Versatile hobbyist clamp

Use case

This versatile combination of angles and thumb screws can hold almost any oddly shaped part that needs some work on. The original idea was to hold loose AA batteries to weld the contacts to them. Try that without a frame, it will drive you nuts. The combination of two size S and two size M angles can hold up to four batteries. 

Combine smaller and larger parts to create the overall clamping size that you need.

Need larger size angles?

Originally I had made size M and size S parts that proved to be what I needed. A user requested a bigger one so I added the size L. If you should be interested in longer angles, feel free to let me know and I can make some. 

Design workflow

The parts are made completely in FreeCAD. Thanks to the new helix feature, that came with FreeCAD version 0.19, it was rather simple to create the threads. To make the parts 3D printing friendly, I have chosen to design them with a flank angle of 90°, rather than 60°. Also the pitch of 2mm on the threads is a bit more than what you would normally expect for a 8mm diameter thread. Also this adds to better printing results. 

Printing

Simply print all parts in the uploaded orientation. No supports are needed. I recommend to print the threading parts of the angles and the thumb screws at 100% infill. For the rest, 25% infill proved to be more than enough. 

For the four screws, it is a good idea to print them all in one batch. This gives each part more time to let the most recent printed layer cool down before the next one is applied. With that technique, I got very nice threads even on a budget printer (Ender3Pro).

Prints in PLA and PETG went well, it was even possible to combine parts from different printers and different materials.

The threads may not work perfectly smooth at first, but they will wear in quickly. Especially if they are made from PLA, the friction heat that is created at the first few turns will smooth them out perfectly fine.