Nuts & Bolts
Parametric threaded fasteners — wing nuts, wing bolts, and threaded tubes — generated with matching thread geometry so the male and female parts engage directly. Wings are sized for hand-tightening; the threaded tube is a bare threaded sleeve for custom assemblies.
See Predefined Models for the general workflow and how to select this model.
Parameters (sliders)
Parameters
Part Type- What to generate: Wing Nut (female, wings for grip), Wing Bolt (male shaft with wings as a head), or Threaded Tube (bare threaded sleeve, male outside).
Major Diameter- Thread major diameter in mm. Use the standard ISO values: M6 = 6, M8 = 8, M10 = 10.
Minor Diameter- Thread minor diameter (root) in mm. ISO defaults: M6 ≈ 5, M8 ≈ 6.75, M10 ≈ 8.5.
Pitch- Thread pitch in mm (distance between turns). ISO defaults: M6 = 1, M8 = 1.25, M10 = 1.5.
Thread Length- Length of the threaded section in mm — bolt shaft length or tube length. Ignored for wing nuts.
Clearance- Fit clearance (mm): the bolt undersizes its threads and the nut oversizes its threads by this amount. 0.1 mm is a good PLA starting point; raise for a looser fit.
Wing Height- Height of the wing section in mm — how tall the grip is on wing nuts and wing bolts. Ignored for threaded tubes.
How it works
- Threads are built as a continuous helix: for each angle step, radius interpolates between Minor Diameter and Major Diameter using a triangular thread profile.
- Clearance pushes bolt threads inward and nut threads outward, so a printed pair mates without filing.
- Wing Nuts and Wing Bolts add two wings (flat tangent fins) above the thread for finger grip. Wing width follows Major Diameter; wing height is set by Wing Height.
- Threaded Tube is a simple tube with male threads on the outside — useful for cable glands or custom fasteners.