Greetings to all. I offer you a review of an attachment for an engraver, namely a flexible shaft. The engraver itself was purchased thanks to one of the reviews on Muska, but in a cheaper package. I don’t use the engraver often, but those cases when it is needed cause a little discomfort due to its size. To solve this problem there is a so-called flexible shaft. More details under the cut.
So, a flexible shaft is a structure that transmits torque between axes that significantly change their orientation relative to each other. In our case, this is an engraver and often some kind of cutter or bur. By analogy, you can imagine a dentist's chair with a drilling unit. Or a plumbing cable for cleaning pipes. But personally, I have an association with the speedometer drive of a car: 
The flexible shaft is a cable that is located inside the protective shell and transmits rotation from, in our case, the engraver to the cutter, at a certain distance.
Let's get back to the purchase:
Delivery is almost free, the price of the track number is 19 cents, so I didn’t save:
The order was placed on July 19 and on August 11 I received my parcel in my hands.
One of the most common packaging options is a paper bag reinforced with polyethylene with bubbles: 
There is nothing to break inside, even if they play football with the parcel: 
The hero of our review: 
I picked it up and when I tilted it, a cable suddenly fell out from inside: 
The diameter of the cable is 3 mm, the ends are molded into a square 2.5x2.5 mm. I just don’t understand why on both sides? It is very reminiscent of the cable from the car spare part picture. 
Along the edges protective casing There are springs that prevent excessive bending. 
On one side there is a glass with a thread for screwing onto the engraver and there are no bearings. However, their function is performed by the bearings of the engraver itself: 
The handle fits quite comfortably in the hand, the body is plastic. There are two sealed bearings inside. I haven't been able to figure it out yet - the bearing model is 688zz. You will need to think about the issue of lubrication.
In my case, the load is assumed to be axial, that is, work with burs and cutters. Since the radial load and Collet clamp- not entirely compatible in my opinion - occasionally you will have to drill holes and even less often mill in depth.
The collet clamp was included, diameter 3 mm: 
Hole for fixing the shaft when installing the tool and chamfer on the chuck for clamping with a key. Key and wrench not included. The key was taken from the engraver. The function of the crank is performed by the chrome-plated shaft from the CD-ROM: 
Let's try to fix the first cutter we come across: 
We have a Defort DDG-140 engraver in stock, there were doubts that the thread would not fit, I had no experience, but I decided to order it anyway. It came up. It turns without problems: 
Let's try to put it together. Clamp square cable into a round collet. There will definitely be beats! 
Screw the glass onto the engraver and you're done. 
Let's try to include:
At first speed the engraver hums and does not spin!
I increase the speed and it starts to rotate. 
2nd speed - I try to load it - engraver - the speed drops. At 3rd speed it is already acceptable.
Minor vibration is present only in the nose of the engraver and this is very bad.
The solution to the problem is to pull the cable out of the shaft by 1-1.5 cm and the cylindrical part will fall into the engraver chuck. The vibrations are gone. The connection of the cartridge in the handle with the cable is not broken, there is probably a large reserve in depth. You can still sharpen it sandpaper and lick off some of the edges. In general, these are all half measures...
No axial play was noticed in the handle, probably a tight fit in the bearings. Radial play is also not observed. 
Comparison photo of engraver, flexible shaft and thick marker: 
There is no heating in the house yet, the cat didn’t want a selfie with a hose and sits under the blanket all day long
Possible revision and service:
Lubricate bearings and shaft. I don’t plan to buy anything specific, I only have Lithol 24: 
A few drops on the shaft - a few reciprocating movements, ready.
The shaft began to rotate more easily and noticeably. However, I'm not sure what lithol is good decision. The speeds are high, but liquid lubricant will not work. Suggest options:
After lubrication at speed 1, the engraver started working.
Current measurements were not made, although they were planned. The device became damp and began to lie mercilessly.
All that remains is to make a tripod to hang the engraver and the tool will be functionally complete.
Conclusions:
The kit is budget, collet chuck. The possibility of disassembly is not provided and the main drawback is the square molding of the cable ends on both sides. By the way, the flexible shaft arrived without lubrication. At least there were no traces of oil on my hands.
There is no vibration, beating or play.
The load on the flexible shaft cartridge is transferred well after lubrication. At high speed The shaft shell is warm, the handle does not heat up.
It’s definitely more convenient to work with a flexible shaft than with an engraver in your hands. Access to small cavities. Better control cutting tool due to its closer location to the hand.
Application in modeling, in working with small details that's it. On this moment I am assembling a model of an airplane, but there the need to use an engraver is reduced to almost zero.
The solution to the main problem is vibration - we do not insert the shaft into the handle completely, so the working part of the collet has not a square, but a round part of the cable, but this is inconvenient, you have to remember every time when assembling the flexible shaft. I’ll write to the store about this and if the problem is not fixed, I don’t recommend using it without modifying the cable itself.
With regular use, do not forget to lubricate at least the cable.
ps I did not indicate “products for professional use”, since the difference in design with professional shafts is obvious.
Regarding the price. A flexible shaft was purchased at a price of 6.94 + 0.19 track number. 5 USD was used from the wallet in the store, which was formed there as compensation for the previous order. I won’t tell you about coupons and points; everyone knows how to save money when purchasing.
I probably won’t be wrong in saying that most home craftsmen dream of having a universal drill at their disposal. How many opportunities it opens up for the owner! Engraving, abrasive processing of parts of complex configurations, independent production of stamps and molds, drilling and countersinking of holes located in places difficult to reach for a conventional drill, jewelry work - this is not a complete list of operations that this mechanism allows you to perform. Therefore, it is not surprising that a drill, due to its large size, is not easy to purchase in a store.
However, you can make this mechanism yourself. I offer comparatively completed work by me simple design drills based on an electric drill.
First of all, you will need a flexible drive. I recommend using a speedometer cable for this purpose - it will not be difficult to purchase at any car and motorcycle spare parts store. I used a flexible speedometer shaft for an IZH motorcycle, type GV 119A-01, for which all the dimensions shown in the figure were calculated. This part fully met the operational requirements, and required almost no modifications - it was only necessary to cut an M16 thread on the surface of one of the shell tips (Fig. 1). Speedometer cables and other types can be used with equal success.
Appearance drill is shown in Figure 2. The electric drill is fixed in a vice using the included device: a bracket or a special clamp (its dimensions are given for a drill type IE-1032; in other cases, appropriate changes will be required). The working part of the machine is a short rigid shaft with a collet clamp located in the handle and driven by a cable. The latter holds the working tool.
The structure of the main elements of the drill is clear from Figure 3. Torque is transmitted through the tip 9, clamped in the chuck. The end of the flexible shaft 10 protruding from the shell has a square cross-section. It is fixed in the tip as follows: inserted into a hole equal to the diameter of the shaft (in our case 3.2 mm), to a depth of 15 - 20 mm and carefully caulked (the tip is riveted or crimped to a length of 10 - 15 mm).
1 - shaft tip; 2.4 - shell tips; 3 - flexible shell; 5 - union nut; 6 - flexible shaft
Rice. 2. Drill assembly:
1 - electric drill; 2 - clamp; 3 - additional bracket; 4 flexible shaft; 5 - handle; 6 - collet clamp; 7 - working tool; 8 - vice, 9 - M10 screw for tightening the clamp and securing the bracket (with a nut). (Size “B” is selected according to the width of the vise jaws)
1 - collet nut; 2 - replaceable collet; 3 - spacers; 4 - rigid shaft; 5 - handle; 6 - union nut; 7 - adapter sleeve; 8 - M10 nut; 9 - tip; 10 - flexible shaft; 11 - additional bracket; 12 - bearings; 13 - handle cover. (* - dimensions used for bearings)
The adapter sleeve performs several functions: it plays the role of a sliding bearing, serves to fasten the shaft shell, and also presses the flexible attachment to an additional bracket that ensures alignment of the shaft and the axis of the drill. You can buy a metal cutter for a drill, but it is advisable to make the sleeve from bronze or brass.
The working body consists of a rigid shaft with a collet clamp, a handle with a cover, two spacer bushings and two rolling bearings. The handle and lid can be made of any metal - bronze, steel, duralumin. Inside the handle, a matching M16 thread is cut from one edge to secure the tip of the flexible shaft shell. The position of the bearings is fixed by spacers.
The rigid shaft is machined from steel and, if possible, hardened. The groove for connecting to the tip of the flexible shaft and the thread for replaceable collets at the opposite end are made before hardening.
Replacement collets are made for tools with shanks of three diameters: 2.4 and 6 mm. The outer dimensions of the collets are the same.
The bearings are used from an old gear motor. They have an outer diameter of 16 mm, an inner diameter of 4 mm and a rim thickness of 5 mm. However, instead of them, you can use any other small-sized rolling or even sliding bearings, turning them from brass or bronze.
A very popular drill tool is capable of more than what is indicated in its operating instructions. The main task of this tool is to drill holes in various existing materials. The improvement of this tool has led to the fact that today a flexible shaft is produced for the drill. This is a special attachment, thanks to which torque is transmitted to a tool that is not coaxial for the electric motor.
The flexible drive consists of components such as an armored cable and a soft housing. One side of such a device is equipped with a tip for fixing in the tool chuck, and the second has a similar (or collet) chuck for installing the corresponding work products: drills, cutters and others. Such equipment is used in such exceptional cases when it is impossible or inconvenient to work with a stationary drill.
On an ongoing basis, a flexible shaft is used in medicine, in particular in dentistry, since almost all drills function through such a device. In construction, such a device is used extremely rarely, but if there is a need to drill a hole or polish a surface in a hard-to-reach place, then only a flexible shaft on a drill will help solve the problem.
The flexible shaft can be used not only to connect to a drill, but also to a screwdriver or mini-drill. Thanks to this shaft, the working attachment is removed from the body of the main tool, which allows different kinds delicate work that requires little effort. Using such equipment, you can drill holes from 1 mm, as well as strip, grind, screw in and out screws and other fasteners.
It is important to know! The advantage of using a flexible shaft is that it reduces the load on the hand, since when performing work, the impact of vibration from the tool and its weight is almost completely eliminated.
Design Features
The flexible drill shaft is capable of bending in any direction, which is its main advantage. This shaft capability was achieved through the use of the following parts:
- Steel cable acting as a rotating core.
- A wire in the form of a spiral located outside the device.
The outside of the shaft is covered with a special shell, which prevents lubricant leakage. This lubricant helps reduce friction and also protects the core from mechanical stress (abrasion), damage and moisture.
The design of the flexible shaft involves the use of bearings to which the cable is attached. It is thanks to the bearings that the rotation of the cable is ensured, which is attached to the shank on one side and to the chuck on the other. A high-quality drill attachment costs about 2,000 rubles. There are cheaper models, but it all depends on the manufacturer and the quality of the product.
How to make it yourself
To equip an electric drill with a flexible shaft design, you do not have to purchase it, especially if you do not plan to use the device for long-term work. You can make the device yourself from available materials, saving not only money, but also time spent searching.
To make a flexible shaft for a drill or screwdriver, you should use any braided wire in your arsenal. If you don't have one, you can purchase it. At the same time, the length of such wire can be chosen absolutely any, depending on the technological tasks.
It is important to know! It is impossible to wind a spiral layer (armor) manually onto a regular wire, so you should use a ready-made structure.
As an alternative, you can use a speedometer cable from a car or a throttle or clutch cable from a motorcycle to make a flexible shaft. Once you have the finished braided wire in stock, you will need to connect one end of it to the shank. As such, you can use the shank from a damaged drill. To connect the steel cable to the shank you will need a steel nut and welding machine. The second end of the steel cable must be connected to any existing drill chuck. It is important to understand that when performing work using such a device, you should hold your hand not on the cartridge, but on the braid or outer layer of the wire.
A homemade shaft design will not only save money, but also get a product of the required length. Standard products, produced by production, have a length of no more than 50 cm. Sometimes this is not enough, so you have to resort to self-production drill equipment.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the drill, due to its improvement, is becoming an increasingly universal type of tool. The flexible shaft is a very convenient and effective attachment for a drill, with which you can solve any difficult tasks.
In mechanisms, it becomes necessary to make a unit rotate that changes its position relative to the motor or is located in a different plane. To transmit torque to a tool out of alignment with the engine under heavy loads on a stationary established mechanisms a cardan is used. A flexible shaft is installed in tools and light equipment. It bends easily when rotated and consists of a cable or wire with armor and a soft body.
Flexible shafts
In everyday life, the convenience of a flexible shaft is used when working with drills and cutters in places where it is impossible or difficult to reach a regular drill. In dentistry, a flexible shaft is installed on all drills. Ant lovers make labyrinths for them, creating subtle and complex passages in gypsum boards. Craftsmen decorate homes by carving and polishing small elements of wood and stone carvings using sets of tools attached to flexible shaft.
In addition to the drill, you can use a screwdriver, grinder and engraver. One side of the flexible shaft is secured in a collet clamp. At the second end there is a device for fixing the tool. A flexible shaft, remote from the massive body, allows you to make delicate work requiring little effort. You can manually drill millimeter holes, clean parts in hard to reach places, tighten screws where a conventional power tool cannot reach.
During operation, the flexible shaft for the engraver reduces the load on the hand, and vibration is completely absent. The engine is located away from the working area, and the noise from its operation is less.
Flexible shaft device
The multi-filament alloy steel cable is housed in a flexible casing. Wire shafts have several layers of braiding with alternating clockwise and counterclockwise directions - armor. On one side of the device there is a shank, such as on a tool. The second ends with a cartridge. Under the shell there is a lubricant that reduces friction and prevents corrosion and moisture ingress. For the body, hoses are chosen from plastic and nylon, and special ones are created - from conical bushings and spirally twisted tapes.
The cable is secured in the housing through bearings or bushings at the ends, allowing it to rotate freely. Torque is transmitted to the shank and through the wire to the attached tool. The immobility of the outer shell of the flexible shaft is ensured by its fastening to the housing parts.
The handle on the shaft, installed on the side of the free end, makes work convenient. In expensive models, there is a button on it that prevents it from turning when replacing a tool. You can choose any flexible shaft in the store. The price for high-quality attachments starts from 2,000 rubles.
Drill attachment
The flexible shaft for the drill is made of wire to transmit rotation with several layers of braid. It has an increased safety margin, since it is designed for high speeds up to 1500 rpm. The length of the nozzles offered in stores ranges from 950-1250 mm. Other sizes are possible, but are less common or made to order.
Before starting work, unscrew the mounting sleeve on the drill and insert the end of the shaft into the hole for the tool. The locking ring is clamped, as when installing a drill, directly into the tool chuck. Now you need to fix the drill so that it does not move due to the vibration of the engine and does not fall.
In a store that sells a flexible shaft for a drill, you can also purchase a portable stand for hanging the tool. This simple device can be easily assembled with your own hands. When working on permanent place A clamp on a table or wall is enough. The flexible shaft cannot be used with high speed or impact drills. A tool with adjustable speed and reverse is best suited for performing work at a distance from the body.
Self-production of a flexible shaft
Those who like to make devices with their own hands can buy a flexible shaft - its braided wire core - in the store. It is impossible to screw on armor yourself without special equipment. Required length the seller will cut it from a skein. All that remains is to seal the ends, install the outer casing and fill with lubricant. A shank from a broken drill is suitable for attaching to a drill.
The engraver is compact and has high speed. It is used in polishing, grinding, drilling and milling. Designed for work with little effort, high precision and short duration of 30-40 minutes. Mainly used by jewelers. The flexible shaft for the engraver expands the number of possible operations and allows you to apply drawings and inscriptions on glass, metal, and plastic.
When working with a flexible shaft, the load on the hand is minimal. Open work zone. The comfortable handle allows you to do delicate work by precisely moving your hand with the tool. Professionals use an engraver with a foot pedal for speed control and a locking brake button on the handle.
Shafts for lawn mowers
The grass trimmer has flexible and rigid shafts. The choice is made based on the intensity of the load on the scythe and the hardness of the grass that you will cut. The solid shaft is suitable for heavy loads in the form of thin branches of bushes, hard stems and possible hummocks, uneven soil, and debris. They are designed for professional use during the work shift every day. Such tools have increased strength and heavy weight.
The flexible shaft of the lawn mower is installed on lightweight models of trimmers designed for work on lawns and gardens. Lines, drums and lightweight knives are used as cutting tools. When overload occurs, the flexible shaft twists. It most often breaks off at the top, near the engine. You should select spare parts in the direction of the upper braid, since they can only transmit rotation in one direction.
There is no outer housing on the shaft. It is replaced by a cavity in the handle of the scythe, which goes from the engine in the shoulder part to the mounting of the knives. At the beginning of the season and in case of replacing the shaft, the cavity in which it is located should be thoroughly rinsed. Then fill it with fresh grease, the brand of which is indicated in the product data sheet. You can add once every 3 months.
Speedometer flexible shaft
Light cables transmit torque from the wheel axle to the speedometer magnetic coil. When driving, you need to know the speed. When the flexible shaft fails, the arrow on the device lies in the extreme position or jumps sharply if the car hits an obstacle. You can repair the speedometer yourself.
The flexible shaft is selected according to the make of the car. You can check compliance by attachment points and length. It should fit easily into the gearbox and speedometer sockets. If installed incorrectly, the speed readings will be incorrect. If the shaft is long or has a small bend radius under the torpedo, a characteristic knock will appear. The service life of the speedometer drive will be short.
The force transmitted by the flexible shaft to the reel is small. Therefore, they mainly use a multi-strand cable and a tube body. It is impossible to make it yourself without special equipment and parts. You can buy a ready-made one in the store, or replace the shaft at a car dealership.
Hello craft lovers. Surely many of us once had the idea of making a speedometer cable out of a car. It looks quite reliable, so it should withstand quite heavy loads. One author decided to implement a similar idea. The solution turned out to be very simple and practical. can be connected to a drill. As an experiment, the author installed a grinder disc on the shaft, but this did not The best decision, since cutting metal requires high speeds, which the drill cannot produce. But if you install a drill chuck on the shaft, you can drill, mill, and so on.
If the homemade product interests you, I suggest you familiarize yourself with it in more detail.
Materials and tools used
List of materials:
- bolt with nuts and washers;
- bearing;
- two PVC pipes of different diameters;
- car speedometer cable.
List of tools:
- gas-burner;
- solder and flux;
- drill with drills;
- vice;
- spanners;
- hacksaw.
Homemade manufacturing process:
Step one. Bearing installation
First we need to install the bearings in the PVC pipe that will be part of the handle. We select the bearing of the required diameter and press it inside the tube. To do this, the end of the pipe must be heated gas burner, well, then a vice will come to the rescue.
Step two. Installation of the working shaft
A bolt is used as a working shaft. A hole needs to be drilled in its head; a cable will be installed here. The author solders the cable, installing it in the hole in the bolt. Well, then we install the working shaft into a housing made of a tube with a bearing, and fix it with a nut.
Step three. Finishing the handle and testing it
As a continuation of the handle, the author used another piece of tube of smaller diameter. To install the tube on the cable, you need to cut it lengthwise. Then this tube is pressed into another, larger diameter. At the other end, a nut from the speedometer cable is installed. To avoid cutting the tube, you can remove the end from the cable. Since we won't need it. Then we simply put the tube on the cable in advance. We fix the tubes together using self-tapping screws.
That's all, after this the device is ready, connect the flexible shaft to the drill. As an experiment, the author, using washers and nuts, secured a disc from a grinder to a flexible shaft. In the future it is planned to install a drill chuck here.
That's all, the homemade product is ready, I hope you liked the idea. Good luck and creative inspiration if you decide to repeat it. Don't forget to share your ideas and crafts with us.
