What to measure
For one thick cable, such as an extension lead or an appliance cord, close a caliper lightly on the jacket and take the reading without squeezing. For a bundle, hold the cables together the way they will lie in the clip and measure across the widest direction; two 5 mm cables side by side need a 10 mm clip even though each one is thin. A bundle is never round, so expect to add clearance. If the cables in the bundle will be changed from time to time, measure the largest set you expect to fit.
Clearance, wall and material
The values here give a 10.3 mm bore: 0.3 mm of clearance, which holds a single 10 mm cable gently. For a bundle, raise the clearance to 0.6 or 0.8 mm so the cables are not crushed against each other. The wall is 1.8 mm and the opening 95 degrees. If this clip sits behind a desk and cables go in and out of it often, print it in PETG: the arms flex every time, and PETG tolerates repeated bending far better than PLA, which eventually snaps at the back of the C. For a fit-once installation PLA is fine.
Printing
Stand the clip on a C-shaped face so the bore points up and each layer is a full C. Printed this way no supports are needed and the layer lines run in the direction the arms bend. A 0.2 mm layer height and three perimeters make the part fully solid. The part is 10 mm tall in this position and takes about 25 by 12 mm of bed. Lightly break the sharp inner edge of the two arm tips with a fingernail or a blade after printing, so they cannot score a soft jacket.
Fixing it
The tab is 11 mm long and 2.6 mm thick with a 3.5 mm hole, which takes a 3 or 3.5 mm screw. Mount the clip with the opening facing up or sideways, not down, so the weight of the cable rests in the closed part of the C. Keep mains leads away from heat sources and do not use a printed clip where a cable must be secured against being pulled.
Outline drawing
Schematic, not to scale. The clip is 10 mm wide along the cable and about 12 mm high.
Parameters the generator will use
| Setting | Link parameter | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Model | model | pipe_clip |
| Cable diameter | diameter | 10 |
| Fit clearance | fit_clearance | 0.3 |
| Clip wall thickness | wall | 1.8 |
| Clip width along the cable | width | 10 |
| Opening angle, degrees | opening | 95 |
| Screw tab length | tab_length | 11 |
| Screw tab thickness | tab_thickness | 2.6 |
| Screw hole diameter | screw_diameter | 3.5 |
| Number of screw tabs | tabs | 1 |
All lengths are in millimetres. Outer size from these values: about 24.9 x 10 x 12 mm.
Open the generator with these values
This model needs the $7 licence key: one payment, one key, and it opens all five paid models. Get a licence key on Gumroad ($7)
The pipe and cable clip needs a licence key: without one the generator shows the model locked, lists the values from this link and fills them in as soon as you unlock. The fitted drawer organiser bin is the free model and downloads with no key.