How to Design Living Hinges for 3D Printing
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How to design living hinges for 3D printing | 3D Hubs
living hinge is a thin flexible web of plastic that connects two or more rigid sections. Typically the larger rigid sections and the living hinge will be made of one continuous piece of plastic
For most prototyping applications, simply printing a thin strip of material is adequate if the hinge is only required to be functional for few cycles. If a greater number of cycles is required the hinge geometry should be optimized
The living hinge should be printed in a single strand of thermoplastic to improve strength
that the part will be printed vertically, resulting in a large amount of required support structure.
Recommended hinge specifications: Minimum of 2 layer thicknesses with 0.4 - 0.8mm recommended
Living hinges can be annealed after printing to increase the number of cycles before failure. This is can be achieved by heating up the hinge (for example by gently running a flame over the hinge untill it reaches a flexible state without melting), working it back and forth for several cycles at that elevated temperature and then leaving it in the closed position to cool down.
Living hinges made via 3D printing are best suited for proof of concept designs before investing in expensive injection mold tooling