This post is just a quick update on a design change for the 3D printed shoe last alpha joint (V-hinge). These joints are available with both physical and digital shoe lasts models here on 3DShoemaker.com and can even be designed using the 3DShoemaker plugin for Rhino. See here for the original post.
The original 3D printable alpha joint design used discs as an interface between the front and back parts of the shoe last. This worked okay, but there was some laxity in the joint. In the updated joint design, the discs haves shafts that get imbedded into the back part of the shoe last, and the pin or screw secures them in place. The assembly is nearly identical except that the discs get attached before the pins or screws go in. And a tip I would also like to add is to gradually hammer in the dowel pins or drill in the screws, alternating between front and back, rather than doing one then the other. This allows for the use of a shorter spring (meaning more spring stretch) and thus a tighter joint. I’ll also reiterate that a 1/4″ dowel pin, which should ideally be steel, can result in a much tighter joint than a 1/8″ screw. Hardware sets that include dowel pins can now be purchased here on 3DShoemaker.com.
The new discs with shafts can be found here, along with an updated spring.
That’s all for this update, please let me know if you have any questions.
