Cordcaptor: a 3D-Printed Charging Cable Protector

The Cordcaptor is a protective guard that attaches to the ends of the charging cable. It protects the cable from bend damage, especially as the ends are more prone to wear-and-tear. The protectors are made up of two halves joined together with magnets, allowing for easy cable insertion and removal.

There are only two applications I used to make Cordcaptor: TinkerCAD and Ultimaker Cura. TinkerCAD was where I modeled the prototypes, and eventually the final design, of the Cordcaptor. I made use of basic shapes such as rectangles and cylinders and combined them to create the model.

Ultimaker Cura, on the other hand, was where I sliced the .stl file from TinkerCAD in order to make it ready for 3D printing. I saved the .gcode file unto a USB drive, which I also used to unload the file unto the 3D printer. I printed the final model on an Ultimaker 2+ with 0.4 Ultimaker White ABS filament, though a more flexible design incorporating TPU may have been better.

Apart from the filament, I also made use of 120 and 320 grit sandpaper, the former to sand the 3D model before applying paint and the latter to sand down clumps of paint after they have dried. The paint I used for the Cordcaptor was acrylic, and I used a combination of three colors (white, red, yellow) for its flowery design. Finally, to make both halves of the Cordcaptor attachable, I purchased 25 pieces of 3 mm x 3 mm neodymium magnets online and fixed them to the holes in the 3D printed casing using superglue.

TL;DR:

Applications: TinkerCAD and Ultimaker Cura

Materials:

• 1 spool TPU filament
• 120 grit sandpaper
• 320 grit sandpaper
• Acrylic paint
• 25 pcs. 3 mm x 3 mm neodymium magnet
• Super glue

The Cordcaptor consists of four pieces in total, two of which are for protecting the side of the cable nearest to the phone and the other two are for the side nearest the charging head. Let us first model the two protecting the side nearest to the phone.

Cordcaptor - Top End

First, you must model the L-shape using rectangular prisms. The longer segment is 50 mm x 15 mm x 5 mm (l x w x h), and the shorter segment attached to its end is 15 mm x 25 mm x 5 mm. Group the two shapes together.

Then, we must make holes for the wire to go through. Create two cylindrical holes (32 sides, diameter 5 mm, and lengths 35 mm and 15 mm) then situate them parallel to the work plane. Make them 2.5 mm above the work plane and place the longer cylinder at the center width of the longer rectangular prism and vice versa. Group the L-shaped structure and the cylinders together.

To connect the cylindrical holes together, use a donut slice in the shapes library, with radius 1 of 2.5 mm and radius 2 of 10 mm, then cut the both ends using a rectangular prism to ensure that the arc is perfectly 1/4ths of a circle (you may also check that the width and length are equal). Situate it 2.5 mm above the work plane as well, turn it into a hole, and put it in the appropriate place.

Finishing it off, create five cylindrical holes with diameter and height of 3.4 mm (magnets are 3 mm + 0.4 mm tolerance for the printer). Place these 0.75 mm away from the outer edges and make them 1.6 mm above the work plane. Group all elements together. Afterwards, duplicate the entire part and mirror it horizontally.

Cordcaptor - Bottom End

The bottom end of the Cordcaptor is much easier to model. First, create a rectangular prism with measurements 35 x 15 x 5 mm (l x w x h). Then, create a cylindrical hole (32 sides, diameter 5 mm, and length 35 mm) and situate it parallel to the work plane, 2.5 mm above. Place it at the center width of the rectangular prism and group the two elements together.

The final step is the same as the top end. Create four cylindrical holes with diameter and height of 3.4 mm and place these 0.75 mm away from the outer edges and make them 1.6 mm above the work plane. Afterwards, group all elements together and duplicate the entire part.

After the model is complete, export it as an .stl file. Open the .stl file in Ultimaker Cura and select the printer/filament you will use. You may use the recommended settings, but I made the infill density 10.0%, removed supports and adhesion, and made the infill pattern gyroid.

Once you are satisfied with the settings, slice the file and upload it to a removable disk drive. Plug the drive into your 3D printer and start printing. Don't forget to check once in a while to abort the print should there be any errors.

Before painting, you must sand the 3D print first to make the paint bind easier. Normally, you would sand items step by step, increasing in grit once the entire surface has been sanded. However, I used 120 grit sandpaper for the initial sanding and proceeded straight to painting. I only used the 320 grit sandpaper to remove the clumps of paint that appeared after drying.

Painting is an optional step if you want to make your Cordcaptor cuter or more creative. I highly recommend to use acrylic paint for 3D prints, and make sure to paint with long strokes, only applying a thin layer of paint with each coat. Apply several coats of paint until the original color of the 3D print cannot be seen anymore.

I highly suggest to figure out the polarity of the magnets and pair them up first before anything else. It will be quite difficult to remove the magnets, even without super glue, if they are not facing the right way.

To attach the magnets, apply a few drops of superglue into the holes. Line the magnet up with the hole and use an appropriate tool to tap the magnet in. You may press the magnet to make sure that it reaches the end of the hole. If the magnets do not fit, you may file the hole first and reapply superglue after.

And now, you're done! You have successfully created a Cordcaptor of your own. Don't feel bad if you had to reprint or remodel a couple of times (I have done so too; see my prototypes above), as it is part of the fun in 3D modeling. If you want to do more anything 3D, I highly suggest trying to solve an existing problem and modeling your own solution for it. Have fun in your endeavors and I wish you godspeed!

(This project was done to fulfill a requirement for the Tech Elective in Philippine Science High School - Main Campus.)