A springy OpenLOCK clip that gives a more pleasant snap action and is more durable for OpenLOCK tiles (especially the triplex versions)

Instructions

Because different filaments have different stiffness, I have uploaded three versions for you to try out:

• Springy
• Medium-springy (my favourite)
• Firm

If you want to try these out, I would print a few of the medium-springy clips. If you feel you need stiffer you go to firm, if they are too firm, you switch to the real springy/loose ones.

After you have printed the clips, insert two in a 2x2 (E-TRP) tile and clip together with another tile and see if you like the snap action.

Why a springy OpenLOCK Clip?

While everybody seems to be switching to magnetic clips these days, I would like to give the non-magnetic clips a second chance.

I like the OpenLOCK system by printablescenery.com. To me it feels like LEGO, but for tabletop games. I always thought LEGO bricks were not only nice because you could build anything with them. The feeling of just pressing two bricks together was also a large part of the fun. Now, after printing a few dozen OpenLOCK clips and trying them out on the printed tiles, I thought the action of inserting, removing and clipping tiles together was too stiff.

In addition to this, I also noticed fast deterioration of the middle two support columns on a triplex connection. The small surface area of these columns in combination with the stiff action from the stock OpenLOCK clips can cause failure of these columns after only a few dozen clip actions.

Springy OpenLOCK clips are precision engineered;-) to solve both of the above issues. The springy nature of the clip gives a very pleasant snap action when clipping tiles together. No excessive force is needed to separate tiles. Clips can even be removed from tiles with minimum force, by rolling them to the side.

While a single springy clip will yield less holding power than a single stock clip, using two or more in a line will have sufficient holding power for holding together larger structures. (Please note that in a line does not necessarily mean you need more than one per tile in any given direction.) Of course, if you need more holding power, you can always add an extra clip.

A note on the license

OpenLOCK is dual licensed. The default license for anyone is CC-BY-NC and is what I listed for this thing. In addition I also grant the rights to apply whichever additional (commercial, libre) license you may have gotten from a deal with Matt/printablescenery.com directly, to apply to these files as well (So long as you don't come to me if things break or do not work out for you.)