Tape Width Cutter modified

thingiverse

Tape Width Cutter – Modified (WORK IN PROGRESS) A huge thanks to Dreax for the inspiration! https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2774326 This device allows you to cut rolls of tape into custom widths at 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm. I needed it to work on a paint project, where I wanted to cover edges of shelves with paint without getting excess paint on them before fastening to uprights. I found this tape cutter online and it worked great! However, like most things I use, it had its limitations. I needed an interim width that wasn't available in the standard settings – exactly 3/4 inch to cover the edge of my 3/4 inch plywood. The 15 mm setting didn't quite cut it (pun intended), so I redesigned this device using Sketchup, cut it apart, made new sections, and pieced them together. Then, I created a spacer system, with one crucial piece being a 2.5 mm spacer to shift all the cutting by 2.5 mm. This allowed me to get 17.5 mm, which is closer to the 19 mm needed for my 3/4 inch board. In fact, using Sketchup, I could have made it an exact width if I wanted! On the other side, a spacer was added to make the roll fit comfortably in place. The tape I use is 24 mm wide (painter's tape), and the cutter itself is 31 mm wide. If needed, you can create custom spacers. The two STL files are printable – see diagrams for how I laid them out on CURA. Note that the cutter itself requires supports, but you can make them very thin, about 7 mm apart, with a bit of weight and easier to break off. One problem I encountered was using only the skinny painter blade. To hold it securely, I made a spacer to lock the blade in place – it worked until I got my hands on the wider one at Home Depot! The Sketchup file has all the images I created while building this device. If someone wants to take the time to improve it even further, the basic design is fantastic! Thanks again to Dreax for creating this because there really isn't anything else like it out there! This project is still a work in progress, but CURA printed both devices very well despite some model errors in the spacers. With some modifications, this could be tweaked for multiple tape roll widths and various adjustments outside of 5 mm. (Note: I removed any foreign characters and used American English throughout)