Introduction: Clip & Block
Clip & block is an open source construction kit (CC By‑SA 4.0). It can create solid structure for electronic projects with a 3D printer. Pieces can be assembly and removed easily for adding and remove components. It is still under development but i will present you my own projects later.
My goal is to make it :
- easy to print
- easy to extend
- be able to carry electronic components
Step 1: Print Your First Clip & Block
Clip & block is easy to print (no support, it's possible to print it in any direction, not to much precision needed, shapes are simple).
- To start, clone or download the project locally from GitLab.
First step, you need to print four pieces :
For the two plates :
- go to directory stl/basic
- get the file I-3.stl
- get the file I-4.stl.
I-3.stl → letter I is for the shape, number 3 is for number of holes.
For the clip and the blocker :
- go to directory stl/clips
get the file blocker-2.stl (lay it flat, there is a function for that in Cura)
get the file clip-2.stl.
number 2 is for the height of the clip (for two pieces). blocker-2.stl will work only with clip-2.stl.
You don't need two much materials for these pieces (2 g and 0,83 m with my settings).
Now, you can assembly pieces ! To unmount, you need to push the blocker from the other side with a small tool.
If it doesn't fit well, you can test other blockers, blocker-2-easy.stl or blocker-2-strong.stl.
You can print other plates to play with it and see that it's strong !
Step 2: Pieces List
In stl/basic directory, there is a big number of pieces (around 75). They are classified by shapes and number of holes (in three dimensions). Here is some samples :
I-3 : I, in length, 3 holes length
LF-3-2 : LF, in L flat, 3 holes length, 2 on the other side
L-2-1-1 : L, in L, 2 holes length, 1 height, 1 width
L-2-2-3 : L, in L, 2 holes length, 2 height, 3 width
U-2-2-2 : in U
P-2-2 : P, Flat
C-2-2-1 : cube, 2 holes length, 2 height, 1 width
IR-3 : IR, in length, rounded (for pieces in rotation)
IHR-3 : IHR, in length, half height, rounded
Step 3: Pieces for Electronic Components
I have create pieces for specific components. They are in the directory stl/electronic.
For example, you can see the two pieces that can include NodeMCU (I love this card :) )
There is a lot of types of this pieces, with more or less holes, only on one side, etc. You can browse it in this folder : clip-and-block/stl/electronic-parts/nodemcu
Here is the list of components that you can find in Clip & block. This list is growing and is not up to date :
- 18650x2 Batterie holder
18650 Batterie shield V3
BME 280
Breadboard 25 holes
Button 14 × 20
D1 Mini
DC Motor with gearbox
- N20 motor
L9110s Driver motor
NodeMCU
OLED 128 × 64
- SG90 Servo motor
Display TM1637
Step 4: Things I've Made
Here are some samples i've made with Clip & block :
- Virtual Wall Roomba
Electronic hourglass (To stop saying Hurry up ! in the morning my childrens :))
- RC Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYvnh63f8S4
- Universal phone holder
To finish, you can extend everything with openscad and create your own pieces.