Jeep Comanche Relay cover Clip by MJjeep

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

THIS DESIGN IS EXPERIMENTAL. Worst case scenario, your clips fail, and your cover is moving around the engine bay (or is lost while driving), and your relays are left exposed. Poor print settings, defects, and/or damage may cause the clip to fail. USE THESE CLIPS/MODELS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
ORIENTATION:
Thumb hold on top- seemed to have less critical layer separation issues transition (see below). If the thumb hold separates, the part can still function. If the stem separates, your relay cover is now unconstrained.
Thumb hold on bottom - aesthetically pleasing surface
PRINT SETTINGS:adjust scales of xyz if annealing
Material: Nylon (dremel)
Nozzle: 260F
Bed: 110F
Layer Height: .1mm
Wall line count: 1
Top/Bottom Layers: 5
Infil: 95%
Triangles
Randomized infill start
Cooling- off
Speed: 60mm/s
Support: (cura experimental tree support)
Adhesion: glue stick on glass bed
I STRUGGLED WITH LAYER SEPARATION:
it usually broke just after it finished printing the head and moved on to either the thumb hold or to the stem that holds the clip/cover in place. The reason for this is because the head of the clip has a large cross sectional area, and the stem and thumb holds have relatively less cross sectional area. I think I solved this by printing 6 at a time, so the previous layers were able to cool uniformly. Ideally, your enclosure is able to hold higher temperatures than mine so that the previous layer is not "cooled". I also played around with adding custom draft guards to try to keep it warmer around the models
INSPECTION:
The head of the clip should flex in order to rotate the clip into place. After rotating into place, pull up on the cover to ensure that there is proper adhesion between the head of the clip and the stem.
PRINTER MODIFICATIONS:
Microswiss hot end (ALL METAL)(recommended but stock does reach 260F)
Enclosure with insulation (I have a giant plastic bin with a blanket over top-might be a fire hazard, don't try this at home) I recommend a heated enclosure.
Stiffer springs (I added washers so the stock spring is compressed more)
Bed insulation (not required)
SOURCE OF DIMENSIONS:
I modeled the design by measuring an original clip. I made some modifications according to my prints/function.
REFLECTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
I have some clips on my truck, but I haven’t used them enough to say that a 3D printed clip is a good solution. A better enclosure, will create better results. I chose Nylon because of its flexibility (when thin), resistance to cold and heat, and strength. You might be able to print in ABS/PLA with a thicker/rigid head and add a rubber washer (seems like the most robust design). You will probably have to modify the z scale of the print to accommodate for the washer though. I recommend annealing the parts to reduce internal stresses. This will cause your part to drastically change shape , and therefore your final print will be a product of changing the xyz scales by trial and error.