Solid Ratcheting Clamp, Snap Together

thingiverse

I wanted to print a smaller version of the ratcheting clamp and I thought that the original was too thin to be scaled. Plus I tend to make things a bit overdesigned for long lasting durability and stregnth. Additionally, I wanted to assemble it without using a screw. Too much hassle to go to the hardware store for the right size. So I made a few minor changes. 1. Made it thicker 2. Add a snap-together hinge 3. Separated the two pieces so that it printed in two colors. Note that my snapping mechanism is hidden within the hinge and is very subtle. This makes it look really clean. It does literally snap into place and stays secure (so far). It is a little hard to see this in my photos, but the post is flush with the bottom of the hole. The snapping is caused by a subtle ring around the post, matched by a ring cavity in the hole. And like the original, no supports or rafts needed, so you can use this one the two parts are connected. To assemble it is pretty obvious. I put the black larger piece (P1) in the same orientation as when printed, on a hard flat surface. Then I set the purple smaller piece over the other piece (P2). Finally, I take a flat hard object (I used a flat scraper, the same one I use gently to remove prints from my printer) over the purple piece and shove together. It should quietly snap when all the way connected and should not come apart. Then gently rotate the purple arm. It might be slightly sticky at very first, but should loosen quickly. Be careful not to break the post when first twisting. I don't use any lubricant with my clamps, but i guess you could. Take me about 5-10 seconds to get it rotating smooth. Kudos to mech engineer mike for the fantastic original design, thing:697545 Update notes! A message from someone building this had a problem with the snapping post connection. So I did some analysis of the design, decided it was too fragile (I prefer overdesigning a bit) and reworked the design to make the snap together post much larger. and therefore much stronger. I also analyzed the tolerances. In my rework, I determined that scaling it too small changed the design tolerances enough that I now have to different STL files for the purple section: one for smaller prints (25-40% scale) and one for larger prints (60-100% scale). The name of the STL tells you which one to use. Additionally, I found that with my redesign, I was able to print at 100% scale (tried it finally) and 25% (and it now works). I am a bit shocked at the size difference between 100, 60, 40 and 25% scaling. The scaling is definitely by the X/Y dimension, and not by volume. Enjoy!