April 23, 2026
Description
I modeled these in 2018 for LM2.004 clamps, without owning a 3D printer. After uploading the models to Thingiverse (and re-uploading here some time later), I did not think much about them. But they proved popular, and I also bought GSCC2.506 clamps recently, bottom pads for which deteriorate even quicker.
So... it's time to revisit these models in 2026!
Bessey LM2.0XX (LM = Lightweight Malleable, 2.0 throat depth)
Bessey LM2.004: 4-inch
Bessey LM2.006: 6-inch
Bessey LM2.008: 8-inch
Bessey LM2.012: 12-inch
Bessey GSCC2.5XX (GSCC = German-engineered Single-head Clutch-style Clamp, 2.5 throat depth)
Bessey GSCC2.506: 6-inch
Bessey GSCC2.512: 12-inch
Bessey GSCC2.518: 18-inch
Bessey GSCC2.524: 24-inch
Bessey GSCC2.530: 30-inch
Bessey GSCC2.536: 36-inch
TPU is an obvious choice. I printed them from NinjaTek Cheetah, shore hardness 95A. They are OK, but I wish I had a material just slightly softer, maybe PolyFlex TPU90 to compare them to. I also have NinjaTek NinjaFlex 85A, and maybe should have tried it too, but I thought it might be too soft.
Both top and bottom pads have overhangs which need supports. The key to designing supports in TPU is to keep them off the walls as far as possible. In case of the these small overhangs, only the edges need to be supported. I placed the supports manually. There is also a setting of how far the supports are to be from the wall, and how dense the support structures have to be. Run the print simulation in the slicer to make sure that supports are at the edges of the overhands, far from the walls, and do not make them too dense: about 40% density is what I found to work well. The supports can be yanked out of printed models with needle nose pliers.
I will include my support structures in .spt files (unzip them from their archives), but these only work if your slicer is Simplify 3D, version 4. Even Simplify 3D version 5 does not understand these files. But these supports are not hard to make on your own. I always printed one pad at a time to minimize stringing.
Overheating is a problem for these small parts. The layers with walls only (small overall surface area) especially need attention: more cooling fan speed here! Else, the finished pad will look terrible and dimensional accuracy will be lost.
Here are some settings that worked for me:
Filament - NinjaTek Cheetah
Layer Height - 0.12 mm
Infill - 100% (could have made this less, would be softer too)
Bed Temp - 70℃ (smooth BuildTak surface)
Nozzle Temp - 240℃
Cooling - variable per layer. 15% for large surfaces, up to 30% when only walls are printed
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Share Alike
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DmK
