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Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2026 9:14 pm
by tommoir83
Hi all,
I’ve seen a few images here where people have used 3D-printed pillar caps to bring old trigs back to something like spec, and I’d love to get my hands on a copy.
Does anyone have a blueprint, STL file, or scan they’d be willing to share (or point me toward)? Happy to credit/pay for the file if there’s a cost involved.
Much appreciated in advance if anyone can help out.
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2026 12:15 am
by Teasel
I've no experience / understanding of 3D printing. However I have created a python script at
https://github.com/TrigpointingUK/platf ... _pillar.py which creates a reasonably accurate 3D model of a trigpoint in Blender. It was used to render the flythrough video on the
Wiki homepage.
By "reasonably accurate", I mean that eg the positions and depths of the 3 blind holes in the back of the inner plug were measured by vernier calipers, however the outer threads are bump mapped and have no helix angle.
I don't know whether that's suitable as a starting point for creating a model suitable for a 3D printer, but you're welcome to try!
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2026 6:31 pm
by Teasel
You might also want to contact
Ross Lockley, who has posted several photos of 3D printed caps on facebook.
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2026 11:24 am
by Teasel
I've had a go at putting together some STL files at
https://github.com/TrigpointingUK/platf ... in/cad/stl
These are an accurate replica of the original North Ockendon plug, to be screwed into place and held with allen bolts. A 3mm cotter pin prevents the inner plug being removed, and a 32 gauge bolt holds instruments in place. So more expensive, more fiddly, less cross-compatible, and potentially more stealable than the undersized, glue-on flat disks that others use. They've also never yet been printed and I may have got my thread allowances wrong! But if you've got spare filament and want something realistic, then I'd love to hear how you get on.
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2026 7:10 pm
by tommoir83
Teasel wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2026 11:24 am
I've had a go at putting together some STL files at
https://github.com/TrigpointingUK/platf ... in/cad/stl
These are an accurate replica of the original North Ockendon plug, to be screwed into place and held with allen bolts. A 3mm cotter pin prevents the inner plug being removed, and a 32 gauge bolt holds instruments in place. So more expensive, more fiddly, less cross-compatible, and potentially more stealable than the undersized, glue-on flat disks that others use. They've also never yet been printed and I may have got my thread allowances wrong! But if you've got spare filament and want something realistic, then I'd love to hear how you get on.
Oh fantastic. These look really promising, thank you so much. I’ll send them over to my friend who has the 3d Printer and see how he thinks it will come out and then hopefully get one printed off. I’ll post a follow up here to show progress!
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 12:08 pm
by Analoguesat1
Here is my cap. Its 92.5mm diameter 5mm thick. Set up for generic pla filament & printed face down to get the nice "diamond cut" finish you get on Bambu print plates. Flip it over if you use a glass print plate.
Its a plain disc, nothing fancy I run some grey electrical tape round the circumference twice, then tap it into place. Once in place its not coming out unless someone smashes it out. Then I tidy up any stray bits of tape with a cheap craft knife for a nice neat finish
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 12:13 pm
by Analoguesat1
Ive put 10 in so far since I started in May. I check the logs on TUK regularly to see how they are doing
1 has been removed so far & that one that didnt have the tape around it. It will be replace at some point in the next few weeks.
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 5:57 pm
by Analoguesat1
Ive printed a few caps in bright colours & fitted them round the Borders. These are not universally popular in the trigging community
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 10:31 pm
by Teasel
I'm not sure anything's universally popular in the trigging community
Re: Looking for a 3D-printable trig pillar cap blueprint/STL
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2026 11:38 am
by Analoguesat1
I rather like my coloured caps so I shall continue to fit a few in the immediate surrounding area.
