I’d been thinking about better ways to attach things like lights and pumps to my bike for a while.
Click Here to check out ElastoStraps on Thingiverse.com!
I recently saw some commercially available bike lights that had elastic-style fasteners built into their design – and figured there might be a way I could make my own on my 3d printer.
Over the next several days I developed “ElastoStraps” – reusable hook / loop fasteners 3d printed in soft PLA.
Just stretch them around two things you want to hold together – and push the mesh over the hooks (don’t worry if all the hooks don’t catch).
ElastoStraps have not been tested extensively – I can make no promises about durability. However – I will say that soft PLA is surprisingly tough stuff.
So far – I’ve only printed ElastoStraps in “Flex EcoPLA” brand soft PLA available from makergeeks.com. If you try other brands / filament types – please let me know how it goes!
I created ElastoStraps in OpenSCAD. You can easily use the Customizer on Thingiverse to make ElastoStraps of any size you like without needing to know OpenSCAD.
Click Here to check out ElastoStraps on Thingiverse.com!
Printing in soft PLA can be a bit tricky – this presentation has some tips: http://nothinglabs.blogspot.com/2013/09/filament-roundup-3d-printing-in-all.html
Instead of using soft PLA, I used this Flexible elastic rubber-like filament as a substitute. This material is somewhat similar to rubber—highly flexible and soft. But take note that this is tricky to print with and requires some higher temperature than you might be used to.
Instead of using soft PLA, I used this Flexible elastic rubber-like filament as a substitute. This 3D printing material is somewhat similar to rubber—highly flexible and soft. But take note that this is tricky to print with and requires some higher temperature than you might be used to.