Strengthening a Hinge
I printed a hinged clamp to support my soldering pen in a heat-insert press. It's a print-in-place hinge. Unfortunately, the hinge pins easily break off. They are solid, so I'm not sure why they are so weak where they attach to the main piece. I'm attaching some photos and a zip file with the 3mf and gcode file I used. Any help is much appreciated.
RE: Strengthening a Hinge
Neither your photos nor your .3mf got attached.
Mk3S+,SL1S
RE: Strengthening a Hinge
Well, let's try this again. Here is the .3mf and gcode: Solder Pen Holder Zip
RE: Strengthening a Hinge
I would go another route, and punch a hole thru and use an M4 with a nylock instead.
Small details are quite fragile under stress.
Prusa Mini+ kit. BondTech extruder. FW 5.1.2
Prusa MK3S+ kit. Stock. FW 3.11.0
Prusa MK3S+, used. Stock. FW 3.13.3
RE:
I would print that with 3 perimeters and 20% infill (Grid pattern) -it makes quite a difference for small hinges.
PS: good idea by mrstoned
[Mini+] [MK3S+BEAR]
RE:
Another option would be to print it in another orientation (flat as in your photos) with supports. Layer orientation has a strong impact on shear resistance. In this case, perimeters would span the top part's length and extend into the pins, which would make them pretty strong. This could negatively impact the part's finish, but could be OK depending on your use case.
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Orientation, as @fortinmike suggests, has a huge effect on strength.
I would seperate the cylindrical pins, leaving a hole to glue in the part, print the body as you are doing but print the pins, horizontally, with support, as a single part. It will be much stronger.
Cheerio,
RE: Strengthening a Hinge
Thanks everyone. I ended up using a spare screw as a hinge pen per @mrstoned. I will certainly remember about the shear strength of linear-printed parts versus vertical for my next print.