The World's Simplest Latch

thingiverse

Human beings can be cleverly outsmarted by even the smallest creatures, like chinchillas, which managed to break free from their closet enclosure due to weak door magnets and insatiable curiosity. To tackle this issue, I initially approached it from a flawed angle (a common occurrence for me), by downloading and printing an intricate bolt latch system that took over six hours to complete. However, upon realizing the design wouldn't fit due to certain features on the door panels, I had to start anew. Shifting gears, I realized the problem wasn't complex, but rather finding a simple solution to prevent doors from opening outward when not desired. After a brief session in Tinkercad and a quick print job, I created a minimalist latch that got the job done. At times, simplicity is all one needs to achieve success. This small latch can be easily attached with a screw above the door and twisted down over the closed door to "lock" it in place. With dimensions of only 20x10x3mm, this design is quite compact (suited for small doors and feeble creatures), yet its scalability to larger sizes seems feasible.