Alternative Pivot Design

grabcad

Here is an alternative design for the pivot arrangement in my Champs Clamp V3.03. It uses the same printed in place approach but the pin has been replaced with 3 printed spheres. When printed for shear force will be normal the the print deposition direction, however once the hinge is actuated be sphere would be free to rotate around any of its 3 axis. The possibility of all three spheres having any 2 of their axis aligned normal to the print directly at any given moment would them become highly unlikely. It is assumed that the spheres break free any connection to the clamp parts and are free to rotate. I will print this block up, actuate the hinge several times and then section the specimen to investigate if this is the case.