AAA Battery Holder w/ Contacts & Leads

thingiverse

Lightweight, low profile, vibration resistant - 3 cell AAA battery holder. Print Settings Printer Brand: Printrbot Printer: Printrbot Plus Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Doesn't Matter Resolution: .4mm Infill: none Notes: I needed a very lightweight 3 cell AAA battery holder that would withstand vibration. This was printed on a Printrbot Simple 1405 with Repetier & Slic3r. Print settings are crucial. Two bottom layers, zero infill, one vase spiral wall, and no top layers. This automatically generates the body and top cap ends, which are not visible in the STL files. I decided to let Slic3r create my end caps for me. Post-Printing Post print assembly: Drill holes just large enough for the wire leads to pass through the body, top, and both battery contact holders. Ensure the holes in the contact holders align with those in the top and bottom. No soldering is required; the wires and contacts are pressure fit into the contact holders. Run the bare wire 2mm past the end of the short contacts for them to be held in place by the contact. Contacts are made from 0.25 x 0.018 inch brass strip, which can be found at any True Value Hardware. Measure by sight, cut with a wire cutter, and bend around a small screwdriver handle. Brass strip is easy to cut and bend but springy, making it an excellent contact material. After assembling each contact, insert one into the top and bottom. Feed the wire lead through the hole drilled and seat the contact flat against the bottom by pushing with a screwdriver or needle-nose pliers. Insert batteries and pressure fit the top on. You're responsible for figuring out contact positions, battery directions, etc. If you're printing this, you likely understand how to wire batteries in series. Adjust the scaling of either the body or top in Repetier for a tight fit if necessary. Test with your multimeter. Opening, Closing, Seating Contacts: The top and bottom friction fit tightly. Rotate the top back and forth while pulling to open the battery holder. This also works when trying to tighten the cap more. In retrospect, I should have printed this in clear plastic so you could see how well the contacts and batteries were seated. Just another note: I'm attempting to scale this for AAAA batteries as well. I haven't been successful because the contact holders can't scale small enough for 1/4 inch brass strip. I've looked online and in hardware stores but couldn't find narrower strip. I could cut it, or consider using copper. However, I don't know if it has sufficient springiness to maintain tight contact. If you have a good idea, let me know! Thanks.