KeyBase, the 100%* printable Omnifixo alternative

20-Apr-2024 Update V1.0.1, read the ChangeLog file for more details
 

KeyBase, the Omnifixo replacement you were looking for ? 

Looking for accessories for your KeyBase ? 

Check my official collection where I will add any model I find for it https://www.printables.com/@Zero_Makes/collections/1395402

( Video in french where I cover my whole project => soon )

I mean, don't get me wrong, Omnifixo seems to be a great product, but what if I told you you can print something better, today ! ( If Johann from Omnifixo reads this : I don't want to discredit your product, in fact I think it is a great product everyone should have, thus why I created my own printable version of it. )

What is the basic idea ?

As stated above, Omnifixo was my main inspiration for this project, but I wanted it to be 100%(*) printable while being ( almost ) as flexible.
I started with a base that sort of is a welding table: a big surface, with a lot of holes to mount your tools/jigs/material you are working with, almost anywhere you want.

(*) Will be used to indicate the non-printed parts down below.

Okay, but why the name KeyBase ?

Simply because the holes are keyhole-shaped. Yeah, simple as that.

Ok, enough rambling, now, what is the KeyBase system ?

KeyBase consists of 3 main parts :

• The base, onto which you attach your segments or attachments.
• The segments, that allow you to place your attachments anywhere you need them to be.
• The attachments, the tools that will help you during your work.

Now I will go into further details about each parts.

1. The base : This consist of 2 pieces, a base, and the corresponding KeyPlate. The base has multiple spots for 10x2mm magnets(*) to allow for accessories to be mounted underneath it. The KeyPlate is the main part onto which you will be attaching the segmets and attachments, thanks to a peg and nut system. Each Keyplate slot is 20mm apart from the next one, making it highly flexible in terms of placement, while keeping a great rigidity. 
(*) The magnets at the bottom of the bases are NOT mandatory, but will be used to attach accessories such as drawers ( already designed, not printed yet ) and in the not too far future a system that will allow you to tilt the bases, which I am finalizing the modelling and testing.

      2. The segments : Those parts will allow you to place any attachments anywhere you want in space for your needs. They consist of 2 hollow spherical shaped parts linked together. The ID of the bottom sphere is the same dimension as the OD of the top one, allowing you to snap-fit them together to make a flexible arm. Both being spherical, this allows you to 3D-rotate one-another.

      3. The attachments : Those are all the other pieces that you will attach either to the end of a segment or directly onto the KeyPlate. I plan on adding more and more attachments over time. Look at the gallery to see what is already available.

Alongside all of that, you will find an assortment of mounting pieces, the name is pretty self-explanatory I guess… 

So far, everything I have designed is 100% printed parts, except for the magnets(*), and the clothespin springs(*) I used for the clips. 

Printability and printer settings :

As long as your printer is somewhat dialed-down, you won't have any trouble printing any part of the KeyBase system. All parts have been designed with a .4mm nozzle size and .2mm layer height in mind, they also were exported with the ideal orientation for printing. The longer bridge you will encounter on the main parts is 16mm long, I didn't have to enable supports to any part while designing this system, the only exception might be the drawers, I'll have to see and update this section accordingly. 
So here's the rundown of my recommended printer settings :

Material : PLA(+) is recommended, PETG might aslo work if you manage to have a very smooth finish.

Nozzle ⌀ and layer height : .4mm nozzle with .2 layer height ( ! the segments have a .8 thick wall, so make sure that your slicer slices them with 2 walls, NOTHING more )
I recommend 3 walls, 3 top & bottom, as far as infill goes, I'd say at minimum 20%, but if you want a heftier KeyBase, feel free to adjust

Supports and seam alignment: No supports needed, except maybe for the drawers ( depending on your machine's capability at bridging ( 30mm span )) 
Seam position does not affect the fitment of any part. That said, if you have any difficulty snapping the segments together, you might want to have the seams set to random for those parts. The dimensions need to be really tight for them to achieve a balance of enough grab for them to hold together, but not so much that they don't allow for any movement.

Post-treatment : All the parts are designed with tolerances within them, no post-treatment is needed, except for the segments and the attachment sphere, where you might have to deburr the inner of the bottom hole to help them having a good fit without needing an excessive amount of force to clip/unclip them.

As an example, I have printed every parts on my quite old Anycubic Kobra, with the parameters I described above, most of them in PLA/PLA+, a few in PETG.

I also uploaded some basic pieces for anyone wanting to make it's own accessory/attachment, If you do so, please use the remix feature so that it is easier for me to add your model to the KeyBase addon collection you can find here : https://www.printables.com/@Zero_Makes/collections/1395402
If you make a from-scratch design to use with the KeyBase system, please use the keybase tag instead.

Credit where credit is due, as I said in the first lines, Omnifixo was a big inspiration for this project, go check them out => https://omnifixo.com/

If you want to support me and help me develop the KeyBase system, you can buy me a coffee over here => https://ko-fi.com/zeromakes or when I will be able, directly on Printables.


Note : This project is under the licence CC BY-NC 4.0, meaning NO commercial use. If you wish to sell my design, please reach out to me directly on Printables or on any of my socials.