Customized T-Loc Handles (3D Printed)

[Ben_]

Hi all,

I was making a gift for a festool fan, and he seemed to think people would be interested in this as a product. It's a 3D printed replacement "faceplate" for the T-Loc Systainers. I was thinking monograms could be cool / useful, but really anything could be printed in relief. Some example photos are below... I could print them for under $5.

If anyone is interested, let me know.

 

[bkharman]

Slick Ben!

I could think of a lot of things but a slightly raised 3d render of the tool would be slick. Same thing as the 125 in the label, but raised would be cool. Personally I would go overboard but I am sure others would chime in.

 

[Slartibartfass]

Cool. Could you also use multiple colors? E.g. Text in black, background green?

 

[wow]

I can think of a bunch of them that I'd like, but how many letters could you realistically put on there

I'm sure you could do:
RO150
TS75

But what about:
ETS150/3
or
Compact Cleaning Kit
or
150mm/6" Abrasives ( could be shortened to 150 Abrasives)

ETS150/3

 

[Ben_]

@ bkharman - Low relief 3d models of the tools would be really slick. It would be doable, but would take quite a bit of modeling if they were actual relief. Maybe a raised illustration of the tool would be cool?

@ Slartibartfass - Multiple colors are definitely a possibility.

@ Wow - I did a few with 10 characters across in 10mm tall Arial Black raised 1.5mm. It looked good, but was getting cramped. There is no reason you couldn't fit blocks of text, but the legibility might suffer. Will do some tests this weekend.

 

[Stoli]

I must have lost one of the covers, or it never came with the original systainer.  Funny thing is that I thought this was simply a new Festool design of the latch.

 

[NERemodeling]

First off,  [welcome]

Second, what a freaking cool idea!!!  I'm gonna need some thinking time but I'm sure we will be in touch

John

 

[RC]

Great idea, never even realised the tloc latch was two part. Now I can't wait for my M3D mini to be delivered.

 

[wow]

Ben:

You got me so excited about your product that I forgot to say [welcome] to the FOG!

So welcome! Looking forward to seeing lots of cool stuff from you...

 

[ajones]

Has to rate as one of the best, first posts.... great idea

 

[Slartibartfass]

Also forgot.  [welcome] and  [thanks] for a great idea...

 

[Slartibartfass]

Maybe as a first collective order we should replace the front on the first aid systainer with a raised white cross on a red background? Could we bring the cost down if we group order?

 

[Ben_]

thanks everyone for the welcome.

Below are some images of today's experiments, including some of the suggestions for the t-loc prints. The other images are of a five piece print that replicates the cleats / feet and latch on a t-loc systainer. This could be used for all kinds of mods... I attached them to a piece of OSB that was lying around to make a work surface. It doesn't move in any direction and I could pick up the vac with the board.

black on green with tool names:

white on red for first aid kit. (need to do this one again with a thicker layer of white as it looks pink here)

3d printed cleats / feet and latch. to lock anything to a t-loc systainer.

 

[nclemmons]

The cleats and latch are really cool.  You could easily package and sell those with a PDF printout for easy placement and alignment.

Great work!

neil

 

[Slartibartfass]

Time to set up an online store and start production....

It's the second industrial revolution going on right now....

 

[Ben_]

Is there a market for this stuff? What seems like a fair price?

The problem with 3D printing is that it is great for unique items, but the per item cost stays the same no matter how many you make.

 

[Slartibartfass]

Is there a market for this stuff? What seems like a fair price?

The problem with 3D printing is that it is great for unique items, but the per item cost stays the same no matter how many you make.

Ben, the calculation of cost per unit is no different than in a traditional production environment.

Obviously you have raw materials to buy which based on volume could change.

The printers usage is depreciated based on usage.

Your time and cost of running business is overhead...

I guess what is different is the fact that as soon as you can digitize it becomes difficult to protect intellectual property rights.....

 

[copcarcollector]

Ben - Those are just too cool! I have all my tools in T Locs, now it looks like  I have to get a bunch of handle inserts!

 

[Carman]

Welcome to FOG!

AWESOME IDEA!!  When can we start are orders?

 

[AlexThePalex]

Cool thread. I can see a good market for this kind of stuff. Especially if you can make custom orders, I know lots of people here are dying to customise their systainers to their personal preference.

I like the look of the red/white-cross one on the green latch.

Would it also be possible to make the letters flush to the surface instead of embossed?

By the way, don't forget to add the embossed arrow like the offical ones have.