Hinge Clearance

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jdacal
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Hinge Clearance

Post by jdacal » Wed Nov 05, 2014 12:47 am

I'm thinking of designing something that would use a hinge mechanism. Can anyone suggest how much clearance I need to leave between the two pieces of the hinge so that they can print as one print and function reliably? I'd be using the .35 nozzle. Any other tips on this type of print would be appreciated, I'll share the final design since it would be an M2 accessory.
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jimc
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Re: Hinge Clearance

Post by jimc » Wed Nov 05, 2014 1:12 am

hmmm, i have never made a hinge but in that bomb model i am making some of the parts slide together. i made a .010" gap all the way around. printed with abs it gives a nice clearance. not too sloppy and not so tight you need to really force the pieces together. i would say that a .007-.010" would be good. for a hinge pin though that would be all the way around the pin. this would make the pin .014-.020" larger diameter. if you look in s3d the default gap for the support material is .3mm which is really close to the gap i used.

jsc
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Re: Hinge Clearance

Post by jsc » Wed Nov 05, 2014 3:14 am

That sounds about right to me. I work in mm, and I've found 0.1mm clearance necessary for any mating surfaces to have a chance of fitting at all, 0.2mm for a tight fit with minimal filing necessary, and 0.3mm for a loose fit. 10 mils is 0.25 mm, so that's right between "no file press fit" and "loose fit". I haven't designed a circular hinge in anything yet, either, although I've printed out several from Thingiverse.

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jdacal
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Re: Hinge Clearance

Post by jdacal » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:55 am

jsc wrote:That sounds about right to me. I work in mm, and I've found 0.1mm clearance necessary for any mating surfaces to have a chance of fitting at all, 0.2mm for a tight fit with minimal filing necessary, and 0.3mm for a loose fit. 10 mils is 0.25 mm, so that's right between "no file press fit" and "loose fit". I haven't designed a circular hinge in anything yet, either, although I've printed out several from Thingiverse.
Those sound very close to what I've been using on holes. The .3mm especially for a loose fit.

I ended up going with a two piece print, that one piece print is probably more time than I want to spend experimenting, at least this week. I'm trying to do a re-mix of that LED fan bracket so that it has two positions for the PLA fan. The normal position and then where you could swing the fan up and lock it in place for sequential printing with ABS, to get more clearance without having to unscrew and disconnect the wiring.
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Dale Reed
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Re: Hinge Clearance

Post by Dale Reed » Wed Nov 05, 2014 4:35 pm

jdacal,

I print some sliding-block puzzles ("burrs" in the parlance), using 1.0 cm (10 mm) block nominal. I print them as 9.9 mm blocks with a connecting block "underneath" --- anyway, the surfaces should be 9.9 mm face-to-face. So with half of the extra 0.1 mm on each side, and with two blocks that slide against each other having that 0.05 mm together, there should be an 0.1 mm gap between blocks. I find that they slide against each other with some fair amount of friction (which is good for keeping the puzzle together!).

So, yes, I'd agree with Jin on the clearances he specified for mating (0.1 mm), minimal slide (0.2 mm) and loose slide (0.3 mm).

Post the pictures on the Printed Object Showcase board and the link to Thingiverse when you get it worked out so we all can benefit!
Dale

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