Pencil In Twister (Assembly + Print-In-Place beta!)

This is PIT - the pencil twister to extend the life of your traditional pencil! Just put a pencil in, twist and the pencil extends! This way you can use even tiny pencils, and you don’t need to throw them in the trash, when they are normally to small and uncomftable to use! Feel free to download and enjoy! Tested with multiple pencils, fx. a small IKEA pencil.

Please share your makes here on PrusaPrinters - would love to see the model come to life in many sizes and colors!

How to use

When printed and assembled it is super easy to use. Hold the pencil and turn the back-end to extend or retract the pencil. That’s it! (and it’s addicting too!..)

Why use it?

There are multiple reasons why you should use it!

1. It increases the diameter of your traditional pencil - which makes you hand relax more when using it.
2. Easier for children to hold on to.
3. It shows a bit of your personality - choose the design and colors YOU like!
4. Environment - print this once and use it over and over. This will stop you from throwing small pencils in the trash, when they are still perfectly good to use - just too uncomfortable to use without PIT

You see Now you almost HAVE to print one

Print-In-Place vs. Assembly

My recommendation is that you try one of the assembly versions first for a nice end-result. That was also my original idea - a print in multiple parts, and then you assemble it (no glue or tools needed) - and this works super nice!

But then I thought to myself : what if I made a print-in-place version too! So i did It works.. okay. Not as smoothly as the assembly version (at least on my printer) but it works! Yay! But please consider this as an ‘open beta version’. Maybe a smoother version will come in the future, but there are limits to what I can make within a week for these flash contests.. But until then, if you post a make and rate the model, please take this in to consideration. Thanks!

Overview

The pencil twister comes in multiple patterns and sizes. The pencil size is especially important. They must be hexagon-shaped-pencils. Regarding the size: if the pencil you will use is too big, it simply wont fit in. If it’s too small, it wont work with the twist-and-extend functionality. If there is a size that you would like to see in the kit - please let me know in the comments!

Sizes and filenames

The file names is the sizes of the pencil you want to use.

• First number: pencil size (mm - meassured from one flat side to the opposite)
• Second number: pencil length (mm - from end to end. I recommend using one that is around 5 mm too long if possible)

Print instructions

An assembly consists of 3 parts! (Pencil base, internal and external) They should be fairly simple to print!

• Placement: As they are importet. (Like the pencil is standing)
• Layerheight: 0.2 mm works fine. (Smaller layers might make it run even smoother!)
• Supports: No (For the print-in-place version there is build in supports for easy removal)
• Speed: Consider a lower print speed for better details and less shaking during the print, that could make the print fall over..
• Buildplate adhesion: Maybe.. I printed them with no brim or raft. But depending on your buildplate and material you might want to use a brim, because of the height and tiny area touching the buildplate.
• Colorchange: This is of course optional - but I think it ads a little something

Assembly

1. Put the pencil firmly in the pencil base (smallest part)
2. Screw the pencil base (with the pencil) in to the internal part (the tall part with internal threads)
3. Push the internal part into the external part. When it’s almost completely in, push firmly until you hear a satisfying ‘click’ so the internal part wont fall out. The end should still be free to turn/twist.

Print-In-Place ("open beta version")

This version prints in 1 go! When finished do the following:

1. Break of the small support at the bottom.
2. Twist the end-cap a couple times.
3. Put in a pencil from the top (requires a pencil that goes all the way to the end)
4. Gently turn the end cap until the pencil is able to be pushed all the way in.
5. Hold the pencil tip AND the exterior part of the case firmly with one hand, while twisting the end-cap with the other, to extend and retract the pencil. (Might be needed to go all the way multiple times to make it run smoothly)

Final tips

• Use a pencil with as sharp hexagon corners as possible - makes it lock in place better
• Use a pencil with as smooth an outside as possible - for better extending and retraction performance.

I hope you find one that you like. I was through a lot of versions to find the mechanism that worked this good - but it was a fun experiment. Enjoy!

And happy printing!