Medical ID Bracelets (articulated, modular bands!)

myminifactory

This design is an entry into the Vectary Design Competition sponsored by MakeX Jewelry and 3D printing are a funny mix.  What could you customise and print, quickly and conveniently, that you'd actually want to wear?  A great answer to that question came from a friend whose son loses his medical ID bracelets far too often.  And so, here we have an quickly-printable, robust wristband!  Of course, while the idea here is medcal IDs, there's plenty of other applications, too.   So, design goals!  Aesthetics are a must for something that someone wears all day.  Must look good. The links need to be able to handle flexing movements all day long. Links need to be separate, for easy sizing without having to deal with the issues that come with scaling prints. The connections between links had to be strong, but without being *too* tough to assemble. A clasp mechanism needed to be optional - the links could be snapped together instead if desired.   Of course, for use as a medical ID bracelet, you'll want to customise text.  The "normal link" and "large link" files are ready to take text, using your favourite 3D package.  The samples in the photos were customised in Vectary, using the Oswald font from the Google Fonts plugin.  The links are intentionally designed with the flat top face as the highest point, so that any text placed on top can be emphasized by changing filament at that point, if you're comfortable with doing so.   Enjoy!  Please post makes, I'd love to see what people make with this!   This model was created with VECTARY - the free, online 3D modeling tool Credits: model by Clockspring