Here I go again, making either something better or just another variation for the sake of it. I designed a clipboard pencil holder previously. Now I thought of holding a pen. The pen I frequently use.
Not because I like it, but because I bought them in bulk. And really, they are not too bad. Else why would I bother making a clipboard pen holder just for this specific pen?
To begin, I always start with a sketch of the most basic potential holder design. One that first comes to my mind. Before that, I would sketch the cross-section of the pen, then the holder 'gripping' it. See Fig. 1.
As I sketch, a mental calculation simultaneously refines and considers subtle details like a ‘clip grip’ at the pen’s end. This provides extra hold while enhancing its overall aesthetics.
I’ve determined the top of the ‘U’ shaped grip should slightly pass the pen’s centre for a better grip. The other dimensions like the flat section for attaching to the note pad’s reverser are simply estimated.
Figure 2 displays a batch of photos showing the 3D-printed pen grip in real life. When placed correctly at a specific angle, the pen clicks neatly into the grip with a satisfying ‘click’. It remains securely fixed even with light handling. However, any nudge on the un-gripped pen section dislodges it. Despite this, the pen fits the grip perfectly.
I felt the initial print could have been improved. For the next version I doubled the horizontal grip section’s length and added slots to the flat section. The Tinkercad model is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 4 shows a comparison between the first and second 3D-printed pen grip designs. Visually, the second variation appears to offer a better grip than the shorter one. It’s easy to guess which I used on my notebook.