Do you have a woman in your life? Does she have hair? Or maybe you are your self are a person with hair. Then do we have the thing for you! Here we have an outstandingly modelled claw clip that holds hair all day long! And that's not even the best part! wait for it…… ITS CUSTOMISABLE! Let your creativity (or your partners)wander to create something new and unique! A claw clip that will have everyone asking “OOO! Where did you get that?!”
My wife wanted a hair claw clip. I did some experimenting with different models but always came to the conclusion that its very hard to print such a organic and filigree design on a FDM printer. I didnt like how the surface looks like where the support touches or the stringing between the legs. I decided to take a different approach. Thats how this model has emerged. This is not your typical “print in place” or “pop it of the printbed and done” print. It requires a fair amount of refinish. But trust me its worth it and you'll end up with a product that lasts a while and you will enjoy having. I recomment making a few at a time this would do a great present.
Since the model is flat it is fairly easy to print. So no supports, brim or what so ever. Print with PETG and 100% Infill.
In the picture below you see my wifes pansy design. It was entirely painted inside PrusaSlicer using the MMU Paint feature. The G-Code is attached. Unfortunately the 3mf file got lost due to a hard drive failiure.
However there is another MMU design in the files with a tiger pattern (Clip Tiger.3mf) Im excited to see what cool pattern the comunity comes up with. Please share in the Comments.
This Model must be thermoformed after printing to get to its final form. For that you'll need the following items:
Read the following steps before you start. In some of the steps you need to be quick so its important you know what to do.
Make sure the water is boiling. Reduce the heat and put the clip into the water (one at a time). Count to 10.
After the 10 seconds, take the part out of the water with the tweezers. Place it upside down in the mould piece with the rectangular hole in it. This hole is for the hinge mechanism.
Place the other half of the mould onto the part and press it with your hand to mould it into shape. Stay like that for another 10 seconds.
This clip requires a real metal spring. In this section I will explain how you can make your own spring for this clip. If youre lucky you might find a spring from a broken clip that you could use. But I recommend getting some spring wire because it comes in handy when it comes to other diy projects that need springs. Spring wire is a heat treated high carbon steel with a high elasticity. The material can be exposed to high tensions returning to its original shape without permanent deforming. Small springs like the one were about to make can be made by shaping without using heat.
WARNING! WEAR SAVETY GOOGLES you dont want the spring to jump at your unprotected eye.
You will need:
Grab the wire with the very tip of the pliers. Bend the wire down and up around the pliers nose while griping them very tight.
You will notice the loop is not very beatifully round. Fix that using the pliers as shown in the picture below. You can use the screwdriver with the 2 mm shaft to check if the hole is the right size.
Put the loop on the screwdrivers shaft and wind the wire around. Maker sure the windings are very close together. You hold the short end with your thumb and use the other thumb to move around the shaft while the screwdriver stays in place.
Wind it around 6 revolutions and cut the legs at 7 mm. The legs should be opposite at an 180° angle.
Start by cutting a piece of filament. Cut it to be approxemately 2mm longer that the hinge on each side. Then heat a cutter with a lighter and push it onto one end of the filament to make a rivet like shape. Alternatively use a soldering iron.
Slide the filament approximately a third into the hinge. Then place the spring on the filament and slide it all the way in. To keep it permantent use the same technique from the previous step to melt the end shut.
There you go. A fully functional personalisable hairclip. Happy Printing!
Here is a potato for the long post
The author marked this model as their own original creation.