Carrybiner
ME318 Final Project
Winter 2012-2013
The carrybiner was a solution to a problem I had been pondering about for a while. When I go climbing, I strap everything I need to a single carabiner, which makes it annoying to take off any individual item. Usually I'll have my shoes, chalkbag, ATC and waterbottle all strapped to the same loop, and I'll have to take everything off to get to the one thing I need.
To tackle this problem, I wanted to make a carabiner with multiple places to clip things to. I decided ME318 CNC machining class would be a good way to prototype the idea.
To tackle this problem, I wanted to make a carabiner with multiple places to clip things to. I decided ME318 CNC machining class would be a good way to prototype the idea.
Sketches
I spent a lot of time in the sketchbook, trying to think of as many form factors as possible to get what I wanted. I finally got really attached to the idea of making the carabiner itself look like a little climber, with one of the arms facing in the opposite direction so it could hang off a backpack strap, and a hole in the head made a convenient carrying point.
Prototypes
I made prototypes for two different ideas. The first was a triangular arrangement of gates that utilized a center pull tab that could be pulled in 3 directions to open the different gates. I taped a bunch of stuff together to get a visual aide, and then CADed and 3D printed the design. I liked it, but decided that it was a little too complex for the problem and looked very alien.
I also prototyped my second idea which would eventually become the carrybiner. I lasercut acrylic and pressed in paper clips to get an idea for how the spring-loaded gates would work. I pulled the gate design from observing a wire-gate carabiner. Basically I used two offset holes that were in line with the closed gate position I bent a piece the legs of a wire gate (aka paperclip) outwards such that, when loaded into the holes the legs wanted to return to the original state and in doing so create a moment that forces the gate closed.