Heavy Duty Nutcracker

thingiverse

As it turns out, from an engineer's perspective there aren't many reliable nutcrackers available on the market. First off are decorative wooden figures that are essentially useless. Next come hinged models made from cast aluminum. They perform well with walnuts and maybe hazelnuts, but anything harder like almonds or macadamia? Not so much! I managed to destroy as many as 3 of these with almonds last season. And finally there's the threaded design. You can find it in wood or polymer, and there are even some other designs online for ones with fully printed bolt and thread. I decided why not go all the way and use real hardware for the primary load-bearing parts? So here's what I came up with. The build requires 3 parts you can get from most hardware stores: 1 x Bolt M10, length 60 - 80 mm, DIN 933 (German norm) or equivalent 1 x Nut M10, DIN 934 1 x Washer, outer diameter 36.5 mm, thickness 2.80/2.85 mm, DIN 9021 The specific washer might be a little hard to find, but it's not strictly required for the nutcracker to work. It simply protects the print from abrasion at the bottom. I recommend getting the parts in A2 or similar stainless steel to be a little more food-safe, but that's simply personal preference. Please read the notes on print settings for optimal cracking performance!