time?
I got some done locally but they all failed...

[irox]

Hi Ewie,

I designed the replacement part and I'm also very interested in any stories about longevity/reliability.

So far there has been no reports of them breaking. The big advantage with the Shapeways version is that it is nylon (same as the factory version). The PLA plastic ones (very common for 3D printers, and what I use when printing test versions) don't hold up in the long term. ABS might be a better option than PLA, but I don't have that much experience with it (it stinks when you print it, so I stay away from it), but nylon has better properties for an application like this than either PLA or ABS. The Shapeways quality is really good, much better than most hobbyists (including myself) are able to print at home.

I would really appreciate any information on failed parts, would you be able to take some pictures of the failed part(s) and share them with me? It would really help to have some data on how they are failing, and how future versions could be made to last longer.

Really sorry about the shipping costs, I wish Shapeways would just open a branch in each country and eliminate international shipping costs.

I do have a couple of nylon ones from shapeways I could try to mail to you. But geez a quick check online shows crazy shipping prices to New Zealand (like $65 is the cheapest!). The USPS has a VHS box (yes, for a video tape) rate for $39.60 (delivery time: 6 - 10 business days), and USPS also has First-Class Package International which might be $20 (delivery time: eventually, maybe - I guess this might be on boat with many stops). But there is also a pandemic on and I don't really want to stand in line at the post office.... maybe there is a drop off or non-standing-in-line-with-other-people way I can look into.

Cheers,
Ian.

[irox]

Sorry just re-read your post "$10USD is $50 NZ" (!!!!).

None of the shipping options I found are as cheap as shapeways.
Sorry the exchange rate suck.

[Blacky]

Originally Posted by irox

sorry just re-read your post "$10usd is $50 nz" (!!!!).

None of the shipping options i found are as cheap as shapeways.
Sorry the exchange rate suck.

$1 nzd = $.7188 usd

[irox]

Thanks Blacky, I guess I shouldn't post when tired.

Then ignore my second post.

How many folks with SVX live in New Zealand? Might be worth taking care of everybody in one order (then split shipping).

Otherwise I could try to mail some via a cheap route (maybe after the pandemic).

Happy new year,
Ian.

[irox]

Hi all,

so Shapeways (the manufacturer of the sleeve clip) filed for bankruptcy a couple of days ago, and I don't know if they are going to be around in the future. While I am crossing my fingers they stay in business, I am also looking for an alternative manufacturer.

Note, there is somebody selling these on eBay for $20 each (twice the cost of the Shapeways ones), but they are using FDM printers (which is cheaper, a few cents per part, and much weaker) and in ABS plastic. The ones I sold via Shapeways use SLS printers (much stronger) and nylon (same material as the factory part). Ultimately I am bit miffed to see people selling an inferior product using my design, I think in future I will limit commercial use cases for designs I release. I also strongly advise against buy the FDM/ABS ones from eBay.

Anyway, I'll update this thread when I find a new manufacturing source. It is likely going to cost more, especially if I have to more involved (i.e. printing, packaging, shipping, etc). I have looked a getting an SLS printer, but these are minimum $20K-$30k for an entry level one.

If you are in a bind and desperately need a Sleeve Lock, I have a few spares and can help you out in the short term.

One final thing, I have had zero complaints or reports of failures about the Shapeways ones. Please let me know (with pics if possible) if any of those have failed.

Best regards.

[Noriyasu]

Hello, Can I ask something about this ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13412076438...Bk9SR7SGy6SRZA

Is black one on eBAY made by ABS?

Where can I buy the white nylon ones? My SVX hasn't had this issue yet but I'm interested in buying some as a spare.

[irox]

Hi Noriyasu,

Those are the eBay ones I was complaining about. At some point in the past their ad said they made them out of ABS, although it no longer says what material they are using. Worse than using ABS, they use FDM/FFF printers, these prints will not be so durable and prone to separating at the layer boundaries.

For comparison, this is the nylon SLS one, with very little layer lines on it:
https://images2.sw-cdn.net/product/p...557797_1_0.jpg

This is (was?) the link to order the nylon SLS manufactured ones. The page now takes ages to load and also shapeways.com has filed for bankruptcy, so I have no idea if they will take an order, or ship the order.:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/2D...e-clip-v02-011


I do have some leads on new manufacturers, I am currently working on getting some quotes and test samples. I'll update this thread when I have more info.

Best regards.