Standoffs are weirdly expensive, and you never know what size you're going to need. So I made this cutting tool for making my own small standoffs/spacers for PCBs, using nylon or other plastic tubing of different sizes.
It uses a standard utility knife blade, which can be loaded in four different positions so you get the most out of each blade while getting a nice sharp cut every time. This current design requires no tools to adjust the length or change the blade.
The tool can be snapped onto an optional box for storing extra blades and/or lengths of tubing.
I used some strategic color changes to get the text on the base to pop, and for an indicator stripe on the fence part.
The screw part needs to be printed upright, so I added a custom support structure that can be clipped off afterwards (plus a little filing):
Here's the tubing that will work for a given screw size (or others! these are just examples):
Screw Size | Inside Diameter | McMaster part # |
---|---|---|
0 | 0.063" | https://www.mcmaster.com/1883T5 |
2 | 0.094" | https://www.mcmaster.com/5548K71 |
4 | 0.110" | https://www.mcmaster.com/5173K42 |
6 | 0.140" | https://www.mcmaster.com/5548K73 |
8 | 0.170" | https://www.mcmaster.com/53945K11 |
10 | 0.190" | https://www.mcmaster.com/5173K36 |
12 | 0.225" | https://www.mcmaster.com/5173K45 |
Screw Size | Inside Diameter | McMaster part # |
---|---|---|
M1.6 | 1.7 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/50315K14 |
M2 | 2.38 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/5548K71 |
M2.5 | 2.7 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/5173K34 |
M3 | 3.18 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/5392K54 |
M3.5 | 3.81 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/5173K43 |
M4 | 4.32 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/53945K11 |
M5 | 5.7 mm | https://www.mcmaster.com/5195T53 |
Here's the assembly. The only hardware needed is:
One M3 x 12 (or up to 22mm long) machine screw
One M3 hex nut
One M3 x 25mm machine screw
One M3 lock nut
The author hasn't provided the model origin yet.