Yet Another Zipper

thingiverse

Work in Progress. Your ideas and comments are greatly appreciated! June 2017: I've made significant improvements by making it easier to print and adding an end stop, eliminating the need for support structures. However, if you use the new model with ABS filament, consider increasing its size by 10% to reduce the likelihood of breakage. The current size is sufficient for nylon prints. My ultimate goal is to create a fully functional zipper that can be ironed onto cotton tape and seamlessly sewn into fabric. May 2017: I too felt an overwhelming urge to push the limits of what's possible with tiny FDM printed parts, making me wonder if it was even feasible. The outcome was surprisingly effective, but I had to iterate through about a dozen prototypes before achieving satisfactory results. As I delve deeper into this project, I'm quickly discovering the delicate balance between part thickness and flexibility. Creating something too thin makes it prone to breakage, while making it too thick compromises its flexibility, rendering the zipper ineffective. I've managed to make significant progress by enabling users to sew the zipper onto fabric or possibly even ironing it directly onto cloth. However, I'm not yet ready to test this aspect. There are several caveats associated with this model, primarily related to its thin dimensions in certain areas. Be cautious when removing support structures, as they can easily break; I plan to make adjustments to address these issues and potentially parameterize the design in SCAD for greater ease of use.