PLA Spring Maker

thingiverse

## Reviving Springs with Heat Let's revitalize tired springs by cooking them in hot water! The idea is to wrap PLA filament around a spring maker, slide it into the sleeve, and then stir everything in scalding water for a few minutes. Create a thermal shock by plunging everything into icy cold water. Three new spring sizes are available: 8mm, 12mm, and 16mm diameter springs. These can be used together to increase stiffness as needed. To hold them coaxially, you'll need some sort of casing. Different pitch and coil numbers are available. Here's how I named the components: * The core (central part) is called: SpringMaker_Core_d**XX**p**YY**x**ZZ** * The nut is called: SpringMaker_Nut_d**XX**p**YY** Where **XX** is the main spring diameter in mm, **YY** is the pitch in mm, and **ZZ** is the number of coils/turns. Material memory form will keep the spring in shape, but it's best to put these compression springs inside a housing for structural rigidity. **Edit Dec. 5th 2017:** I'm thrilled to release the final design revision. The latest version meets all my expectations. The spring shape is incredibly consistent, and dimensions are very stable after "cooking." I'll create a short video showing how to use the spring maker soon. In the meantime, I'll upload various design variants with adjustable pitch and diameter. **Edit Dec. 4th 2017:** After testing the second prototype, I upgraded the tool to guide the filament during turning. I also modified the way the filament is maintained within the core to avoid a 90° bend that can cause it to snap off. The angle is now only 45°. To improve ergonomics, I lengthened the handles and added two more on the nut. **Edit Dec. 1st 2017:** After testing my first prototype, I decided to make significant changes. The challenge was turning the core while keeping the filament in the groove. Almost impossible to hold everything tight, the filament would get off the spiral groove, resulting in an irregular spring. So, I created a turning tool using a nut with the filament as thread. This allows for a regular spring shape with the coil maintained tight against the spring core tool. I'll share pictures of the updated tool soon. To start, I kept only the 18mm diameter spring along with two different pitches: 4 and 8mm. Have fun experimenting!