March 20, 2026
Description
After one of the plastic exterior handles on my garage door broke I decided to try and design my own and 3D print. The original one is injection molded, very rigid any shiny and likely made from Glass-Filled Nylon (PA-GF). So after fiddling around with infill, wall loops, etc. I decided to design in ribs for strength to try and match the rigidity of the original. I then printed one in ASA (needed for UV exposure) with 6 wall loops and 40% gyroid infill, inserted it into garage door holes and screwed it in to make sure it fit. However, after some thought (and my wife's concern) I was too afraid it would break in an emergency situation when most needed and decided to just buy the $10 replacement part (yes I am cheap). Anyway the one I printed in ASA seemed to fit but never ended up using it so I have no idea how well it would have held up - but hey, it looks pretty good :) Happy making!
Note: I added the "castellations" to studs in the CAD design after I printed it.
-Steve
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial — Share Alike