The file 'Clamp It Square – Non-Embossing (Mini, Midi & Large Sizes) 3D Printer Model' is (scad,stl) file type, size is 740.3KB.
Remix of a design by J-Max from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1306832
Addresses issue raised by timjamesbrennan in back in December 2017 and confirmed by melwell2002 that the Mini has a serious geometry error where the inside corner support gets in the way of the workpiece making it kind of useless for external square clamping. Doesn't work too well as a boomerang either. J-Max claims to have printed many of these that work perfectly, yet the geometry says otherwise.
Addresses issue raised by J-Max that the Mini was never supposed to be used as an external clamp, only internal, and that the geometry fix that permits external use could compromise its strength when using a center-clamp. I haven't printed this one, so can't confirm that claim, but have added an additional model with the embossing fix only (MINI-Internal-NonMarking) so folk can decide which version they want to print.
Addresses issue raised by psykmunky that the embossed lettering interferes with the function of the flat exterior clamping surface, potentially marking the workpiece. This affects the Mini, Midi and Large clamps, all fixed here.
These markings slow the print down, could introduce stresses along the clamping surface that ends up bending the clamp as it cools, and provides a place for debris to collect in - affecting the clamping surface smoothness. None of these are desirable.
No commercial clamps I'm aware of have deep-cut maker markings on the clamping surface. Likely for many of the same reasons I've outlined above. Even relatively harmless silk-screened markings on the working surfaces of aluminum clamps (and generally all tools) are avoided. I have seen a single injection molding design with silk screened maker name (Milescraft) because it was the only flat surface available to use, and silkscreen presents none of the issues outlined above.
J-Max adamantly denies that this is a design flaw with the original and thus far refuses to address it. Whilst J-Max acknowledges that consumer printers aren't always calibrated perfectly (and in fact they arrive that way), it’s a real-life issue that is completely ignored in the original design (I expect that overhangs and bridges would be treated with equal distain). IMO, this simply means that these models haven't in fact been designed for consumer FDM printing.
This version essentially eliminates the functionally pointless markings, simplifying the model, and together with the external-clamp geometry fix on the mini, opens them up to tens of thousands of real-world printers that may not be perfectly calibrated. They are, after all, decent and useful corner clamps.
ClampItSquare-LARGE-NonMarking.scad | 2.2KB | |
ClampItSquare-LARGE-NonMarking.stl | 1.2MB | |
ClampItSquare-MIDI-NonMarking.scad | 2.0KB | |
ClampItSquare-MIDI-NonMarking.stl | 1.9MB | |
ClampItSquare-MINI-Internal-NonMarking.scad | 2.3KB | |
ClampItSquare-MINI-Internal-NonMarking.stl | 2.8MB | |
ClampItSquare-MINI-NonMarking.scad | 2.7KB | |
ClampItSquare-MINI-NonMarking.stl | 2.8MB |