Machine Vise with Simple Quick Release Mech. V5.1 (Fully Printable)

thingiverse

I'm excited to share my instructable with you: https://www.instructables.com/id/Dual-Lead-Screw-ViseClamp-With-Quick-Release-Mecha/. I've also designed a vise without a quick-release mechanism on Thingiverse, which can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3751729. I created this vise because I needed a reliable way to clamp objects while gluing, hold PCBs while soldering, or secure parts in place. With these applications in mind, I set out to design a suitable vise that would meet my needs. Through experience, you learn the limitations of 3D printing and how part orientation affects strength. This vise is a great example of how part orientation during printing can maximize strength. I designed this vise to be printed in an orientation that allows the layers to be aligned with the forces of using the vise, eliminating breaking parts from layer delamination. One of the unique features of this vise is its quick-release mechanism, which makes it easy to open or close the jaws without having to rotate the knob. This is achieved by having one jaw that is not permanently fixed to anything, allowing you to simply insert a pin into any hole that fits closest to the size of your object. I went through four different iterations before landing on this design, and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. The previous designs did not feature a quick-release mechanism, making it tedious to fully open or close the vise jaws. But this new design blows them out of the water! It also has 4 holes that allow for secure mounting to a bench. This project is an excellent way to teach STEM concepts such as simple machines and mechanical advantage. By building this vise, students can learn how screws and gears make up compound machines and understand how to align parts for printing to maximize strength. One idea to expand on this project would be to have another set of threaded rods and gears with a lower pitch and compare the maximum clamping force you get (by using a load cell) for each type of screw, demonstrating that screws with a lower pitch have a higher mechanical advantage. You could also make 2 different sizes of gears to demonstrate how gear size affects mechanical advantage, showing how power is transferred through a gear train.