Vaultek LifePod Insert

[Thumper369]

Howdy, if you have a Vaultek Lifepod case here is a template for a foam insert that you can use to start building a custom insert.

It’s sized up just a bit to account for the melting. I used some foam I found on Amazon that is .5 in thick. It works great. Post with settings

[eflyguy]

This is great to share but I do this kind of stuff all the time so I’ll share my “technique”… I take a pic of “the thing” with a ruler alongside for scale. I adjust the image in Inkscape so the ruler is correct, then quickly draw the outline to create the cut path. Delete everything but the path, and save to upload into the print driver. Takes literally a minute and (again) I do it all the time for even stupid stuff - foam inserts for my car cup holders or storage compartments, tool storage, kitchen drawer compartments… there are dozens of things where I’ve said “hey it would be great to have a bit of foam down there” and instead of using scissors (although I often still do) I just cut it on the 'forge.

I have a whole stack of foam, from sheets I’ve picked up to useful pieces left over from items shipped to me. Custom settings saved for all - I number the material and the setting for simplicity.

[Thumper369]

Love this. If the only value found in my post is prompting you to type that up then my job here is done!

Love the ruler idea that would have been way easier than what I did to cut out the rest of the shapes for the insert.

Thank you for the ideas!

[eflyguy]

I have rulers all over the place for this reason… See a thing, take a pic with one, make the other thing. My 'forge is a tool just like a pair of scissors or that handy screwdriver you keep out…

[rvogt]

Thanks to both of you. Great idea. I have struggled making foam inserts for some baby spoons I do. This would’ve made it a lot easier!

[evansd2]

The only thing I’ll add to @eflyguy’s write up is that there is significant distortion to most cell phone cameras. You can mitigate this by taking the picture from a few feet away and/or using the optical zoom lens of your phone.

I tend to lay my item on the floor and stand directly above it. This does two things: reduces the distortion and also helps me ensure that the camera is as parallel to the piece as possible.

Then I:

1. load my picture into Inkscape,
2. set the rotation point of the photo to be right at the bottom corner of the ruler
3. draw a 12 inch rectangle(or however long your ruler is)
4. Snap the rectangle to the rotation point of my photo
5. With the rectangle selected hit shift G to convert it to guides
6. Use the rotation handles on the image to rotate the ruler to be parallel with the bottom guide from the rectangle
7. drag the image scaling handle while holding shift, which will scale it from the rotation point(the corner of the ruler)
8. Drag the scaling handle until the ruler butts up against the guide created by the rectangle from the previous step.

Perfect (enough) scaling with no guesswork.

Optionally then I also create a new layer on top of the image and lock the image layer so that I can work on top of it without accidentally selecting and moving the image underneath.

[eflyguy]

Agree with Chris. Personally for foam inserts, I use 2x and hold it a foot or so above the object, typically on my closed laptop lid. I also use the “inset” and “simplify” functions in Inkscape to clean up the path if it’s complex and I’ve used “trace bitmap”. I’ve used it for things like 3d-printed earrings and such.