Prusa Bar Clamp--No Disassembly Required

thingiverse

This is a replacement for the snap-prone bar clamps in the Prusa i2 design. I was inspired by the idea behind http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:33772, which let you get away with leaving one bar assembled, but I'm lazy, and wanted something I could drop in without disassembling anything. Requires 2 M3x40 bolts and nuts. Instructions Barclamp_plated.stl has all parts ready to go to clamp one vertex. If you'd like to print the parts one at a time, you'll need to print one barclamp_center and TWO barclamp_cap. To assemble, squeeze the center piece in between the two bars. Align the caps over and under the bars, and thread two screws through and tighten to clamp the bars. The uploaded stls are designed for 8mm rods, a 9.5mm center-to-center separation between the bars, and two M3 bolts to hold it together. Also attached is the openSCAD file. It's my first attempt at a parametric design (the bar size, bar separation, and bolt size are variables), so constructive criticism is welcome. Eventually I'll add nut traps, and give an update on its longevity.