One of my primary design goals is to increase the 'rapid' part of my 'rapid prototyping' of hardware. One of the challenges I have faced while assembling structures that utilize laser cut panels, is the screw/nut combination which accompanies most laser cut panels slows me down. Putting all the screws into my MakerBot, for example, must add a significant amount to my build time.

This thing is meant to act as a substitute for all those screw/nut combinations that you typically need to use to assemble a DIY laser cut panel case of the captured nut/T-slot design.

As such, it can be utlized with any materials such as acrylic, glass or plywood. Everything is snap and friction fit.

While assembling the Yazzo MonkeyBot, http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5219 there were a couple of comments on the clip design.

One question Wade had was 'what keeps the clips from vibrating apart'. In the first incarnation of clips, the answer would have been nothing really.

Then, hintss made the comment: you could latch onto the T-slots

The T-Slots here are those T-slots that are cut into the plywood to receive the threaded shaft and captive nut.

So, to answer the question Wade had, and to honor the suggestion that hintss made, this thing will lock onto both the T-slot, as well as the bolt hole in the opposing piece.

This clip eliminates the need to use screws and nuts while assembling your panels.

You can use the clip to assemble panels made of any material. So, if you're playing with plywood, or acrylic, or glass, this clip will work. Since it does not utilize any screws, you might not have to fear cracking your panels with too much tightening pressure on the screw/nut combination as it is absent.

So, very good for rapidly throwing together some panels to prototype your designs.

Look at thing that consists of panels you are trying to assembly.

1. Print a whole bunch of these.
2. Put them in place of the screws and their capture nuts. It should only fit one way, and it's a very tight fit.
3. Put the panels together
4. Rejoice!

Note that when using these clips, the panels do not need the extra tabs that typically are mated to slots in the opposing pieces of material. If you are cutting panels afresh, then you can simply remove the tabs and notches from your panel design. This should reduce the amount of time that is required to print those panels, and save on the amount of material used as well, thus reducing the cost of your panels slightly.