Caliper 3D printing files and instructions

Description

A fully functional Vernier measuring instrument built entirely from 3D-printed geometry and 1.75mm nylon filament. No metal slides. No purchased hardware. No compromises on reading precision. The caliper is both a working tool and the definitive demonstration of the Evolutiv pretensioned linear slide system.

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• Beam — Main Scale Body

  The beam carries the main millimetre scale as embossed or inlaid markings, the filament rail channels along its full length, and the fixed jaw at the zero end. Printed as a single part in black PLA. The yellow-green scale insert is a second filament colour threaded into the scale slot — readable at a glance from any angle.

• Sliding Carriage — Vernier Head

  The carriage housing contains the pretensioned filament rail bores split half-diameter across the beam interface. Two or three nylon filament rails run through matching channels in the beam, pretensioned at both ends. The carriage carries the Vernier scale window and the moving jaw. Slides over the full beam length with zero binding and zero detectable play.

• Filament Rails — The Precision Element

  Standard 1.75mm nylon filament, manufactured to tighter dimensional tolerances than typical FDM features, acts as the precision bearing surface. Pretension applied at the termination points eliminates clearance and compensates for thermal expansion and creep over time. The blue filament visible along the beam edge is functional, not decorative.

• Scale System — Vernier Reading

  The main scale is embossed at 1mm intervals. The Vernier scale on the carriage divides 9mm into 10 divisions, providing 0.1mm interpolation per division — standard Vernier geometry, executed entirely in printed material. The fluorescent yellow-green filament insert in the scale slot provides high-contrast readability independent of lighting conditions.