My Mum spent a few days in the hospital recently and (to make a long story short) someone stole her Apple watch charger. Someone placed their watch on her charger (beside her bed) and then when she was not present they took their watch and her charger cable. Such a simple “crime” of opportunity – perhaps “accidentally mistaking” it as their own. Regardless, it made me think that a small portable cable lock would be handy when you are using your charger(s) at school, in a library, at an airport, in a busy location, in a hospital, or at home when you family members want to “borrow” your charger.
I have actually designed 2 versions of this concept. The first one I am referring to as a “USB Cable Theft Deterrent”. A) Because for the most part, you only need to deter this type of theft. And, B) Because I designed it to be super simple and easy to deploy (which kind of makes it not super effective as a “locking device”).
And, that is why I have developed a second version, the “Lockable USB Cable Clasp”. Not shown in this blog post, the second version is lockable – I mean, you can put a lock on it. This version is designed to be more suitable for extended absence from your chargers and more likely to lead to the charger cable still being there when you return. I will post that one as soon as it is done.
This design is print-in-place and would benefit from being printed in the most durable material you have. The idea is you want maximum strength. And, to that end, your slicer settings are very important. Don’t use the default slicer settings which usually are designed for speed with 2 walls and only 15% infill or so. For all my functional designs and especially this one, I strongly recommend a minimum of 4 walls and 40% or more infill. Let’s face it, it is plastic so no matter how strong we make it, it will not be too difficult to defeat but I do not want to make it too easy.
Regardless of which version you choose to use, you will need something to lock the device to. A table, a pipe in the wall, a chair, anything heavy and big should do. For the USB Cable Theft Deterrent, I am also providing a simple 3D printable strap that you can use to attach the device to larger objects. I am including a 180mm long and a 230mm long strap. So the photo to understand how that works.
For the Lockable USB Cable Clasp, you will want a strong cable or an other means to secure the device that is at least as strong as the lock and the device.
Printing
Material: I recommend PETG because it has some flex and will withstand a little more abuse in this context. However, any material should work.
My Setting:
- Nozzle = 0.4mm
- Layer height = 0.2mm
- Line width = 0.4mm
- Wall count = 4 (1.6mm)
- Top and Bottom Layer Count = 5
- Infill = 40%
- Ironing = ON Everywhere
Support:
Designed to print without slicer-generated support. Required support is incorporated into the design.
Print Orientation: As shown in the screenshot(s).
Assembly Notes
No assembly or post-print processing is required other than carefully removing the print support.
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