▼This page was part of an MTU course MSE4777 OA and MSE4777 OB/MSE5777/EE4777/EE5777: Open-source 3-D printing
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▼Preliminary Student Design Warning
This page is a preliminary student design and has not been vetted. Care should be taken to read critically and weigh the evidence. Remember non-tested and vetted designs should not be relied on, especially in matters of health and safety.
Device data
Manufacturing files https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ice-scraper
Hardware license CERN-OHL-S
Certifications Start OSHWA certification
Project data
Authors Dan
Years 2016
Made Yes
Replicated No
Cost USD 2.88
OKH Manifest Download

This OSAT Project is an ergonomic Ice Scraper. Its purpose is to be able to scrape ice off of objects that have the ability to accumulate ice. In order to increase usability, the scraper has adjustable handles and extensions that allow it to be customizable to the user or task at hand. Apart from its primary function, the handles and extensions are threaded and can easily be adapted to retro fit other tools that require an adjustable ergonomic handle. This OSAT tool fulfills the needs of those in colder climates that may experience ice accumulation. Additionally, it can be retro fitted to accommodate other needs. I have not found case studies where this technology proves to be successful.

Bill of Materials

Hatchbox PLA 1.75mm or similar 3D printing material. Elmers glue stick - for printing surface adhesion. Here is a link to the youmagine with all of the design files. https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ice-scraper

Tools needed

  1. MOST Delta RepRap or similar RepRap 3-D printer
  2. Needle Nose Pliers
  3. Sandpaper

Skills and knowledge needed

  1. Athena Printing Basics
  2. 3D Printing Basics:MOST

Technical Specifications and Assembly Instructions

There are 3 printable files in this print; the ergonomic handle, the extender, and the ice scraper.

Layer Height

It is recommended to print the ergonomic handle and the extender at a layer height of 0.1mm to ensure that the male screw threading gets printed accurately. It is also recommended to print the ice scraper at 0.1mm, but it is not as essential as the ergonomic handle and the extender.

Speed

It is good practice to print at slow speeds when producing quality prints. For this print I used 50mm/s.

Temperature

I used Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA to make this print. A good temperature to print at with this filament is 210 degrees celsius.

Fill

Generally, the high the fill percent the stronger the part is. Knowing this, I used 50% fill on the ergonomic handle and extender because they needed to be relatively strong and relatively light. For the ice scraper, I used 100% fill because this part needs to be as strong as possible since it is the part that is going to be put under the most amount of stress.

Support Material

It is not required to use support material for the ergonomic handle and the extender, but it is required to use support material in order to properly print the ice scraper. Support material is not required everywhere, but should be used on areas over the build area for the ice scraper.

Removing Support Structure

  1. Using needle nose pliers, grab and tear support structure off of the base of the ice scraper part. (Note: Leave the support structure at the very front edge of the ice scraper in tact. removal of this may damage the scraping edge and ruin the quality of the scraper.)
  2. Once all or most of the support structure is removed, sand until desired finish is achieved.

The estimated print time for this project is about 18 hours for a high quality print.

Assembly Time Estimate

The assembly time for this project should be under a minute.

Common Problems and Solutions

  1. A common problem encountered with this design is the possibility of the male screw threading breaking off into the female screw threading.
    1. To prevent this:
      1. Don't tighten the extender and handle pieces on too tight.
      2. Don't apply heavy force perpendicular to the axis of motion. (If you are working with the ice scraper with a left to right motion, do not apply a large force from the top)
    2. To solve this:
      1. Try and bore out the female screw thread by screwing a drill bit with a diameter that is a lot smaller than the female screw thread diameter.
      2. Gradually increase the diameter of the drill bit you are using to bore out the female screw thread until you are within 1 to 2mm of the beginning of the female screw thread.
      3. Using a small flat head screw driver or razor blade, pry in between the female screw thread and the remaining male screw thread to try and break it apart so it can be removed.
  2. Another common problem is not getting the handle's grip to line up in the desired orientation with the ice scraper.
    1. To solve this:
      1. Try printing more extender rods until the handle's grip is in the desired orientation. (DO NOT TRY AND TIGHTEN SO THE HANDLE"S GRIP LINES UP - This may result in breaking off a male screw thread into a female screw thread)

Cost savings

Estimated Cost

It is estimated that printing all three parts using the printing guidelines above will cost $2.88. Here is a link to a commercial equivalent.

Estimated Savings

The cheapest commercial equivalents run from about $8 to upwards of $50. This OSAT project will produce savings of $5.12 to $47.12. That equates to 64% - 95% savings when compared to a similar commercial product.

References

A isometric threading library was used to make the threading so the parts can be connected and customizable. Here is a link to the threading library. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:311031

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Page data
Keywords 3D printing, car accessory, ice scraper, osat, winter, Plastic
SDG SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Organizations MTU, Michigan_Tech's_Open_Sustainability_Technology_Lab, MY4777
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 3 pages link here
Views 245 page views (analytics)
Created November 30, 2016 by Dan
Last edit September 2, 2026 by Felipe Schenone
Cite as Drhannah (2016–2026). "Ice Scraper". Appropedia. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
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