3D Printed Window Regulator Clip

[jac]

Thanks for the video link. The piece that is clipped off is intended to take most of the pressure from the regulator bracket when closing the window. But he is installing it backwards anyway so now the entire stress is on the plastic insert and the plastic clip... Who knows, that could be better than the original design.

[jac]

And... it broke. It lasted just over 3 years, not bad for a PETG printed part. I really thought it would only last 6 months. Below is a photo of the failed part.

As expected, it broke on the sections with weak adhesion.

The failure caused the window to detach from the carrier and fall down. However, the carrier itself is still good, that is, the pulley wires are NOT mangled, so that's a small win. Lol

Ok, now... do I take the trip to the store to buy the license plate stuff and macgyver the fix so, or do I 3d print the same exact design again, but this time using nylon?!

Since the break occurred along the adhesion lines, I don't think nylon will help strengthen the part there. I am gonna have to go watch that license plate video again...

[jac]

Below is a view of the "license plate fix", taken from the youtube video and also a view of the parts he used.

The video's author is basically replacing the original metal nut and screw, with an expanding plastic nut and a new screw that can grab to plastic, but he still uses the plastic bracket (he clipped a section off it so he could install it backwards). So he is replacing parts that don't break. I think his theory is that the plastic nut will now bear most of the strain (ie. away from the plastic bracket). But I can't convince myself of how the plastic nut would do that, but the original metal nut would not.

I guess maybe the plastic nut now expands to completely occupy (and lock in place) the hole that goes through the glass and so it now fully supports the weight of the window when installed. Then the plastic bracket is essentially now only pressed between the plastic nut and the glass, and so the bracket now only provides support (through the little piece that goes through the carrier bracket) for when the window is moving up.

[X5chemist]

Originally Posted by bnfaustin

[mention]jac [/mention]Here is the link to the video showing the $2 fix for the window clip replacement with off the shelf plastic license plate holder screws: https://youtu.be/JwFFd7OJGaI

It's the video I used for my mod. The plate holders have been working for 3 years. The square part inserts tight into the black clip. Be careful not to over tighten the screw! I broke one! Luckily, I had spares.

[jac]

I reprinted the plastic bracket and did some testing/observation on the mechanism as one raises/lowers the window. That led me to the conclusion that the problem with this darn thing is that when the window is raised, the clip is under a bit of pressure because the bottom of the window tilts slightly away from the bracket, so the metal nut ends up ripping apart the rounded clips off the bracket.

So... I designed and tested a few different brackets, and I think I have arrived at a new bracket (plus new bolt and nut) that should last longer. I don't think this one needs to be exceptionally strong, so I just used ABS. We'll see how long it lasts! :-)