Rigid Chain Screw Actuator

thingiverse

When researching printable linear motion technologies, I stumbled upon the concept of a rigid chain actuator and decided to develop my own design based on the Tsubaki Zip Chain Lifter by simplifying the zipping mechanism and replacing the sprocket drive with a screw drive. This resulted in a theoretically limitless screw that can assemble and disassemble itself as needed. I envisioned this innovation, when combined with something to constrain motion, such as a Sarrus Linkage, as a very printable Z platform lifter for 3D printers. So far, this is just a technology demonstrator, but I wanted to share this since it's a pretty cool mechanism in my opinion. The design is fully parametric and the OpenSCAD sources are in the sources.zip file. The input shaft is compatible with standard 6.35 mm hex bit drivers. The input shaft is designed to break first if there is a jam, as it's the smallest part. Check it out in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddXEgsp6px8