#0037 Rugged Ergonomic BX Carabiner

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This is the 4th rendition of my locking carabiner.  This one is bigger, more ergonomic, and intended for general use in addition to key chains and camping gear and the like - attach it to your stroller handle, water bottle, etc.
 

My other versions are here if you'd like to check them out:

1. J's Carabiner
2. E's Carabiner
3. D Carabiner

Many Uses: Key rings, towel holder for camping, shower curtain rings, etc.

Two versions are provided here:

1. BX - Stiffer to open but is stronger overall.
2. BX Easy Open - much easier to open (more flex) and attach onto objects .

I upped the effort for this one a bit and did a couple rounds of FEA (finite element analysis) optimization on the stress distribution along the high stress areas when opening the carabiner.

The yellow areas above are the most stressed but notice that it is widely distributed across the curve and not concentrated in one spot.

For the Easy Open version, adding the slit not only made the carabiner easier to open, but it moved the high stress region further down the length, which is better to help prevent the plastic taking a set.

It is also shaped to be more ergonomic, to better engage with the object you are trying to snap it onto. This video gives you a good idea of how easy it is to open this carabiner.  Notice how I hold it to make it easy to attach onto objects.

Also, see where the stresses are when I simulate this carabiner being pulled apart.  The red areas designate the highest stress regions under this pull direction so if it fails due to overloading, it will likely fail at these points.

The intent is to make this carabiner stronger than my previous ones, mainly due to it being larger and thicker.  And hopefully of more general and practical use for you. You can see the size difference vs. the D Carabiner below.

Material: please do not use PLA because it will likely snap/break if you try to open the carabiner (it did when I tried it)…yes it is a brittle material not suited for this application. Recommended to use PETG or ABS/ASA only.

Printing: 2 walls, 4 bottom layers, 5 top layers, and 20% triangular infill recommended. More wall will result in a stiffer carabiner.

WARNING: Please do not use this to hold anything precious or expensive.  It is for general use only.  Please exercise good judgement and common sense.

Of course you can scale it up even further if you want, just keep in mind that if you increase the vertical wall thickness (relative to print orientation) even with just one additional wall, stiffness will increase quite noticeably.

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Happy Printing!