Nails and Screws Reimagined with 3D Printing

grabcad

19-May: Additional renderings: 1) Used to connect 2 pieces of soft material (wood) 2) Used as an anchor in hard material (concrete) where the small nail would not penetrate 3) Used as a wall hanger with integrated conduit for passing wire behind the wall (i.e., hanging speakers or a TV) -------------------- How can 3D printing be used to improve upon the common nail, a "pointed rod" connector that has been around for thousands of years? The proposed solution is a nail with an internal channel that goes down the shaft before exiting to the side. Once the nail is in place, a smaller nail is inserted into the channel to provide additional longitudinal and rotational anchoring. With screws, the anchoring would be primarily for rotation, but fine-pitched screws and loose fitting screws would also benefit from longitudinal anchoring. Using a connector with a channel that extends past the thickness of the material would allow the connector to be used as a wall anchor or the channel to be used as a conduit for wiring or fluid. The exit port could be used to redirect the wiring or fluid in a preferred direction.