Money Clip

Many people carry their cash in a wallet. I've done that, but find I prefer to carry my bills folded in a money clip. It flexes for the changing number of bills I have and doesn't lump up my wallet when I get cash from the bank.

This version is big enough to hold $300 in 20-dollar bills, with maybe a card or two in the middle of the folded bills. I've carried mine for two years, and it has stretched a bit, but not too much to use. Metal ones I've had have usually been smaller but don't stretch out, either. Since this is a 3D print, I can quickly replace it when I want. So can you, of course, once yours is printed.

Designed using the Free Software program OpenSCAD, the clip consists mainly of a couple of cylinders and a couple of slabs. It prints on edge so the plastic is laid down in horizontal threads by the 3D printer. That improves the strength of the clip while also printing without any extra support needed.

The basic version can be printed plain, with text or with a logo.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////
// add logo or text
translate([40,-8,25]) // position center of upper slab and embed logo
rotate([90,0,8]) // adjust to print on upper slab
linear_extrude(2)
 text(font="Liberation Sans", size=10, halign="center", valign="center", str("Joe's Dough")); 
// end comment here
/////////////////////////////////////////////////

If you want a logo, you will need to find one which has been converted to a polygon or design it yourself. I used Inkscape to design both the Tux and the GNU images (both included here). Tux is the mascot of Linux, the kernel of the GNU/Linux operating system. The Gnu is the mascot of the combined operating system. Both of the mascots are included as scad files. The files are designed to be used as external files brought into the main file with the command use<gnu-logo.scad> or use<tux-logo.scad>. That command must be at the top of the main program code so the included module can be used when needed as shown in the following code snip.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////
// add logo or text
translate([40,-8,25]) // position center of upper slab and embed logo
rotate([90,0,8]) // adjust to print on upper slab
scale([.4, .4, 1]) // adjust size based on logo
tuxcut(2);
// end comment here
/////////////////////////////////////////////////

The GNU polygon is not the same size as the Tux polygon in its original design, so it is scaled to a different final size scale([.6, .6, 1]) so it will fit. Scale your own designs as needed.

For text decorations, adjust the size of the text as needed. The use of str("$") as part of the text command allows for using unicode to give us other money symbols like the Euro, Pound and Yen. For example, the Euro is str("\u20ac"), substituting the "escaped" unicode for the dollar sign between the quotes. There are quick-print STL files included for dollar, euro, pound and yen/yuan. Other symbols are available. Do a search for "unicode for money symbols" to get a list. An entry may be shown as U+20A3 for the French Franc ( ₣ ) which you would enter as str("\u20a3"). Make your modification in the moneycllip-basic.scad file.

Centering of text and logos on the front face are controlled by the translate([]) and rotate([]) shown in the code snips above. You should not need to fiddle with them, but that's up to you.

An entry in the Pocket Sized Contest at Instructables.

23 grams of filament and approximately 2 hours total print time, depending on the logo.

Available Files:

SCAD files for study/modification and STL files for quick prints - all versions about 2 hours total print time.