Toenail Clippers Shaft Repair

A Polycarbonate 3D printed replacement shaft assembly for a broken injection-molded shaft part.
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updated January 28, 2024

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I don't expect this model to have much interest for others, but this like many other projects I have around the house, could not be ignored for engineering a solution.

Last year I bought a new toenail clippers from the jungle website, and overall I was pretty pleased with the feel and function.  The size and shape was nice and large for my man-hands and I could cut my toenails with a nice mechanical advantage.  The design was pretty simple.

Last week I go to cut my toe nail, squeezed hard and the plastic pin the clippers broke in an explosive crack-ing noise.
I was miffed as the clippers were immediately inoperable.  With no shaft, there was no way to pinch the metal on the clippers.
But naturally, my first inclination was that I had to fix this through 3D printing.

So after about 15-20 iterations of a Solidworks CAD model and numerous hours printing test prototypes, I finally got something to work.  It uses the best tension and compression directional properties of the 3D FFF process utilizing polycarbonate material (PC).  
It's a 2-piece design, with the small cover encapsulating the new shaft once passed through the metal pinch and the 2 levers.  

This solution is for toenail clippers of probably many imported Chinese brands that use a weak molded plastic pin to hold all the pieces together in a snap lock (super economical).  I don't blame the engineers that originally designed this, as they probably were under orders to make it as cheap as possible, one-piece, easy assembly.  There wasn't a focus on cycle testing.

If any of you search for this and need it, here it is; any questions let me know.

*Update 1/8/24-1/28/24
- Made a small thickened feature at the clip bottom for improved strength.  Reposted and wrote over existing files.  
- The bottom small “knuckle” that grabs the pin needs to be orientated as shown in the .3mf file, for printing.

 

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