Walimex Pro WT-806 Light Stand Locking Lever

Tips are appreciated and go towards creating new designs

I was using my Walimex Pro WT-806 Light Stand when the height locking lever broke for no discernible reason, despite being made from what looks like cast iron or maybe sintered metal.

I contacted Walimex and asked if I could purchase a replacement from them, but never heard back from them. Now I'm not someone who'd throw out a 40$ light stand without at least attempting to fix it.

The easy way would be to get an M5 handle screw (or whatever they're called), some washers and just install that, but then I'd have to twist it for several turns to tighten it instead of just 90 degrees as with the original lever.

So I designed a somewhat beefed-up copy of the original lever which should hold up fairly well despite being made from plastic. After printing and testing I can tell you it's working quite well so far.

There are two versions of this, the regular one which is easier to print but lacks good access to the screwhead, and the 40 degree version which resembles the original lever a bit more and gives decent access to the screwhead, but is a bit harder to print and possibly less robust. Both work fine though.

Print Notes:

I printed this in 0.1mm, 30% Infill and with 5 shells for stability purposes.
Unfortunately as there's a flat overhang where the screwhead has to seat on you will need to use supports. Luckily you don't need a lot of them. The 40 degree version might need a bit more supports though.

Other than that they're fairly straightforward prints and work nicely. So far my PLA print has held up no problem and it's easy enough to make another one should it ever break. You can use all sorts of stronger, more durable filaments if you feel like it though.