CTS Potentiometer knob insert/piece/micro-knob

This is a part designed to fit snugly on 24 spline (fine splined) potentiometer (CTS, commonly used in electric guitars, unsure of what other, if any brands use this format.) There are any number of replacement and customized knobs but basic searching did not turn up many designed for these "American style" knobs. It seems like the shaft is 6mm the same as everywhere from measuring them however pots from the rest of the world seem to have settled on fewer splines, and many of the indicator knobs already uploaded have a smooth mounting hole or are designed for coarse splines (18 splines.) For more information on the differences check out:

https://blog.philadelphialuthiertools.com/2013/05/16/choosing-the-correct-knob-for-your-guitar-or-bass/

or search for "18 vs 24 spline pots" on your favorite search engine. Trying to put one style on the wrong potentiometer is a frustrating experience so hopefully this part helps with that.

The intention is you could use it in a boolean operation, modify existing designs so this could be glued in place (yuck), or remove the "outer shell" geometry and hand weld the vertices to another model if you're really dedicated. You could also just print it out and have the worlds most adorable mini-knob. I'm not here to judge you :-)

Part was designed in blender, and I've included the .blend file if you want to point and laugh or make a similar for 18 spline, or some other format. scaling the inner "shell" of the part to like .98 or 1.02 will adjust the fit, you can print just this part to test on your printer before incorporating it into the knob design youreally want.

I've also included a gcode for anycubic predator, printed with Amazon's "nova maker" filament at .5mm height if you happen to have a matching rig (sliced in Cura.) The resulting print is a very snug interference fit, the kind you'd expect from a decent branded knob. I was very pleasantly surprised how well the teeth on the part grip the splines on the knob.

If incorporating into an existing model, the part will slide onto the knurled section of the shaft, "bottom out" and leave ~1mm of space between it and the top of the threads on a CTS potentiometer. It might be a good idea to model in a 45 degree angle using this space to help placing the knob on the shaft. I'll upload an example file of how I wind up using this or if it's good enough link as a remix.

Print Settings

Printer:

Anycubic Predator

Rafts:

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

Infill:

solid

Filament:

Nova Maker PLA+

black

Notes:

How I Designed This ===================

Designed using blender. Download the .blend file to export to other formats, resize if necessary or modify for your own uses. The section that slides onto the potentiometer and the cap are two separate pieces, however I've never noticed any issues with Cura, Simplify3d or Chitu slicers using this method to build things.

Category: Electronics