Fractal Vice Version 2

thingiverse

* Improved/updated version here - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4922759 This is (should be) an improved version over the earlier one. Instead of the dovetail connections between the pieces I've drawn it with simple 90° & flat surfaces that'll print more cleanly & the supports will (should) also be removed easier. To give enough space to make it all fit together I've made the sliding connections between the pieces stick proud of the outer radius of the semicircular parts. It's not as tidy as doing it with the dovetail sliding connections draw inverse to that, but it'll work better on a 3D printer. On the mounting bracket I've added four of 10 mm holes in case anyone actually builds one and wants to bolt it down onto a bench. I will be drawing a sliding frame that'll finish off making it into a complete & otherwise conventional vice. That'll happen hopefully soon. You'll need fourteen 3 mm bolts to lock the smaller parts together, and trim them all to the correct length so when tightened they don't rub on the far side of the groove in the larger part that they slot into. One 4 mm bolt is needed for the largest semicircular part, again trimmed to length. Sticking out about 1.5 mm to 2 mm should be fine for all of them. Designing this machine in CAD has very much made me aware of what an impressive job the original designer of the vice did. No CAD, just paper & pencil, and a very clear vision of how it all worked together. And over a century ago as well. As per the previous version, if you want a real metal one, please buy one from the link below. https://fractalvise.com Update! I've drawn up the bench mount for it. You'll need a printer that can print parts about 240 mm long. I made the mount in two main pieces so you can print one of a reasonable size, so you can use it for pretty much anything you like. If there's a need for a wider opening I can easily change it but you'd need a larger printer for that. All of the holes are designed so that if the threaded section of the bolt goes into it, the bolt will cut its own thread into the plastic. There's a mix of 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, and 10 mm bolts needed. They will all need to be trimmed to the correct length. I've designed the mount so you can put the crank handle on either end. In the link below - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001436323597.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.fdb42e0epJ28xU That's the ACME threaded rod I designed it for 10 mm diameter and 2 mm pitch. Cut it so that there's about 40 mm sticking out both ends of the body of the vice. It'll run in a 10mm ID, 19 mm OD, 5 mm thick ball bearing that pushes into each end. Get a 10 mm washer to fit over the threaded rod at both ends, maybe get a few to act as spacers if needed. Use a grinder to grind a flat onto the threaded rod. (see the crank handle for how big to make the flat, the handle should slide snugly onto the end of the threaded rod with no play) Then drill a 4 mm hole in the rod to match the hole in the crank handle, then tap the thread into the metal rod. Do that both ends if you want to use the crank handle on both ends. If you only want the crank handle at one end, just use a plain split pin as close as you can to the washers, to reduce freeplay in the winding action. I might actually print this myself and if so, I'll post a bunch more photos.