Customisable Latching Broom Holder

thingiverse

This thing is a fantastic demonstration of something incredibly useful you can do with your printer. It enables you to hang any broom or rake-like object using a very convenient click-in, click-out latch. This YouTube video showcases an example of one in action mounting a rake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IiOiMgAuLM. Looping: https://www.youtube.com/v/_IiOiMgAuLM?version=3&loop=1&playlist=_IiOiMgAuLM. Some of the features of this design include: It prints as one piece using its own parts for support, where the hinges join. The model is weakened by leaving a blank layer and minimizing contact so that it can be broken free to actuate the hinge. Each hinge is designed to use a metal pin (three needed in total). You can use anything from a screw to a nail or even a paperclip of a piece of coat hanger. I have been using nails with 2mm diameter in holes designed to 3mm, so they slide in easily. There is an image attached showing a cross-section of the hinge holes, so you can see how they work. The base is designed with an inset, allowing you to squish the first layer for better bed adhesion without causing a lip around the base of the object. If you have poor bed adhesion and need to use a brim, this obviously won't help. But for me printing PLA on polyimide, it makes for a neat no-cleanup print. The model is quite customizable to suit various tool diameters or printer setups. As you can see from the photo attached, I have used it for big things like a pool scoop and right down to little things like a pen. Example STLs I have attached some examples, but I encourage you to experiment with the parameters to design the perfect latch for your broom/rake/pen/shafted tool. The two smaller examples don't have screw mounting holes; they are for glue or double-sided tape attachment. The 22mm example is similar to the one shown in the linked video.