Smash and grab
By Andrew Gregory. Posted
This article was originally published as part of HackSpace magazine, which has since been incorporated into Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
3D-printed objects are usually made of layers of hot plastic, but this Hulk is an example of something quite different: it’s printed out of resin, and set not by a temperature change, but by exposure to UV light. Resin prints are smoother and more detailed than thermosetting plastic (you can just about see the veins on Hulk’s arm), but our favourite difference is watching the process: the object emerges out of a pool of resin like the Terminator at the end of T2 Judgment Day, but in reverse.
We’ve seen a couple of 3D-printed clamps so far, but this is the one that immediately leapt out at us as being potentially useful. First of all, it went together extremely easily, and feels solid. There’s one handle to turn, which is geared to two screws pushing the vice together, so you get even pressure across the whole thing. The nature of 3D-printed plastic means that it’s nowhere near strong enough for metal or woodwork, but for holding PCBs securely for surface mount components, it’s perfect.
Thingiverse user Christoph Laimer (hsmag.cc/bIhjhA) made this – download the files from the link below.
3D printing supplied by 3D Hubs
Head to 3dhubs.com/book to check out the #1 3D printing book on Amazon
Features Editor Andrew trawls the internet for Cool Stuff while keeping the magazine running smoothly.
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