Shape-Shifting Finger Vise

Clamp anything, whatever its shape, in one move.

Most vises have two flat jaws... This one has 64 independent square pins (32 per jaw) that slide back when you close the vise, copy the outline of the part, and are then locked all at once with a single cam lever.

Round, tapered, stepped or irregular parts are held along their whole outline instead of at two points, so you need less clamping force and the part does not slip, twist or get marked. The pins keep the imprinted shape when you open the vise, so a batch of identical parts goes in and out without re-adjusting.

Everything is designed to be printed without supports and assembled with filament scraps and six M4 screws.

How it works

- Close: one handwheel, one spindle. The spindle has a left-hand thread on one half and a right-hand thread on the other, so both jaws move towards the centre together (1 turn = 8 mm). Clockwise closes.

- Mold: the 64 pins (5 × 5 mm section, 68 mm long) slide through "house-shaped" holes with a 45° roof. Useful stroke 9–37 mm out of the jaw face. Each pin has a snap-fit head so it cannot fall out, and a rounded PLA cap on the tip (or TPU).

- Lock: flip the lever (80 mm) and an eccentric cam pushes a locking plate down onto all 32 pins of that jaw at once. The pins are wedged into the roof of their holes, so the harder you push, the tighter they hold. The cam is self-locking at any angle (lead angle 10.5°, below the PLA-on-PLA friction angle), so the lever stays where it stops, like a bicycle quick release.

- Position: the whole vise sits on a ball joint and tilts 30° in any direction, with a split clamp and a thumb screw to fix it. The base is a desk clamp with a TPU pad, no drilling.

- Safe by design: the spindle can push about 600 N, the pins hold roughly 250–600 N per jaw, so over-tightening makes the pins slide back instead of breaking anything.

Specs

- Jaw opening: 12 to 99 mm between the jaw faces (pins retracted), jaw width 76 mm.

- Footprint 200 × 72 mm; the clamp takes table tops from about 10 to 55 mm thick (70 mm throat).

- Threads: 45° flank printed threads, pitch 4 mm, Ø16 spindle, Ø12 / Ø10 on the ball joint. All print vertically without supports.

- 21 printed parts plus 64 pins and 64 caps; PLA everywhere except the TPU pad. Caps can be also printed with TPU.

Printing

All STLs are already in their print orientation; no supports anywhere. 0.2 mm layers, 0.4 nozzle. The 3MF files are organised by plate and colour (256 × 256 bed):

- The 3MF is a Bambu Studio project for a 256 × 256 bed. On a 250 × 210 bed use the STLs: everything fits except the 64 pins, which need two plates.

- Plate 1, black: base (A1), ball-joint clamp body and cap (R2a, R2b), two bearing blocks (A3), 64 pin caps (A10).

- Plate 2, orange: both spindle halves (A2a, A2b, printed standing, use a brim), handwheel (A4), two T-nuts (A6), two cams (A8, brim), ball (R1), clamp screw (R3) and nut (R4).

- Plate 3, white: two jaws (A5), four half locking plates (A7a, A7b).

- Plate 4, white: 64 pins (A9), lying on the flat face.

- Plate 5, TPU 95A: friction pad (R5).

Suggested settings: 4 walls on the base, spindles, T-nuts and clamp body (or 100 % infill on the spindles), 15–20 % infill elsewhere, 2 walls on pins and caps. Print PLA for stiffness; PETG also works.

Hardware

- 4 × M4×12 countersunk screws + 4 × M4 nuts (ball to base)

- 2 × M4×30 screws + 2 × M4 nuts (clamp cap)

- 6 pieces of 1.75 mm filament used as pins: 2 × 64 mm (bearing blocks), 2 × 10 mm (cams), 1 × 15 mm (handwheel), 1 × 16 mm (spindle joint). Cut flush.

- Optional: a drop of glue on the spindle joint.

Assembly (in this order)

A step-by-step illustrated guide (ASSEMBLY_GUIDE.pdf) is included in the files.

1. Press the M4 nuts into the ball flange (R1) and screw the ball to the underside of the base (countersunk heads inside the T-slot). Do this before the spindle goes in.

2. Join the two spindle halves: hex spigot into the hex socket, filament pin through the cross hole (glue optional).

3. Pin caps: push a cap onto each pin tip before the pins go into the jaw, one by one, off the vise. They are designed for a light press fit (a drop of glue if your printer makes them loose).

4. In each jaw: T-nut in through the window underneath ("right" nut in the right jaw, "left" nut in the left jaw).

5. Half locking plates in through the top of the jaw, one on each side of the rib. Cam lever upright, cam shaft in through the large hole on the lever side until the small trunnion enters the other side; filament pin in the small end.

6. With the cam lever upright (unlocked), insert the 32 pins from the back of the jaw, through the elastic head: cap first, until the two spring blades of the head snap behind the plate. The slot of the head can face any way.

7. Screw the left jaw onto the left half of the spindle and the right jaw onto the right half, at the same distance from the centre. A bearing block on each end of the spindle.

8. Slide the assembly into the base from the open (right) end; filament pins through the base wall into each bearing block (hole below the spindle, across the base).

9. Handwheel onto the hex; 15 mm filament pin through the gap between hub and rim, through hub and spindle. M4 nuts into the two pockets of the clamp body, push the ball into the half-bushing from the side, cap over the ball and the two M4×30 (tighten alternately until the ball moves with the friction you like). Nut R4 into the channel of the lower arm from the front, screw R3 from below, TPU pad on its tip.

Clearances used (in case your printer differs)

Pins 5.0 in 5.5 holes (jaw) and 5.3 (locking plate) · plate 4.0 in a 4.5 slot · T-nut 0.2 per side · bearing blocks 0.3 · cam trunnions 0.25 · threads 0.25 · spindle hex 7.0 in 7.4 · handwheel hex 10.0 in 10.35 · filament pin holes Ø2.1 · pin caps 5.0 mouth for a 5.0 pin (press fit). Test parts for the pin holes and the thread are included (A0_*).

Version 1 – and what comes next

This is the first working version of the concept, printed and tested.

Planned improvements for the next versions: better adaptation of the pins to the part outline (finer pins and tip shapes), stronger pin locking, lighter and faster-printing parts, and easier handling between the two jaws (single lever for both sides).

Follow the model to get the updates.

Open for remixing

The complete STEP files are included: the full assembly (all 160 solids in their real positions) and every single part, so you can open the design in any CAD program, change what you need and follow the project as it grows.

Remixes, improvements and photos of your prints are very welcome: post a Make or leave a comment, and tell me what you would change for V2.

Designed for the Printables Designer Challenge: Vises (November 2026).