I upload new designs now mostly on PrusaPrinters.org.
If you want to support me, please download and like this design on prusaprinters. If the design gets enough downloads&likes, i might get a spool of filament for free :-).
All my latest creations and updates will be available there, as Thingiverse downloads are a bit broken at the moment and also the customizers seems to not work anymore.

This model
A perfect gripper to hold your toothbrush, realized using a compliant mechanism.

• It prints fast (16 minutes), needs only 2g of filament.
• Its print-in-place, no supports are needed.
• Its automatically gripping your toothbrush and only releasing it when you pull it. So you have no more lost toothbrushes on the ground. ;-)
• There are several gripper diameters STL available (from 4.6 to 8.2 mm radius). I tested the 5.8mm diameter one, which works for most normal toothbrushes. Let me know if you print another diameter! The gripper works best when the diameter is as close to the neck of the toothbrush as possible.

Big thanks go to burt777 whose scad file I used as a starting point. I needed some iterations to make the gripper work. Thanks go to Mark Harrison for the rotation code burt777 used also.

See the gripper in action on youtube!

Printing

No supports needed, use "0.2mm quality" on prusaslicer.
For material, i have best results with PLA+ (e.g. from Filament-PM), as it keeps its flexibility better than normal PLA. The structure is optimized for PLA+.

Post printing

After printing, cut the small piece connecting the two grippers, e.g. with small scissors. I added it to make the grippers print reliably.

Then, pull on the gripper, so it stays outward and open. Arms and gripper should be symmetrical also when the gripper is “out”.

If they are not symmetrical, correct it, e.g. by bending a bit on the hinges. Then you can put in a toothbrush and test the mechanism.

If it doesnt work:

Check that the side connectors to the gripper arms are still straight to the front and rectangular to the thicker base of the assembly.Check that your toothbrush fits snugly. Measure the diameter of your toothbrush neck. Choose the correct holder from the provided alternatives.

Mounting

To fix the toothbrush holder to tiles, you can use the small size Tesa powerstrips: Cut them in half horizontally, then stick them to the back of the gripper (should fit perfectly).

Compliant mechanisms

In case you want to know more about compliant mechanisms, check out these models from BYU_CMR.