Compliant Pliers E3D

thingiverse

This was my entry to the E3D toolchanger model competition, and I took second place! This is a pair of 3D printable pliers that utilize a flexible (compliant) element for the fulcrum instead of a traditional pin joint used on regular pliers. This object is designed to be printed on a multimaterial printer like E3D's toolchanger and is split into different parts, each printed in various materials. Here's a list of each part along with the intended material: Body - The base structure of the pliers can be printed in almost any material, but something rigid and strong such as CF filled filaments would work best. There's some writing (no thinner than 0.8mm) incorporated into the body that should be considered. The two arms of pliers wrap around each other, involving some bridging. Leave the part where the arms overlap as a bridging operation, but the unsupported sections on the arms could use support material; however, they can be left to bridge all the way without dedicated support material. Grips - The grips on the plier handles are designed for flexible materials like TPU to make them more comfortable to use. There are no significant difficulties in printing the grips except overhangs on the base (which don't exceed 45 degrees). Jaws - The jaws of the pliers are separate from the body, allowing them to be made from especially hard-wearing materials that are strong in compression. CF filled materials could also be used here. The Jaws have small teeth which would benefit from a smaller nozzle; however, this may not be ideal for filled filaments. Steps are incorporated between the Jaws and body to increase the bonding area and strength between them. Hinge - This is a small beam-shaped part that flexes as the pliers are closed. It also needs to withstand a high amount of tensile load, so something like nylon should be used here. A TPU type material could also be used but may stretch a little while gripping things. Embellishment - A small extra piece to add some decoration to the jaws section using one of the other materials (or just made out of the same material as the body if you don't want it). I don't have a multimaterial printer, so I haven't been able to print this in different materials. I've printed the design on my single nozzle printer by printing everything at once except for the hinge, which was printed separately in TPU and pressed in. This validated the basic mechanical function of the pliers (they do work!). This could also be printed on a two-material printer using TPU for the hinge and grips (and the embellishment), and some other material for the base and jaws. I've included .STEP files of all the parts and the Fusion 360 file if you want to alter it.