Here is another unnecessarily over-engineered project! I am just going to design with screws next time, I spent way too long tuning these dovetail joints. This is:
What is it for? You can:
There is 0.12mm clearance in the dovetail joints which should be sufficient clearance for any modern printer with pressure advance (AKA linear advance). If your printer does not have pressure advance, you may need to file off corner overshoots or print extra slow.
If you are not sure, print the fit test assembly to test the fit. If it is too tight, first tune the pressure advance for your particular filament and print settings. If that is insufficient, tune your flow ratio for better dimensional accuracy.
In my testing, I have found 0.08mm clearance to be sufficient for some filaments whilst 0.10mm was not quite enough for some filaments. The 0.12mm clearance may be a little loose in some cases but should be suitable for most. If you are finding it too loose and you don't want to glue it together, adding a layer of thin tape or making the mating surfaces rough with a soldering iron may help.
The pins are optional and are only needed if your printer is super well dialed in and the dovetails are loose.
You should be able to assemble them as easily as this with one hand after you assemble and disassemble it a few times:
Check out this collection for recommended accessories!
Despite all of the printed dragons you see in the photos, I don't sell any of them at markets or anything (I give all of them away to friends, family and just put them outside), and 3D printing is a hobby.
If you would support me and keep similar projects coming, please share your make on social media.
If you are using this commercially, you could say thanks by buying this price tag model.
And finally, you could buy me a few metres of plastic on Ko-Fi to use on prototyping large models like this. Thank you.
Remixes of individual parts with significant changes very welcome.
The author remixed this model.
Smaller, printable on a 180mm x 180mm print bed, new v-type dovetail connections.