From the Loftsmith Workshop

Row cover snap clamps for 1/2 and 3/4 in PVC or EMT hoops

Holds garden row cover to its hoops so a breeze doesn't peel it off your seedlings. Each clamp snaps over the pipe with the fabric inside, and a little lip at the end helps you pop it open again. Change the pipe size and the cover thickness to match your setup.

11 parts · 36 g · 29 × 100 × 30 mm

by Loftsmith Workshop

Row of green C-shaped clamps snapped around a white pipe, with one small orange clamp near the end
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No adjustable sizes

Ask for the sizes you want to tweak, e.g. “make the width adjustable”.

Change it in the Studio

Parts

  • clamp ×10 · PETG · Flat on the C profile (clamp width is the print height, 20 mm at default); bending runs along the layers

    About 4 g and 10 min each at the defaults. PETG or ASA because they sit outdoors in sun and frost and must flex every time they snap on; PLA ages in UV and is more brittle.

  • fit-test-slice · PETG · Flat on the C profile, 5 mm tall

    A 5 mm slice of the same clamp profile, about 1 g and 6 min. Print it first and snap it onto your pipe with the cloth to check grip before printing the set. Turn it off with the fit-test toggle.

Print settings

Layer height
0.2 mm
Walls
2 walls (page default); 3 walls if you want stiffer, longer-lasting clamps
Infill
15%
Supports
None
Notes
Defaults (10 clamps + fit slice, 1/2 in PVC, 20 mm wide): about 38 g and 1 h 55 min at 2 walls / 15% infill; about 50 g and 2 h 30 min at 3 walls / 15%. No brim needed; slow the first layer for good PETG adhesion. ASA works too if you have an enclosure.

Assembly

  1. Measure your hoop pipe or pick its preset: 1/2 in EMT 17.9 mm, 1/2 in PVC 21.3 mm, 3/4 in EMT 23.4 mm, 3/4 in PVC 26.7 mm OD, or choose Custom OD and enter 15 to 34 mm.
  2. Set the cover thickness to your cloth or netting, counting every layer that will sit under the clamp (folded edges count twice).
  3. Print the 5 mm fit-test slice and snap it over the cloth on your pipe. If it slides along the pipe too easily, lower the cover thickness setting by 0.2 mm; if it is very hard to push on, raise it by 0.2 mm. Then print the set.
  4. Drape the cover over the hoops, hold the clamp with the flared lips facing the pipe, and push on the crowned back with your thumb until it snaps around the pipe.
  5. To remove, pull one lip outward and roll the clamp off the pipe.

Good to know

  • The snap strain and snap force are estimates from typical PETG properties and a curved-beam calculation. They have not been tested on a real print. Print the fit-test slice before the full set.
  • At every slider end the estimated snap force stays between 10 N and 150 N (checked in the Loftsmith engine); at the defaults it is about 65 N.
  • Use plenty of clamps along each hoop, and weigh or pin down the cloth edges as well; the clamps alone are not meant to hold the whole cover.
  • The bore assumes the cloth compresses to about 75 % of its loose thickness. Very springy or very slick covers may need the thickness setting adjusted after the fit test.
  • Use PETG or ASA outdoors. PLA goes brittle in sun and cold and is more likely to crack when it snaps on.
I printed this Remix

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