Helping Hands with Printed Loc-Line Style Arms

thingiverse

This thing is a completely printable Helping-Hands set with custom Loc-Line style arms. It has four arms with clips and a base-plate. It also includes a tool for assembling the arms. I did not like the size of most Loc-Line pieces, so I used the SolidWorks files given in Thing 9006, which remixed the originals from Thing 7572. I scaled the Loc-Line links down to 50% of their original size, making them 10 mm high. I used the clips from Thing 2797946 and designed attachments for the Loc-Line arm. With those arms, I designed Loc-Line arm bases that have a ball and screw into the base plate. The base plate has room for four arms, a small depression for small parts, and a clipping point at the front. Fully assembled helping hands can be seen in the picture, with each arm using 20 of the Loc-Line links. Because they are small and a pain to put together, I also designed an assembly tool that uses a 12 mm rod of 2 mm diameter. It's not necessary to use it with that size rod; it can assemble and take longer chains apart. Notes: I printed all files as-is without scaling. I don't recommend trimming the Loc-Line parts unless you have severe stringing, because the outside roughness helps them hold their place without moving too freely. The Loc-Line base parts might need to have the threads trimmed a small amount to screw nicely. EDIT: The clamping hands are probably the weakest part of this project. They worked decently with my first filament (Hatchbox PLA red), but a second try (eSun PLA+ purple) didn't have the proper flexion. At some point, I'll probably redesign that part or do a more consistent one from scratch, maybe with a rubber band. Any remixes or even redesigns of that part would be appreciated.