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Adopt this vacuum plan to make everything easy. In Openlab the goal is: Everything Just Works.

Many vacuum brands, hoses, and attachments all compatible and convenient.  The nominal size is 32mm.  The vacuum has male end. Attachments have female ends. The 3D printable holder racks all the accessories with 3/4in hoops.

This is based on a conical 32mm hose fitting shape. I tried in 2024 to express the design choices I made after measuring all the different vacuum parts in the lab, because it’s massively helpful.  But I struggled to communicate the whole idea.  Today I try again, including only the core outcome.

32mm and 45mm cones are my standard.  Now, everything works with zero hassle.  Three different vacuums work with all my connectors and all my cordless tools.

🙋‍♂️[How to adopt]
1) Download and 3D print my 32mm holder
2) gather up the attachments, check fit.
3) set aside those that don’t fit
4) gather up your cordless tools, check fit
5) rack all the 32mm parts with hoop type hook
5.1) this hook mounts on: pegboard, 2020, 3030, or DIN rail.

[Download]
https://grabcad.com/library/vacrack-1
Designs are open source - easily modify.

The Improved Power-box design now includes a lit switch and a fuse!
👉 Access 65 watts from USB
👉 ZERO standby draw, switched off 
👉 LED indicators on socket, usb port, & switch
👉 Get 400 watts from the Anderson plug

[Video v1]
https://youtu.be/lcV9Wvxn6qk

[Description]
It has just 2 parts to 3D print and standard off-the-shelf components. 
✅Fully modular so you can change the design.  ✅Metal casing to last forever.  
✅Ridgid batteries = lifetime warranty, low voltage shutoff,  SOC indicators.

[Download]
CAD models are on my GrabCAD and Amazon parts links are included there.   Details are worked out so you can just build - no fine tuning. This is what Open Source Hardware looks like.

[Shop]
These are STANDARD OpenLab parts recommended for many projects!
https://amzn.to/4ADBj1I - Car socket only $6.99 on amazon with LED power indicator.
https://amzn.to/4rEM0gD - Automotive Fuses kit $13.99 on amazon, 2 thru 40A
https://amzn.to/4rC2dTP - Toggle Switch, Round, 20A DC, by Nilight (12 pack)
https://amzn.to/4z66XUj - USB Adapter 65W (PD + QC) by Anker, $16 on amazon

KEEPING ORGANIZED: Here’s how materials continually arrive at the lab without making clutter.

We discard as much as possible, such as labels and packaging.  And do it right away.

We indicate on the parts some simple identification & date.  And separately, we put together a PDF that contains all the data that shipped with the parts.  

The PDF gets a simple name with the date, and the text inside gains OCR (optical character recognition.  Later, these PDFs are searchable by the text inside.  So the filename is less important.

When the material gets used, I may need some further data about its origins and specs.  That’s when I go back to the PC (or google drive on mobile) and search my keyword.  That returns all the data I need.

If the material becomes part of a design, the design has full details and material specs are attached, just like a scientific work.  If the material proves highly useful, it gains a level of standardization and we add documentation and rigor to the sourcing effort.

PS:  Did you ever work with Kevlar before? What did you make?

HOW STRONG are these TUBES when used as BEAMS? 🏗️

Three materials are ubiquitous in DIY projects and entirely valid beam materials.  
👉 Steel EMT Conduit
👉 Iron Pipe
👉 Steel Fence Rails

🏋️Our designs of load-bearing equipment (tables, work-surfaces, robot gantry, etc can integrate the best choice if we know the material behavior. In my last post I shared metrics for Aluminum extrusions and wood: rectangular stock.  This post covers round tubes & pipes. 

You know these materials:  the 3/4 structural pipe is used in pipe clamps for woodwork. The EMT 1/2 and 3/4 joins to common steel electrical boxes.

📊 Use the charts to see how long of a beam can carry a 10kg point load without deflecting (deflection less than 2mm).  See the cost to decide what’s most sensible when you’re using the tube as a beam.

🤔For each material, you’ve seen me integrate them already.  The 1/2 inch EMT appears with the Handybox parts in hanging rack designs .  The 1 inch EMT has a printable joint already.  The fence rail was featured in my closet design video.

🌍AS for Europe:  Surely these are less common specs but you must also have steel tubes available. What are the most economical and available steel tubes in Europe?

To build structures we need to know the material’s strength. HOW STRONG ARE THESE BEAMS? It may surprise you.

➡️ aluminum 2020
➡️ aluminum 3030
➡️ steel strut channel
➡️ pine lumber

These are the key beams for OpenLab, selected to form frames from shelving to robots.  But an Engineer can’t tell you the strength in plain English, we can only tell you 
🤓Modulus of Elasticity (E),
🤓Area Moment of Inertia (I), and
📝 ask you to specify the bending axis and
📝 the supporting criteria.  You’re lost.  What can we do?

The Engineers in Open Source ecosystems must help a bit more.  We can rebuild your question so it’s answerable. In this evaluation I specified the bending axis and defined strength in a simple way:  With simple support and 10kg load, the beam doesn’t bend. I defined “does not bend” as 2mm deflection, the threshold where a person could likely detect the bending by feel.

Now we can compare.  You’ll see the chart answering this:  Report the strength in terms of a length.  How long can the material span before bending? The photos express the meaning of a simple support, and single point loading.

Three materials and 6 answers, based on 6 setups. 👉 small 20mm extrusion can span 80 cm.  
👉 big 30mm extrusion can span 120cm.  
👉 steel is stronger yet, and
👉 pine is strongest.  

❓Does this help you understand the materials’ strengths?❓

🥵The heat rose to an untenable level.  I had to halt everything and take an action. This home is not suitable for our new climate.

🍋‍🟩LimeWash is reported to produce NET COOLING in the best case and 90% heat rejection in a typical case.  There simply aren’t enough trees by my home to give a partial shade that most of the local homes have.

🪣My formula is listed in photos.  Hydrated Lime is the main ingredient.  Wet the roof before you begin, so you can mix the coating thick and it spreads more evenly.  Adding a THICK nap roller made the coats go down 2x faster.

🕐It’s noon in Bryan Texas and I think the HVAC is already responding with a lower workload.  

20% of the roof is coated.  tomorrow to continue. No, it won’t wash off in the rain.  Chem reaction cures the lime with airborne CO2.  Has anyone taken extreme measures like I’m doing?

How does it look when a mechanical engineer is researching? These images are snipped from my research spreadsheets for HYDRAULICS. 
👇
Research = asking questions & finding answers.
👆
(I took snippets of my excel spreadsheet but it’s not intended that you understand all the details.)

🙂 The interesting questions I’m answering:

✅ What type of hydraulics systems produce pressures between 100 to 10,000 psi? 

✅ What systems are more accessible than industrial hydraulics?

✅ what type of fittings and lines can support a system having 2,000 psi?

✅ what pressures are delivered by the pumps of these systems? (power steering, brake systems)

✅ What force can I produce with a power steering pump, connected to a small cylinder?

✅ what pressures live in the familiar brake lines in my car?

[My blue/white icon means Free & Open content]

Dear friends, 🙏as most of you know, I'm an engineer more than I'm a youtuber.  So, I post designs on GrabCAD and Makerworld, I build repositories on Github, and I've formed web pages from the github repos.  It all connects to the youtube content. ▶️

I posted a new icon for my youtube page, and I use the same icon on my other profiles.  This is just to make it easier to recognize where I am authoring content for you.  Whenever you see this icon there should be:
1) free and open access
2) engineering grade designs & literature
3) connection to my other posts.

For example, I'm using Youtube to explain a design for a printable hinge, and I use grabCAD to post the raw CAD files for download.  Then I use Github to write up documentation such as the required tools and supplies to build systems with the joint and other printable parts.

An open source Lathe is a big undertaking, but it might inspire more participants and collaborating designers. Modulathe V2 is a free and open design by Max Kachurovskiy with youtube videos to support builders.  I studied Max’s design and I’m publishing some elements that may support an Open Lathe V3 design.🤓

In 2025 I bought 2 chucks: 80mm and 160mm, and explored the spindles that typically pair with these.  This month I bought a ready spindle - can you guess where the design comes from?  This spindle has a cast aluminum housing and bearing OD of 52mm.  It’s smaller than most lathes but fairly strong.  I posted the drawing among the photos.

To me, a lathe head is made of torque, a motor to send it, a  chuck to spend it, and a spindle to hold things steady.  The other lathe half takes control of a tool and keeps it rigid.  Right now i’m examining the head design. 

[Design Questions]🤔
What’s the best way to couple the motor power to the shaft?  What’s the simplest way to gain rigidity and alignment for the parts?  What modules can be designed independently, so users can implement their own parts?  You’ll find my DC motor is a costly large item while other users might want to use a smaller stepper motor or a brushless one. How to design a unit that allows different configurations?

If you’d like to participate along with me, I’ve posted 3 key CAD Models:
- Spindle design 🧵
- Chuck, 160mm 🗜️
- Chuck, 80mm  🗜️🗜️

Each of these are robust, cost-effective and high volume solutions that I’ll implement in one way or another.  If different designers work with these same parts, we can co-develop solutions.

My issue with the o-ring containers is spilling of the rings between dividers. 👉The root cause for this issue: sometimes o-rings cling to the lid.  After this, the top cover has a gap that invites units to jump out of their spots, and if I get in a hurry, a lid won’t shut and the container dumps. 😳

The 🌟oRingPin 🌟modular pins resolve the issue. They fit flush with the lid, leaving no chance of spot-hopping parts. The next solution gives us holding of o-rings as a subset.  I don’t want to carry the whole box all the time.  Now we can grab a few sizes and bring them somewhere without spilling.  💼

Its NOW posted on grabCAD! (July 1). These free and open CAD files are part of OpenLab Project found at ✅qr.net/openlabproject ✅and resides on GitHub. Happy o-ringing!

Download Parts ► https://grabcad.com/library/oringpin-1