Flying Clamp for Tennis stringing - IMPROVED CLAMPING by sashalex007

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

Yet another remix of edo_mae's excellent design. With this design I have eliminated the need for eyebolts with a fully 3D-printed shaft & threaded stopper. This mechanism is loosely based on the Stringway design providing improved clamping, and improved ergonomics. I have tested these designs with over 70lbs of tension.
With this remix I am also introducing a triple flying clamp (see Stringway clamps) for minimal tension loss due to drawback. Very useful for tie-offs.
PRINTING
It is important to note, that this design is intended for printing with carbon-fibre nylon, however I suspect ABS and PETG might work if all parts are printed at 90-100% density (lines). Recommended densities (%) are for CF nylon, 4 walls.
DOUBLE FLYING CLAMP
side_hexNut.stl -- 50%
side_noHexNut.stl --50%
2x middle_doubleClamp.stl --50%
shaft_doubleClamp --90%
lever.stl --90%
stopper.stl --90%
washer.stl --90%
guide.stl -- 50%
1/4 hex bolt 1.5 inch
1/4 lock nut
3/16 bolt 1 inch
8x 6x3mm round neodymium magnets
TRIPLE FLYING CLAMP
side_hexNut.stl -- 50%
side_noHexNut.stl --50%
2x middle_tripleClamp_outer.stl --50%
middle_tripleClamp_inner1.stl --50%
middle_tripleClamp_inner2.stl --50%
shaft_tripleClamp --90%
lever.stl --90%
stopper.stl --90%
washer.stl --90%
guide.stl -- 50%
1/4 hex bolt 2 inch (I didn't have one so there is an eye bolt in the image)
1/4 lock nut
3/16 bolt 1 inch
12x 6x3mm round neodymium magnets
ASSEMBLY
Assembly is generally the same for both clamp types, other than the extra middle pieces for the triple clamp.
Superglue middle pieces
Install magnets with correct polarity (opposing)
Cut 180grit sandpaper with guide.stl and superglue onto sides and middle pieces
Slightly sand mating protrusions for smooth insertion
Install bottom hex bolt
Install shaft, lever & washer, thread the stopper (threading this thing can be a challenge, but it works). Future iterations of the stopper will have textured grip...meanwhile we will have to make do...use channel locks or clamps to turn this thing.
NOTE1: You may need the enlarge to hole on the shaft with an allan key or something to get the desired feel. Ideally, the shaft should be a little loose on the bolt. If its not, this won't affect the functionality but ideally, the lever is pushed up into fully open position solely by magnetic force. It's more of an ergonomics feature, if its important to you, you might need to tune that hole size a little.
NOTE2: The bolt requirements are not strict, if you find metric bolts (or whatever else) that are in the ball-park, it will probably work fine. Also, every hole can be enlarged by quite a bit with a set of Allen keys