Design Challenge

Clever printable mechanisms.

Episodes in this series

Design Challenge #01

Print a hinge that's already assembled (0.35 mm is the secret)

Can you print a hinge that comes off the bed already assembled? Yes — if you get one number right. Both leaves are printed inside each other…

Design Challenge #02

Snap-fits that don't snap off: make the arm longer, not thicker

Why do snap-fit hooks break? Bending stretches the arm's outer skin, and that strain grows with thickness but drops with the length squared.…