Hey! This thing is still a Work in Progress.
Files, instructions, and other stuff might change!
Lead Bender (Multiple Sizes)
Description
This is a tool to bend the leads on a component, such as a resistor, to a specific width to allow easy placment onto a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).
This came about when I recently saw Erik's lead bending tool ( thingiverse.com/thing:6699 ), saw that he didn't have a version with different widths, and remembered a post on Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories ( evilmadscientist.com/article.php/obscuretools ) about a resistor lead bender. When I first saw the post, I thought it was a neat tool, but I couldn't do much with it the idea. Now that 3D printing has come along, here it is, the DIY Lead Bender. (Dramatic Music playing in the background... Ok, maybe it's not that dramatic)
A few things to note are: The OpenSCAD file is available and is somewhat commented (If you have questions feel free to ask). Also this has not been printed yet (2/25/11), so it may work, but it might not.
I'll post some pictures of the printed tool once my Thing-O-Matic comes. (Only a few days left! :-D)
In the mean time, here are the statistics for the default STL.
Print Stats: (All stats are approximate)
- Time: 14 min.
- Plastic used: 3cc
- Cost (@ $0.024 USD per CC): $0.07 USD
(Note: These values will change depending on your 3D printer and settings.)
This came about when I recently saw Erik's lead bending tool ( thingiverse.com/thing:6699 ), saw that he didn't have a version with different widths, and remembered a post on Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories ( evilmadscientist.com/article.php/obscuretools ) about a resistor lead bender. When I first saw the post, I thought it was a neat tool, but I couldn't do much with it the idea. Now that 3D printing has come along, here it is, the DIY Lead Bender. (Dramatic Music playing in the background... Ok, maybe it's not that dramatic)
A few things to note are: The OpenSCAD file is available and is somewhat commented (If you have questions feel free to ask). Also this has not been printed yet (2/25/11), so it may work, but it might not.
I'll post some pictures of the printed tool once my Thing-O-Matic comes. (Only a few days left! :-D)
In the mean time, here are the statistics for the default STL.
Print Stats: (All stats are approximate)
- Time: 14 min.
- Plastic used: 3cc
- Cost (@ $0.024 USD per CC): $0.07 USD
(Note: These values will change depending on your 3D printer and settings.)
Instructions
No instructions provided.
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License
Lead Bender (Multiple Sizes) by HipsterLogic is licensed under the Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share Alike license.

For the curious, the original device in that blog post is by Production Devices, El Cajon, CA. It's patent (3142484) expired in the early 80s so you should be safe making this at home. 8-)