Gregory's Serveri have an idea. but first i need a really good image of the keyway.
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28 comments
 it turned out pretty well, i printed it with a 0.3mm extruder on my Ender 3. it also fit the lock! the 3d-printed key fits the lock! you can see how the angle of the cuts causes the pins to rotate and orient properly. the moment of truth: and it works! the 3d-printed key is really not quite strong enough for everyday use, but i'm quite pleased since this is the first lock that i've reverse engineered.  @tubetime Even with tumbler disassembly, I'm so surprised you got it to work. I also wonder if it's cheaper to have a locksmith make a key from that or try to use it for a mold. @tubetime I guess you could get a metal key cut from it at the local hardware. @tubetime your Medeco Biaxial key reverse engineering feels like something @deviantollam would be interested in. He might also be able to suggest where you could get a suitable metal blank to suit your pinning (or to suit a repinned version). (3D printed sintered metal probably also isn’t strong enough for frequent use, but a metal key cast from the negative of your reverse engineered key model might be sufficient for light use.) @ewenmcneill @deviantollam i found his video on the pinning tray, so that was helpful. @deviantollam @ewenmcneill thanks for the kind words. right now it is just some random notes and a crappy solidworks file. i am not convinced i have the depths right. i also have another lock (with no key) of very similar make, so i'll probably take that one apart and compare the pinning @tubetime I wonder if there's a standard metal blank that matches that? You could perhaps have a metal copy made of this plastic key at good fidelity? @tubetime Wow. This is genius. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing. trying to get a metal blank might be hard. the IBM documentation claims it is a restricted keyway made by Medeco, custom for their computers.  @tubetime Sounds like a job for Lock Picking Lawyer or someone with a mill and a bench grinder. @tubetime Pretty impressive reverse engineering there. Impressive! First idea would be James from Clough42 on YouTube. He seems really skilled with 3D CAE and delicate CNC machining.  @tubetime you’ve already got a working model for an FDM printer, so I’m wondering if this would also work in a SLS metal printer? No idea what the cost of the print would be though. Or you could have a go at making a high temperature silicone mould of the key and casting it in pewter. another day, another lock. I designed a little pinning tray to make it easier to compare pins.  @tubetime neat! Could you get an outfit to print you a copy in metal with DMLS? I have no idea how much such a thing would cost  @tubetime Nice work! Now that you have the shape, it could be possible to cast it in bronze :) |
here's a 3D model of a part that should slide right in.