3D Printed Giant Zipper Mechanism

3D Printed Giant Zipper Mechanism by LoboCNC

Printed On Creality K2 Plus Using Filament eSun PLA+

Printed without Supports, Printed without Rafts, Infill 10 %

This one, blissfully, prints in place with almost no assembly. (Just close it, push the slider on, and then shove the locking key in the zipper tip.) It is scaled up from the original version (1.5x) to create enough clearance to make it print-in-place.

I've provided 2 versions: one where both sides and the center connector all print together (this just fits diagonally on an Prusa MK3/4), and the second where the two zipper sides print separately and the center connector needs to be assembled onto one side.

Printing
This is designed with 0.2mm gaps between parts, which is relatively tight, but not insane. If your printer is close to maintaining this sized gap, then you should be fine as the links will break apart pretty easily. And if your printer is totally dialed in, the links should all move straight off the bed.

I printed this in PLA with 0.2mm layers and a 0.4mm nozzle. I would not recommend using a larger nozzle. None of the parts need supports. If your bed is large enough (200x250mm), you can print the ZipperComplete, the ZipperSlider and the ZipperKey. If you have a smaller bed, instead of the ZipperComplete, print ZipperLeft, ZipperRight and ZipperPin.


Highlighted models from LoboCNC