CUBIERTA DE ACORDEON

The linear slides I got off ebay didn't come with covers to stop swarf getting to the
rails and ballscrews. So I decided to cover them with a bellows.

I did a little bit of research. There are some stock sized commercial bellows
available; these are usually rubberised fabric, welded at the seams. I couldn't find
any that fit, nor could I afford them. So I googled for DIY bellows folding. Again, I
drew a blank. Then I checked the USPTO, and I hit a gold.

Patent number 6,054,194, invented by Nathan R. Kane, is not just a description of

bellows, but it is a complete thesis on optimal fold patterns for bellows. The optimal
patterns will maximise the bellows extension length, while minimising the side wall
distortion. By using just the fold pattern, a bellows can be created that holds its
shape without external support.

Polypropylene sheet was selected to make the bellows. Polypropylene is a good

"hinge" material, meaning it can be fold back and forward repeatedly with fatigue. I
tried a couple different thicknesses, 1.2mm, 1mm, .7mm, and finally settled on
0.39mm - not that this is the best size, its just the thinnest stuff I could find in large
sheets. I think thinner sheet would be better, but I couldn't find any. I found it at
my local craft store.
Update!

Just a note on polypropylene. Polypropylene has grain! I'm sure my terminology is

incorrect, but polypropylene, like paper or timber, has a preferred strong direction and a
weak direction. If you try to tear polypropylene sheet in its weak direction, it will continue to
tear in the direction it is forced. In the other direction, 90 to the weak direction, the
polypropylene will not tear, in fact it will turn 90 to the weak direction. This is because of
the polymer chains (so I've read).

Why is this a problem? If you try to fold the polypropylene with the folds running parallel to
the weak direction, the polypropylene will crack. It is important to get the direction correct
so the folds are perpendicular to the weak direction.

So how do you find the weak direction? On the corner of a sheet of polypropylene, make a
small cut, 5mm long and about 5mm from the edge. Grab this tab and pull it. The pictures
below show the results.

Against the grain With the grain

The photo on the left shows trying to tear against the grain - you can't do it. The photo on
the right shows tearing with the grain. The polypropylene tears easily. It is imporant that
the bellows fold lines are placed perpendicular to this weak direction.
Building the Bellows
1) Print the fold pattern

The first step is to produce a fold pattern for the bellows. For my first bellows, I
used MS-Visio to lay out the lines. This was a bit tedious, so I wrote a simple
program.

The program will only create a fold pattern for a simple bellows with either regular
or alternating folds. The "generate g-code" option is not functional. I want to be
able to generate g-code to guide a knife to score the bellows material, however all
the bellows I need to create are larger than my mill, so this feature was postponed.

The parameters are...

 Different configurations can be selected. Configurations are automatically saved when
Config
the program exits, or a new configuration is selected.

New Creates a new configuration.

Shape Only a "Half Cover" is supported (2 sides and a top)

Inversion Only 2 inversion are supported

Mounting
The total number of extra folds to add for mounting the ends of the bellows
Folds

If true, adjacent folds will alternate up and down, rather than being in the same
Alternate
direction. This makes the compressed bellows smaller, but the top of the bellows has
Folds
folds that may collect swarf.

Inside Width The inside width that the bellows is going to cover.

Inside
The inside height that the bellows is going to cover.
Heigth

Protected
The length of the area the bellows is going to cover.
Length

Fold Width The width of one fold.

The program will print out the fold pattern. It will tile the output over multiple
pages. The diagonal line is used for lining up the pages when they are stuck
together.

The image below shows a snippet of the fold pattern. Note the solid and dotted
lines. A solid line is a peak fold, and a dotted line is a valley fold (or vice-versa, it
doesn't matter).
The picture shows the fold pattern with a sheet of clear/translucent polypropylene
on top.
The program and source can be downloaded here . The code isn't
terribly stable. It was only used to generate a couple of patterns. The displayed
pattern will only be updated when you tab between fields. There is no zoom -
make the window bigger to see more of the pattern.

2) Trim

The polypropylene sheet is cut to size. It is then stuck to the fold pattern using
tape.

3) Score the lines

The next step is to encourage the polypropylene sheet to fold at the correct
place. If these were being produced commercially, they could be vacuum formed,
or pressed. Since this is overkill for a couple of one-offs, I tried a couple of manual
techniques.

First I tried scoring with a hobby knife. This was fine, but in a few spots the cuts
went a bit deep and made the fold weak. Next, I tried using my soldering iron to
melt a grove. This wasn't terribly successful as shown by the video below. I did
learn though that the scoring and folding needs to be very accurate, or the bellows
will not fold properly. Finally, I settled on a scriber - a pen with a sharp carbide tip
used for scratching metal, to scratch the polypropylene.

Use a metal ruler and carefully trace over the peak folds. Take care and do this
accurately or the bellows will not fold properly. Don't score the diagonal guide line
running the length of page.

The picture below shows the scored peak folds. The lighting in the picture makes
them appear black.

When scoring fold corners (line intersections), make sure you overshoot the
intersection by 2 or 3mm. This will help with the folding later.
When the top is finished, remove the polypropylene sheet, flip it over and stick it
back down on the fold pattern. You can use the scored peak folds to line up with
the printed peak lines as the bellows patterns are symetrical. Then score the valley
fold lines.

The photo below shows a scored polypropylene sheet.

4) Crease the Folds

Next, each of the scored lines needs to be creased. Here, we are not trying to fold
the bellows, just get the folds going in the right direction. Just bend each fold and
squeeze them with your fingers, like in the photo below.
It is important to get all the small angle folds. The folds must also be done in the
right direction. If a scored line is on the top of the sheet, the two sides of the fold
should fold down, like this...

The creased bellows will look like this...

5) Folding

The final folding is the tricky bit. Although the initial creasing does help the bellows
want to go in the right direction, it still takes a lot of finger muscle and patience to
fold the bellows. It is important that the corners are sharp, otherwise they will be a
source of ballooning.

I found it easiest to fold the bellows if I worked on one side, folded 3 or 4 folds,
clamp it, then do the other side.
The quick release clamps worked well holding a few folds at a time.

Finally, all folded.

The bellows is clamped between two chunks of timber to encourage it to stay in
place.

The completed (blurry) bellows.

6) Mounting

Obviously this will depend on what you plan to use the bellows for. I used some
3mm steel plate to mount on each end of the bellows. The bellows are held to the
plates by M4 screws and small lengths of 3x10mm bar, tapped for the M4
screws. These were then mounted to my X axis slide.
3mm steel plate probably wasn't the best choice for mounting the bellows, as I
have already hit tall hold down bolts with it. In the future, I may tray thick plastic,
and self adhesive velcro strips.

When good bellows go bad!

The video below shows what happens when a bellows isn't folded correctly. The
bellows on the right was bubbling out when it was closing. This snagged when
moving in the Y direction, leaving what you see now...