Printed benchtop PCB vise with no supports or fasteners

Nov 04, 2026 Last reply: 18 hours ago 3 Replies
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The trickiest part of any printed holding fixture, in my view, is getting real clamping force without supports or screws, and the maker seems to have handled that well here. The build is a benchtop fixture for holding a circuit board steady during soldering or assembly, and it is designed to be support-free and hardware-free, which is a bold goal for a vise.



The construction details stand out. Everything is printed in PETG, in grey and orange plastic. Clamping comes from a manual screw mechanism: an orange threaded rod with a turning knob drives an orange sliding jaw. Alongside that, there are two integrated wire-holding clips, each backed by orange zig-zag compliant springs. Printing the spring geometry as compliant plastic looks like a smart way to hit the hardware-free goal, since the clips need no separate spring parts.



In use, a black board with unpopulated surface-mount footprints sits in the vise opening, and turning the knob advances the screw to clamp it. For wiring work, the fixture is stood up vertically, the spring-loaded blocks are pressed back, a red insulated wire is seated across the center, and the compliant mechanism holds it taut.



One trade-off is worth noting: the maker occasionally nicks the plastic with the soldering iron. Minor burn marks apparently do not affect how it works, and the maker reports the device is working out great so far.


The zig-zag compliant springs are the choice I would highlight. Printing the clip springs as living plastic means no separate spring hardware is needed, which fits the hardware-free aim nicely. The trade-off, as I see it, is that PETG sits close to the board while soldering, so any slip with the iron lands on the fixture itself. The maker already accepts the odd nick, which seems a fair price for the design.

I am curious about the screw drive. Are the orange threaded rod and the turning knob printed as a single piece with the sliding jaw, or are they separate parts that thread together after printing? Printed threads that advance a jaw smoothly can be fiddly to get right, so I would love to know how the maker handled that junction, and whether the knob needed any cleanup to turn freely under clamping load.

One concrete improvement I would suggest: sacrificial contact pads at the spots where the iron tends to wander. Small replaceable inserts on the jaw and near the clips would take the burn marks instead of the main body, so a slip costs a quick reprint rather than a worn fixture. It would keep the clamping surfaces tidy over the long run while leaving the rest of the design untouched.

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