Printable Spring
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This is a method of designing 3d printable springs. It's not the most parametric but it functions well as a coil spring.
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Updated at source:
Model information
- Source
- Printables
- Category
- Mechanical Parts
- License
- Creative Commons — Attribution — Share Alike
Print Orientation
It needs to be printed lying down, not vertically.
Materials
Go for something that prints with good layer adhesion. PC, PETG etc.
TPU may work but like I mention below it tends to take a while to restore itself to its initial length when deformed.
Evolution of Design
My initial problem was that I struggled to find a convincing 3d printable spring. Coil spring geometry doesn't print nicely since the geometry doesn't favor 3d printing. I wanted a spring that was functionally equivalent without needing aesthetic equivalence. It just needed a roughly circular ID and OD so that it could be a fill-in for a metal spring when prototyping a new design.
So I tried a few things - firstly by printing a tube with lots of offset windows which created beams which could flex. This worked but only if it was printed in TPU since I couldn't get the windows very large proportional to the tube. TPU doesn't make very responsive springs unfortunately, so I wanted to be able to use PLA/PETG or PC to make a more responsive spring.
That's where I thought about printing the spring horizontally and using layer lines to better advantage.
Areas for Improvement
This spring works well but there are definitely quite a few things to consider:
- Using smaller and more numerous diamond cutouts would result in a spring which doesn't snap when fully compressed.
- Layer adhesion is quite important in this design - you really want that dialled in before you start otherwise it's not going to go well.
- This design can work in compression or tension.
- A well-designed spring ensures that each segment experiences uniform strain, but 3D-printed springs suffer from weak layer adhesion that disrupts this balance. To compensate, the design should minimize bending stresses at the layer interfaces and redistribute strain toward orientations less affected by poor bonding. Further design tweaking can fine-tune the geometry (or come up with something completely different) with these factors in mind.
Other Uses
As well as a spring it provides a good amount of angular deflection in both directions.