Our shop has a few Black & Decker drills. They’re not contractor grade tools by any means. I was using one the other day for a project, and as I was walking back to the tool crib to put stuff away I was idly clicking the drive direction switch back and forth, as one does with a drill. I heard a snapping noise and the button now moved freely, no longer engaging the electrical switch responsible for direction reversal. Bummer. I figured I’d pop it open and see if I could repair it.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
The issue was a small plastic pin that engaged a switch with a matching cutout. Not a very complex mechanism. I drew the part up in Sketchup:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I skipped the nicely radiused leading edge, but this part is otherwise dimensionally similar to the factory piece. My initial attempts to use an entirely 3d-printed part failed, as the ~3mm pin was just not large enough to get a sturdy printed feature. I decided to drill it out and use a #2 screw to replace the pin. This one should outlast the rest of the drill.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
At this point you might be wondering why I didn’t do that with the original part to begin with, and that’s valid. My only answer is, “Because I didn’t think of it.”
Clik here to view.
It’s a simple result, but it’s the sort of thing I love about 3D printing.
-Derek
