Before starting a new small circular dust boot I decided to make sure that I could make pocket style tool stations work. And after a bit of experimentation I think I can.
The trick that seems to have worked was printing a ring out of TPU to catch the tool and hold it in a consistent place, but with some give.
The final recipe that worked for me was to print the above in a 90A hardness TPU with 1 wall, and gyroid infill.
What didn’t work was trying to make a design with “fingers” in the photo below. I spent a bunch of time designing the “I-Beam” style interlocking between the TPU and the petg, but I couldn’t get the stiffness of the fingers just right to hold it in place firmly, but still get bent out of the way when the tool was being returned.
This design could be improved by mounting it below the spoilboard to increase pocket density. But I think it works well enough that it is time to make a boot that can use it.
