Spool Holder Locking Clamp by JMadison

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

This is a spool holder locking clamp for M8 threaded rod. I use threaded rod as the spool holder axle. The clamp keeps the bearing in place (see my double bearing spool holder https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2468356). The problem with the original clamp, even though it's threaded, is that it would sometimes loosen. This new clamp is not only threaded, but it also incorporates a small lever clamp that will squeeze the threaded rod. Note that the threads are clipped to make it easier to slide along the rod (there’s only a hint of thread.) Hopefully this will perform better than the original.
I printed this with 0.2mm layer height, 80% fill, support everywhere.
You should probably print a few extra linkage pieces, they will break after a while.
There’s not a whole lot of cleanup. I carefully ran a 2.5mm bit through each of the pivot point pockets. (Carefully means- don't let the bit walk out of the pocket.) The linkage bar ends that touch the bed need to have the flat areas rounded.
It’s very tight the first time you try to activate it but the linkage does stretch some with use. If you have a loose piece of M8 rod or an M8 screw it may be easier to exercise it a few times to test the fit.
To take it on and off you disengage the lever, squeeze the handles till they touch, then slide the clamp body along the rod/axle. You can also swing the linkage out of the way, squeeze the handles and work it off the rod.