How to fix a chair in 20 min using a Makerbot

thingiverse

A lost office chair's backing bolt led to an innovative solution. Measuring hole dimensions at 5mm diameter, 15mm bolt head, and 30mm length, the user designed a replacement bolt in SketchUp, exported as STL, skeinforged it with RepG, and printed on their MakerBot. However, first print was too large due to radius input error; thus, redesigning and repeating the process led to a correctly sized stud. Towering small diameter pieces proved challenging, resulting in a wobbly but useable bolt. Third revision included a slot in the head for better resemblance to original bolt and increased diameter. Printed bolt successfully screwed into chair, despite ABS gumming up threads. Overall, user designed, printed, revised, and fixed their chair without leaving desk, offering advice on measuring, designing, Skeinforge settings, and potential temperature adjustments for future bolt creation.