Thumbscrews for M3/M4/M5/M6/M8 SHCS Screws

Thumbscrews! They're a super convenient way to fasten two objects together without the need of additional tools to make adjustments. Think about stuff like adjustable tripods, tool jigs, etc. Things you need to fasten but often need to adjust. Thumbscrews are just what you need.

My original inspiration for this design came from @Ropeless with the Microphone Stand Collar and accessories. The design on his thumbscrews is very attractive, but I was aiming for a single part with an inserted nut, rather than a 2-piece glue-up. His has the virtue of having the screwhead hidden, which I didn't particular care about, so it further enabled my single-part design. That Mic Stand Collar is some excellent work, and I'll be making use of it for a project I'm doing for a friend. I made some mods to his collar design to use heat-set inserts instead of inserting a nut and retaining clip and will be posting a remix soon!

These are designed to use M3, M4, M5, M6, and M8 Socket-Head Cap Screws (SHCS), and nuts of those same sizes.

The profile is setup with a pause where you insert the nut and then continue. You may find it helpful to thread the nut onto the end of a screw, then you can unscrew and release the nut. DO NOT LEAVE THE SCREW IN-PLACE WHILE PRINTING! When you're done, you may look at the results and think it's gone wrong. Why? There's a single layer printed above and below the nut. It's what's called a “sacrificial support” layer. No extra supports, and it's so thin you can just put the screw right on through. You may want to poke the hole clean first, but it's easy, I assure you.

Feel free to remix and post your takes on thumbscrews! Here's the Onshape workspace, so go nuts!

My sample prints shown here were done in @3dfuel's outstanding PCTG Pro, in Toolbox Red (i.e. Milwaukee Red). Not a typo, by the way! Think about PCTG as being a sort of next-gen PETG. It's got all the good properties of PETG with a bunch of improvements.