I’ve been having a lot of fun with a 3D printed sock knitting machine I made recently. So far I’ve just been using old socks full of BB’s as weights inside the socks as I knit them. But I’m starting to experiment with a ribber and that means not having access to the inside to adjust weights – so I wanted a way to hang weights on the knitting from the outside.
I’ve seen a number of metal machines use a buckle like this so I decided to try printing one.
It requires a piece of 1/8″ or 3mm metal rod about 60mm / 2.25″ long to assemble. I considered making it with a print in place hinge – but since it needs to support a couple of lbs of weight I decided to use a metal pivot. Plus I had extra 3mm rod on hand from building my machine.
It seems to work quite well – though I think I’d make it about ½” wider and maybe a bit taller if I was to redesign it. For now it’s usable and I’ll see how I like using external weight before I decide if I need to redesign it.
Prints with no support in about an hour at .20 layers. Probably fine to print with thicker layers to do it faster…honestly I don’t even think the teeth are really even necessary based on how it pinches the knit fabric and locks on when used.
Credits:
jhitesma