The origininal Pclips were made from a flat plastic strip with beaded edge. This was heated, folded around a mandrel and the screw hole punched.
A reasonable copy could be made by running a heated thin wall plastic tube under a wheel to flatten it and then forming it round a rod.
Hmmm, more ideas ! ![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif)
Yeah it sounds cool making new clips ! I don't think even Carlson went that far when restoring his old Tek scopes ! ![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/3d-printer-yet/?action=dlattach;attach=953110;image)
Custom P-clips made from scrap blister-pack plastic heat-formed around the body of a Sharpie. I'll let you figure out how to make the bead. ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
mnem
![Popcorn :popcorn:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/EatingPopcorn.jpg)
Spending all that money for the printer then cheaping out on a bloody P clip ! ![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
Yes it's a begining... but it's not good enough of course ! ![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
CLip needs to be much thuicker, a blister is too thin. Making the beads would be a lot of work....
No from everything that was said so far, I think for best overall results, as well as reducing the amount effort and time spent making them... I am leaning towards the idea of machining a metallic mold, for its shape is very basic/ easy to do, then just pour some melting clear plastic into it, then form it on a mandrel and punch the holes....
Later on, I might step up my game and try to make a mold of the already formed clip, so that no post processing would be needed.
Then I can make tons of them and sell them on Ebay ! ![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif)
Not "cheaped-out". These were custom-made extra-wide on purpose to go around the split loom and hold it fast without crushing it, which is a problem with narrow p-clips and zip-ties. If I'd wanted zip-ties or commercially available p-clips, I'd have used them. ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
mnem
zippity doo-dah... ![Shocked :o](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/shocked.gif)
Oh it was your own personal printer/clip, thought you just found it in google image or something, sorry ! ![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
Looks like I inadvertently pushed your button then, I apologize !
OK I understand the genesis of this home made clip better now, make sense ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
Nope... zero anger there, no buttons pushed,
nothing to apologize for. I was explaining the wheres and whys, no more, no less.
![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
I
did cheap out on the printer, but that's because it was crazy cheap on Amazon
with next-day delivery just before the first lockdown really started to affect the delivery chain, and I was already going stir crazy so I
wanted a project to keep me from losing my mind.
I've had a
lot of fun with it, but it's
definitely a more intermediate build; someone who's built a few 3DP will have no problem getting it sorted and printing half-decently in an hour, as I did, but mods and schizz are more of a assache as it's
"sortof a Ender 3 clone, but not quite exactly" enough that you can't just slap E3 accessories on it and have them work without some tweaking.
mnem
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=900426;image)