Solid Chain - custom length and support

Hey guys! I wasn't happy with the variety of chains on this platform and just couldn't find one that was easy to print and fully customizable in length. 

Everthing I found had some sort of factors that made the chain easy to break or easy to detach. 

I therefore designed my own solid chain with custom, easy to remove supports and fully adjustable in length.

The max. length of a single chain is about 1.8 meters (about 6 feet, little bit shorter).

But with the same technique you are printing the chain, you can easy attach multiple chains permanently together!

You need:

n x               “Chain up right”

(n + 1) x      “Chain link flat”

So you need one more “Chain link flat” than “Chain up right ”!

How you print them:

1. Print the “Chain link flat” first and remove them from the buildplate

    

2. Set a “Pause” at the height where the up right chain links would start to close again (see the pictures provided, it's about layer height 116)

   

3. Print the “Chain up right” (use brim if needed; its possible without but is dependend on your adhesion)

    

4. The print stops where you told it to

    

5. Place the previously printed “Chain link flat” between the “Chain up right” like shown in the pictures to combine 2 “Chain up right” with 1 “Chain link flat”

   

    

6. Resume the print

    

7. You are finished!

    

How you combine chains:

1. Print one “Chain up right” that pauses before closing the chain link

    

2. insert the two chains you want to combine

   

3. Resume the print (you may need to hold the chains if they are to heavy so that the chain link is not ripped from the print bed before finishing)

    

Shackle Lock information:

The Shackle Lock is a model I am still currently working on but the prototype is already usable.

Start screwing it in from the left side (where the threads in the shackle lock are)

Could be, that you need to screw it in and out a few times for it to run smoothly (like I said, it's a prototype)

Please provide feedback so I can improve the models! :)