Mechanically Synchronized Dual Lead-Screw Drive
This is a compact, high-strength 3D-printed desktop vise designed for model making, electronics, 3D printing and other precision work.
The main feature of this design is its mechanically synchronized dual lead-screw drive.
Instead of moving the jaw with a single lead screw, this vise uses two T8 lead screws, one on each side of the moving jaw. A single handwheel drives both lead screws simultaneously through a three-gear transmission.
Because both sides are mechanically linked, they always travel together. This prevents the moving jaw from twisting or skewing and keeps the jaws parallel throughout their entire range of motion, even when a workpiece is clamped off-centre.
The video demonstrates the mechanism in operation.
How it works
The centre gear is connected to the handwheel and drives the two outer gears simultaneously. These drive the two T8 lead screws at exactly the same rate.
Two 8 mm steel guide rods provide additional guidance and rigidity for the moving jaw.
The result is a very simple mechanical system:
one handwheel → three synchronized gears → two lead screws → one parallel-moving jaw
No belts, electronics or separate adjustments are required.
Designed for strength
Although most of the vise is 3D printed, the parts carrying the main mechanical loads are steel rods, T8 lead screws, bearings and conventional fasteners.
The design can therefore be made considerably stronger than its appearance might suggest.
How strong it becomes depends heavily on the material and print settings used. I printed the vise using FormFutura TitanX with three walls/perimeters.
For heavier use, I recommend increasing the number of walls/perimeters rather than relying primarily on a very high infill percentage.
Print orientation is also important. Structural parts should preferably be oriented so that the main clamping forces do not try to separate the printed layers.
Obviously, this is still a predominantly 3D-printed desktop vise — it isn’t intended to replace the 20 kg lump of cast iron bolted to your workbench. 🙂
Linear bearings
The moving jaw runs on two 8 mm guide rods.
Printable linear-bearing components are included with the model, so commercial linear bearings are not strictly required.
However, I found that standard 8 mm metal linear ball bearings provide better stability and smoother movement, so I recommend using them if possible.
Gear grip
The three gears transfer the force through the bearing assemblies.
If you experience slipping under higher clamping loads, thin rubber rings or O-rings can be placed between the gears and the outer races of the ball bearings to increase friction.
Additional hardware required
Besides the printed parts, you will need:
- 3× deep-groove ball bearing — 15 × 32 × 9 mm
- 2× T8 lead screw — 8 mm × 125 mm
- 4× brass T8 trapezoidal lead-screw nut
- 2× 8 mm steel guide rod — 172 mm
- 2× 8 mm linear ball bearing — optional; printable alternatives are included
- 2× M8 threaded rod/stud — 215 mm
- 4× M8 nut
- 2× M3 × 20 mm socket-head screw
- 3× M3 × 15 mm socket-head screw
- 10× M3 × 10 mm socket-head screw
- 12× M4 × 30 mm socket-head screw
- 2× M4 × 10 mm socket-head screw
Standard washers and/or small adjustment hardware visible in the assembly may also be required depending on tolerances and the exact hardware used.
Printing
My original vise was printed primarily on a Voron 2.4 using ABS filament
Some smaller parts were produced using the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K resin printer using “ABS-like” resin.
The design does not depend on these particular printers. Any reasonably well-calibrated FDM printer capable of producing mechanically strong parts should be suitable.
STL Files
Applications
The vise was primarily designed for smaller precision work such as model building, electronics, PCB work, assembling 3D-printed parts and general maker projects.
The synchronized mechanism is particularly useful when working with parts that need to remain accurately aligned between the jaws.
Designed in Fusion 360 and built to answer a simple question:
How much of a proper precision desktop vise can you make with a 3D printer?
Quite a lot, apparently.
