Grabber

This Grabber was designed by my daughter for a school project where they had to find a way to extract candy from a 5 gallon water cooler jug. The handle is made from 1/2 PVC pipe and it is actuated using a 1/2 dowel. Make the pipe as long as you like and glue it to the Base of the Grabber. The dowel, start with it about 1.5in longer than the pipe, and trim as needed. I recommend putting a cap on it to limit the dowel travel such that it cannot be pushed all the way through the grabber.

The Actuator is glued on the end of the dowel.

A rubber band is installed in the groove of the finders to close the Grabber.

See the attached video of the Grabber in action.

Parts list:

Base (printed)

Actuator (printed)

Fingers (4) (printed)

Toothpicks (4) (purchased)

1/2 PCV Pipe (purchased, length as desired)

1/2 wooden dowel (purchased, 1.5in longer than pipe)

1/2 PVC pipe cap (purchased), glue a small piece of pipe in it to make it match the dowel diameter.

Rubber band (purchased)

CA glue

Silicone grease

Tools:

Needle file

Small drill (for hinge pin holes)

Saw (for pipe and dowel)

Print Settings

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Resolution:

.2

Infill:

Notes:

There are three printed components:

Base:

Print this with the axis up or down, using supports. The hinge pin hole will need to be drilled out in most cases. 25% infill or more is recommended.

Fingers:

Four are required. I recommend printing these laying on their side with the actuation tab parallel to the bed. This will make it the strongest in bending. Also it makes the hinge pin hole vertical which makes it cleaner. Use 100% infill and supports.

Actuator:

Can be printed without support with the axis and pointy end up. 25% or greater infill is recommended. After printing, running a needle file down the bottom of the actuation grooves will make the Grabber operate smoothly. The rounded bottom makes this easier, and will be nearly flat after filing.

Custom Section

Category: Mechanical Toys