I had to cut a hole in my drywall to make a repair, and I wanted to patch it with the same piece I took out -- it was already just about the right size.

I designed these clips to meet this need. They're PLA and so a little inflexible, but the patch snapped right into place by wedging one side in, and then giving the opposite clip a solid whack.

The surface is flush, and the repair is solid. Next I just need to get out the drywall compound and finish it up.

I need to clean up the OpenSCAD code a bit (and make it parametric), and then I'll post it as well. Meantime, here is the STL for a single clip and a set of four.

Total cost of plastic: About 5 cents. :) Reprap rocks!

(File and version details below instructions.)

1. Print clips.

2. Cut a couple layers off the surface of the patch and the adjoining wall (where the clip will be installed) so that the clips and patch will be flush.

3. Install the clips onto the patch, and press into place on the wall. I wedged one side in first, and then gave the opposite clip a firm (but not too hard) whack, and it just snapped solidly into place.

4. Finish with drywall compound.

5. Call your spouse over to see the repair, and remind him/her of what a good investment the 3D printer was.

Some file and update notes:

DrywallClip.stl is a single clip with 1mm thick material. DrywallClipx4.stl is for of the 1mm think clips, spaced out a bit for printing all at once. DrywallClipx4.8.stl uses clips that are a bit thinner (0.8mm as opposed to 1mm) but still slices properly on slic3r (which still has a problem with thin wall forked paths) using a 0.5mm nozzle. I'll test this version after I poke a new hole in my wall. They should "give" a bit more.