Adjustable Jigs to glue parts together

Bambu Lab X1 Series Bambu Lab X1C
1

Are there any 3D printed or otherwise made tools/jigs that exist to help glue two parts together with super glue and an activator?

Something like this:

  1. Use knobs and gears to adjust each piece in the x,y,z axis to join them and orient them perfectly.
  2. Turn a knob to pull them apart
  3. Add glue to one side and activator on the other
  4. Turn the knob back to push the two parts together precisely.
1 Like
2

Well… there’s an entire category of clamps on Printables.com and Thingiverse.com
Printables
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=clamps&page=1&type=things&sort=relevant

I’m also sure that Makerworld will eventually plagiarize it too so just do a search there on “clamp”.

Then there is the Fractal Vice which may exactly be what you want.

But note that this is not a trivial build an requires non-plastic parts to do it right. 5 hour print with 36 parts.

Fractal vise
Fractal vise779Ă—1444 211 KB

3

That is a really cool device but it won’t do what I want.

I can picture in my head roughly how I would make the device I am thinking of, but I am surprised it doesn’t already exist, especially in the 3D printing world. I tried to search for something like what I was thinking but couldn’t find it.

It would make gluing things together with a fast setting glue so much more precise. And would also be good as a clamp for glue that takes longer to set.

4

Have you tried immersing yourself in the world of CAD yet. I ask because the channel to the video linked above has tutorials for OnShape which is free.

Ever since I discovered OnShape, if I can imagine it and draft it, I can usually print it. That alone has been a blast since I first immersed myself. It’s not like the old days of Autocad or Solidworks. OnShape has no software on your system, it’s all in the cloud. And unlike those other packages, it runs wherever you can open a browser.

Now don’t get me wrong, I also use the free version of Fusion360(an Autodesk product) and FreeCAD(open source) but there is something about OnShape and the numerous tutorials on YouTube that make it just plain easier.

This guy who runs this channel is the high school science teacher you wish you had in High School and College. He just has a way of explaining things that make total sense. Also, his channel is really geared towards 3D printing so all of his OnShape tutorials are meshed with a 3D printing slant.

At any rate, you said you could picture it in your minds eye. Well… maybe you’ll invent it. That’s the beauty of 3D printing.

…now if I can just figure out how to print up a replacement for the wife… :thinking::thought_balloon:

5

Search for pu belt welding clamp. We use one at work to weld orange pu (polyurethane) belts on packaging machines.

I don’t see one in a quick search on the usual suspects so you may have to do it yourself.

6

I have used AutoCAD Inventor in the past and am learning Fusion360 Personal and was going to also try some other free CAD software at some point.

I was hoping it already existed, made by somebody with more 3D printing experience than me. But if not, I will make one if somebody doesn’t make it before me (or doesn’t make it good enough :wink: )

7

You’re probably better off creating dowels and holes to join the parts together so you can apply the glue without having to worry if the parts are going to fit together precisely. You can do this from within the slicer using the cut tool and add connectors at the same time.

1 Like
8

That sounds easier than making a jig.