Simple Multi-Digit Counter

This is a nice manual counter with a soft click/lock action. You can easily customize the covers in the slicer. You can also pick between a large or small sized counter. I recommend printing the numbers in a 0.4 nozzle (to accurately print the digits). The digits do require color changes but there are only 2 layers used for the text so you could do this manually as well if in a pinch.

Compared to my other counter, this is honestly a slightly more practical design. This version has no internal mechanisms and each digit is operated manually. On the plus side, it has been refined a bit and is extensible to more than 2 digits. Additionally each number piece now includes small nubs to help lock it in place on each ring.

When assembling the rings and numbers, I recommend using vice grips or some sort of pliers to press each number in place. It's not unusual for the nubs to break off during this operation; it won't hurt anything. You could also adjust the size of the numbers to make them more loose, but tighter is better (to some point of course)!

The rest of the assembly is pretty straight forward:

For example if you want to make a two digit counter, print two rings and two sets of numbers. Then print one spacer, one body middle, and two end caps. Print one pair of clips. If you want a three digit counter make sure to include one more spacer, ring, and set of numbers. Of course, print the correct length body middle and pair of clips. For a four digit counter, etc.

If you find the action difficult (i.e. takes lots of force), it's likely that the body middle is too short, reprint them but stretched a bit. You may need to also stretch the clips. The total height of the counter will vary based on the flatness of your printed and assembled parts. I have attempted to provide a reasonable size but scaling by a few percent should be fine. (This is a bigger issue the more digits you use).

Lastly, if the action feels crunchy (i.e. you don't notice the click/lock), likely there is some small amount of detritus inside the mechanism. First, go ahead and spin the rings several times back and forth to really work anything loose, then reassemble the counter. (This seems like it will not work, but really it does)!