What to measure
This is the size where the label most often misleads. Metric pressure pipe in PVC or polyethylene, and 32 mm conduit, really are 32 mm on the outside. Sink and basin waste pipe sold as 32 mm is a nominal size: push-fit waste pipe is typically about 34.6 mm outside and solvent-weld waste pipe about 36 mm. A clip made for 32 mm will not go over either. Measure the outside diameter with a caliper, or wrap a paper strip around the pipe and divide the length by 3.14, and type that figure in place of the 32 used here.
Clearance, wall and material
From 32 mm upwards the arms are long enough that a little more clearance helps, so this page uses 0.4 mm for a bore of 32.4 mm. That suits PLA; for PETG 0.3 mm is enough. The wall is 3 mm and the opening 105 degrees: a thicker wall with the standard opening needs so much force to snap on that the clip is more likely to pull its screws out than to open. Plastic waste pipe carries warm water at times, so PETG is the better material under a sink.
Printing
Place the clip on a C-shaped face, bore pointing up, tabs lying across the bed. The footprint is about 78 by 31 mm and the part is only 20 mm tall in this position, so it is stable without a brim. No supports are needed. Print at 0.2 mm layer height with four or five perimeters so the 3 mm wall has no infill in it; a wall that is part infill delaminates where the arm meets the foot.
Fixing it
Each tab is 20 mm long and 4 mm thick with a 5 mm hole for a 4.5 or 5 mm screw. Two tabs are used here because a single screw lets a clip of this width rock when the pipe is pressed in. A printed clip positions a pipe; it should not be the only thing carrying the weight of a long horizontal run filled with water.
Outline drawing
Schematic, not to scale. The clip is 20 mm wide along the pipe and about 31.3 mm high.
Parameters the generator will use
| Setting | Link parameter | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Model | model | pipe_clip |
| Pipe diameter | diameter | 32 |
| Fit clearance | fit_clearance | 0.4 |
| Clip wall thickness | wall | 3 |
| Clip width along the pipe | width | 20 |
| Opening angle, degrees | opening | 105 |
| Screw tab length | tab_length | 20 |
| Screw tab thickness | tab_thickness | 4 |
| Screw hole diameter | screw_diameter | 5 |
| Number of screw tabs | tabs | 2 |
All lengths are in millimetres. Outer size from these values: about 78.4 x 20 x 31.3 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.