3D printing has quite a bit of publicity these days, and many can see its potential for prototyping and R&D environments. Unfortunately many are still of the impression these prototypes cannot be utilized in end use applications. This is an example of some tooling I designed to hold a vent tube centered and parallel to two cooling pipes during a manufacturing process where in the vent tube is potted in place. This component would cost significantly more to machine and the additional strength would not be utilized. There are many situations similar to this example where the mechanical properties of ABS are sufficient for end use application.
This prototype was printed on a Stratasys Mojo, but most hobbyist printers could easily handle components like this.
Analysis was done, varying the arch thickness to achieve an ideal spring stiffness
Printing the components
First design
Second Design
