MEW 236 – X3 Mill Gearbox

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

In MEW 236, top of page 7, there is indication that to accompany David Thomas's article on his X3 Mill belt drive conversion downloadable pdf files with fully rotatable 3D diagrams are available on this website.

Well, wherever they are, they are too well hidden for me to find!

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Chris

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Just boosting this back to the top of the pile!

Chris

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Thanks for the reminder Chris, the article is HERE

Neil

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Thanks Neil, now found it thanks to your link, but tried downloading it and it just downloads a blank sheet!

Why is nothing ever easy?!!

Chris

Edited By ChrisH on 05/12/2015 18:57:13

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The interactive PDFs from the likes of Alibre don't always work on a Mac or ipad as they use Flash. Works OK for me.

I did have a chuckle to myself when I read that Neil said "no fancy software required"  I think you need an App to get them to work on a mac.

Edited By JasonB on 05/12/2015 20:23:18

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Most PC users have Acroibat reader, as versions are available for Mac and Iphone, why don't folk use those?

Adobe Acrobat Reader for Macintosh?

Adobe Acrobat App?

Neil

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

I have a MAC and I have Adobe Reader on my Mac. Most pdf's open automatically in Adobe Reader, no problems, every time, but the file 'Model 1' had to be downloaded and saved in my pdf documents file and then reopened in Adobe reader for me to see more than a heading. Then it wanted the 3D enabling which I did, but for some reason Adobe Reader now keeps crashing at that point . So I am giving up for tonight! Will watch some nice engineering vids instead!

Chris

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Neil, I think the problem is the 3D ones use Flash so you need something on the Mac to enable that not just Adobe

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've put a mention in the article.

It seems that the root of the controversy is that Apple feel Flash is a 'closed system'

Neil

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

actually Apple are correct – Flash was a if not the major vector for virus attacks on the PC – even Adobe are now moving towards HTML5 as both Apple + Google move against Flash

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Worth noting that the 2nd model does not show the modified head cover before you all say the belt pullies clash with the casting, maybe a revised model could be uploaded Neil?

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Well Apple is the just about the least "Open" system available Neil.

However, my son has advised me to remove 'Flash' player from my PC because it is potentially a serious security risk. From what I understand these risks can (to some extent) be addressed by the Flash 'Author' but it does require them to take precautions. The problems arise if the author is careless, which potentially exposes anyone using their content to abuse.

I'm not an expert but quickly found a number of sites that detail the various issues, including this one:

**LINK**

My lad works for a large IT Consultancy in a technical position and usually seems to know what he is talking about. His view is that some Flash content may be a problem and so it's best to just avoid using it. I've taken his advice and removed Flash from my PC systems. This has been inconvenient on several occasions but is one less thing to worry about.

Regards,

IanT

[David Thomas 8Participant @davidthomas8]

In response to JasonB I've sent Neil a pdf of the X3 top end with the modified cover, hope Neil can get this up soon.

The automatic upgrade from Microsoft this morning was for the Flash plug-in for Internet Explorer 11. IE 11 running under Windows 10 now looks to open the 3D pdf files correctly with all the features working. The alternative is still to use the Adobe Reader and when I sent in the 3D files I wasn't expecting anyone to try opening them with anything else, sorry for the assumptions. I don't have ready access to any Apple equipment to test them there.

When making measurements on the models the correct scaling to set is "One model Unit = 1m" and the software will then show dimensions in mm. If you play with the "Model Tree" you can select/deselect any of the parts or assemblies in the model and make measurements. It would be possible (though tedious) to create a set of drawings from the pdfs but really they are really there to help with visualisation and commenting.

As to the risks from Flash I cannot find any suggestion on the www the files exported from Geomagic Design carry any viruses, I certainly haven't found any. Flash is now really no more vulnerable than anything else running under Windows but this is not necessarily a reassuring statement! The operating system and all software need to be thoroughly up to date and the firewall enabled to maximise your chances of staying out of trouble – I haven't had a virus problem for a long time (famous last words?).

Regards to all,

David T

[Author]

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