[@msrussell1992]

I have a working print that I will upload here. During the planning, I assumed I could find a buckle that I owned that was a similar size. I didn’t have one so I’ve only been able to do a few test runs with a borrowed buckle. It works great as long as the dimensions are accurate. I provided 2 sizes of openers to hedge my bets. If for some reason neither of them work, I could resize it same day if needed. Same goes for any other changes that may be needed.

As for printing instructions, I used ABS at a 0.2 mm layer height. Just about any standard plastic (PLA, PETG, etc.) should work. I would recommend using at least 3 perimeter layers for rigidity. Other than that, it is a fairly simple print and it prints on the flat side it is already oriented towards. I believe the standard STL would work best but there is also a smaller one in case it doesn’t provide enough tension.

Also while finishing up today I realized that it would not be difficult to modify the design and include hardware to make it adjustable/universal, so if that’s of interest to someone let me know.

For some reason I can’t upload the STL’s even know they are below the maximum file size. Here is a link to a Google Drive with the STL’s, reference material, and a brief video of how it works. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AxwybdVP18XoDkK6No9Etk1m34608pQa?usp=sharing

[@kajal]

Thank you so much!!! 🙂 I will let you know how things go. I see there are 4 versions…is there one I should be going with?

[@msrussell1992]

Only the 2 STL files are needed for printing. I just kind of threw all of the resources in there arbitrarily.

[@kajal]

Great, thank you!

[@kajal]

Hello! We had the design printed and it is promising but it doesn’t push the buckle in enough…it seems we need an additional 3mm (please see attached pic). Is it possible to have the design modified? Thanks!


[@kajal]

To clarify, the red line needs to be 3mm longer. Thanks!

[@msrussell1992]

Yes, I will modify the design. Which version did you end up printing? unbuckle_tool_(v0.4) or unbuckle_tool_small_(v0.4)?

I can make it longer but I was curious what you saw when attempting to use it. If it doesn’t push the buckle in enough, normally that would tell me I need to shorten the area rather than lengthen.

[@kajal]

Hello, sorry my mistake. Yes, it needs to be shorter not longer. They went with the original not the short. Thanks!

[@msrussell1992]

I have uploaded a new file to the same link titled “unbuckle_tool_extra_small_(v0.4).STL”. It is 3 mm smaller from the standard opener that was printed.

I would recommend trying the file titled “unbuckle_tool_small_(v0.4).STL” first because it is 1.5 mm smaller than the base model. 3 mm is a very large change for the tolerances needed. For reference, I made 3 sizes for testing and they were only 1 mm different from the next size up. Only 2 of them worked on my test buckle so anecdotally there’s a sweet spot of ±2mm.

Also, I could make the adjustable version I was referring to earlier but I would need a couple more days and it would require some hardware (nuts and bolts basically).

[@kajal]

Thank you so much! Let’s try the small and extra small versions first. I’ll keep you posted :slight_smile:

[@kajal]

Hi Matthew, sorry for the delayed response…I thought it posted and it didn’t. The smaller version was printed and is working very well 🙂 Thank you so much for your help. Please see attached note from the client. Have a great day!

[@kajal]

 

[Author]

Posts