Sturdy Tube Squeezer - various sizes

thingiverse

I had printed quite a few of [Sergey Stepanenkos (sns13)](https://www.thingiverse.com/sns13) Toothpaste Tube Squeezer (and some [shorter remixes](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2275426)), because I liked the explicit lock mechanism compared some several ratchet models. 3D printed ratchets (especially when using PLA) usually require some force to turn or break easily (or both :-( ). With explicit lock, press on the cap to unlock - twist - and lock in again by pressing on the handle. And if you want to release the pressure ab bit - also no problem. The only thing I didn't like about sns13s design was the fact that it had to be printed standing, which is not optimal for strength - and no surprise, several broke after a while, especially the rod. Therefore I redesigned a similar tube squeezer, but stronger and more sturdy, i.e. printable lying flat (!). Furthermore I didn't like to waste material on support, therefore I replaced the gear style lock by a polygon and further cut rod, handle and lock into three pieces. A heptagon seem to be a good compromise for the lock, offering more positions like a hexagon, but still printable without support unlike an octogon. All five pieces can simply be snapped together, at least I didn't need any glue snap-fit was just fine (additional glue is optional though) And I offered several different sizes, categorized by length of the slot (= width of the tube end) and the max. diameter of the coiled tube. The slot is 1.8mm for all models and the rod is always 10mm thick. I.e. the end cap is the same size for all models, the rod scales with the slot length and the handle and lock with the diameter. The body of course scales with both. For a small toothpaste tube 55x20 should just be enough, but with 58x22 you'd probably feel more comfortable for standard sized toothpaste tubes. Ad for other tubes (paint or in the photo example caulk (Fertigspachtel) 80x30 is needed (photo) or even 85x30. If you need different dimensions, please let me know in a comment. The different sizes are always available as a set (with "mouse ears" to pin the thin rod base to the bed, can easily be peeled off) and as separate files. E.g. the 58x22 set consists of body-58x22, rod-58, handle-22, lock-22 and an end cap.