Design Feedback Request: Treads

Other topics
1

For a couple of upcoming projects, I’ve been needing to build some treads that are able to survive a moderate amount of abuse while also being sturdy enough for parts to be attached on the outside. Although I’ve made some progress, I’m stepping back to consider if there’s a best-practice approach.

There seem to be many valid options for this kind of object - has anyone found a particular approach they prefer?

For reference, here are a couple of designs that I’m fond of:

PXL_20250214_180331388
PXL_20250214_1803313881920×1169 138 KB

  • On the right, these tracks by @MottN print in an orientation where no assembly or joining of the tracks is required. They have a really smooth motion and seem quite stable.
  • On the left, this hinge by Emvi 3d prints flat (which may have some benefits for the strength of the ‘pins’) and feel really strong.

Finally, here’s the approach I’ve landed on for my particular application - I believe it’s similar to some common approaches. I needed to print these ‘flat’ (as shown in the photo) to support another part of the design and also needed a strong connection between segments.

PXL_20250214_180154269
PXL_20250214_1801542691920×1198 112 KB

The track will print in 2 larger segments and the segments join using a self-tapping screws with a wider central channel that allows for rotation. I had an initial concern that the threads from the screw would be too abrasive on the interior but have seen no issue with this even with significant use (and disassembly for inspection).

2
21920×1080 23.6 KB

In this cross-section you can see that the connection between segments uses a cone shape. I had to tweak the dimensions but it has been stronger than I expected - far more than my requirements.

1 Like
2

I think what you have seems seems very good in the sense of not over-complicating things.

I did mine on the sides because I wanted a complete print-in-place assembly. But it can be hard to get right if you don’t have good build-plate adhesion and all the joint gaps add up to that size being about the limit of what I could get away with without a tensioning mechanism (or not being print in place anymore).

The only downside of what you have, is that you have to separately attach whatever shapes you need to the track plate itself instead of printing together…?

3

A lot of tracked vehicles these days use continuous extrusion treads, so think big rubber band stretched into place… Can you tpu?

4

Yeah that makes sense that it could - I haven’t had any issues when printing your models in but I imagine that it took a lot to dial in the sizes/settings.

I hand’t considered using TPU for this - that’s a good idea and I’ll give it a try.