Anet A6 Filament Spring Clamp Jaw

thingiverse

This is my first attempt at using a budget-friendly clamp to help with holding the extruder spring during filament changes on the Anet A6. This is slightly more difficult to use than the Bar Clamp version, but it still reduces the effort required to press down the extruder spring and frees both hands during filament changes. A significant improvement over relying solely on my thumb.\r\n\r\nThe photograph of the extruder clearly shows the positioning of the clamp. The photograph of the clamp on the bed displays the original red jaws for reference, allowing you to see that I attempted to file away the original clamps to fit, but the pivot point of the jaw was too far back and the clamp wouldn't stay in place. I've moved the pivot point much closer to the end of the clamp in this design.\r\n\r\nThe modified jaw pads accommodate the screws on the extruder head to help secure the clamp in place. The "bottom" jaw features a slot for the screw below the extruder spring, and the "top" jaw has a recessed hole for the extruder screw,\r\n\r\nI've tested the jaws with multiple spring clamps: IIT, Pittsburgh (Harbor Freight), Tool Shop (Menard's), each costing around $1. They should fit any clamp with a 0.1 inch (2.7 mm) pin, which my visual inspection suggests includes many affordable spring clamps. The effort required to remove the original jaws varied, but cautious use of a flathead screwdriver and/or a small needlenose pliers was sufficient for me.