Sonic screwdriver, first draft

To the right is a first draft print of my latest designs for the sonic screwdriver.  It’s next to a USB cable for scale and perspective.  There are several things I need to fix:

• It’s too small.  I was guesstimating the scale based upon the size of hand holding the sonic screwdriver in one of the photos I saw.
• Too much warpage.  I need to build my heated build platform.  :)  I’ve got my SMT1 soldering Toolkit, now I just need a hotplate.
• Better connectors.  The connectors I designed are adequate, but not that great.  They need to be much larger to ensure a proper grip between parts.
• Fix a connector.  I have a hex connector on one piece and a 16-sided connector on another.  That’s not going to work.
• Consider changing the fit.  Some parts have a 0.25mm clearance on all sides between the male and female connections.  Other parts have a 0.5mm clearance instead.  I tried both on different sections so I could test the fit.  The 0.25mm clearance on all sides is fine for some parts, but other parts could use a little more wiggle room.
• Change the thickness.  My earlier draft was a whopping 0.5mm thick all around.  I printed these parts at varying thickness to test their durability, flexibility, conserve plastic, and maximize internal space for future electronics.  A 1mm thickness seems to be the most optimal mix.

I’ve posted my sonic screwdriver designs to Thingiverse for people to tinker with and, hopefully, improve.  I would sincerely appreciate any help anyone can provide when it comes to designing the upper half of the sonic screwdriver – especially the moving parts.

1. surface mount technology [↩]