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3D printed Tension Gauge

rtlongdon

Active Member
I was getting ready to nerd out and make a 3D tension gauge instead of doing the rational thing and buying one ($$).

Before I could get my nerd on, a quick Google search revealed this 2018 Kitplanes article https://www.kitplanes.com/build-a-calibrated-tensiometer/ and thus it made more sense to duplicate (and give credit to) someone else's hard work. I'm sure many of you have seen this (or maybe even fab'd one) before- so sorry if this a repeat of an old song!

I drew it up in Fusion 360 and decided to 3D print it before firing up the CNC and making one out of Garolite or Aluminum. Also, I only have 1/2" material around so sending half of it to the $hop floor pains me. If I decide to machine it at a later date, I'll get a more appropriate sized stock.

Turns out the 3D printed version works so well, I'm not sure I'll bother with the machine time to "upgrade it".

I think I have about $25 into the whole thing. I have been using a bucket of water and a calibrated scale to mess with it. I was a bit surprised at the excellent repeatability the 3D printed parts give, but there isn't much side force. The max I've hung off of the 1/8" cable is 65#. The attached photo is a 5 gallon bucket weighing in at 35#.

There are a few tweaks I'm going to make to the bracket clamp and mount on the back that holds the dial indicator, but overall it works really well. Of course, at this point it's easy to machine it out of another material, but if it ain't broke...

If anyone wants the files as they stand at this point in time, PM me (STL, STEP, F3D). I'm not guaranteeing that you won't need to tweak or alter anything, but mine works great. I know everyone here needs another project!

PS- I don't check my emails very often, so be patient please!
 

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