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I'm trying to identify a type of clamp that can hold some piece perpendicular to a surface. The clamp looks like two cylinders molded together by an arc shape. The arc shape exerts a spring force. See the figure below. Left: the red circle outlines the clamp. It is embedded in some epoxy, and the white rectangle is a blank label that can be seen through the epoxy. Please ignore the epoxy and the label. Right: a side-view schematic of the clamp (not to scale).

In the photo on the left, the part is holding "piece held in place" perpendicular to the circular faces of the epoxy. In the schematic on the right, the black lines represent a cross-section of the clamp itself. The physical cross section should have about 1mm thickness.

I want to order the clamp itself, but do not know what search terms to use. The clamp material is a type of plastic, though I'm pretty sure metal ones are also sold. Please direct me to the right community if this is not the proper place for this question.

Figure 1

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  • looks like a pair of short cylinders ... it is unclear why you think that it is a clamp
    – jsotola
    Sep 24, 2020 at 2:41
  • it's a clamp, but I don't know what it's named
    – Ack
    Sep 24, 2020 at 2:43
  • I'd call it a scroll clamp, but that's just me making up words.
    – Jasen
    Sep 24, 2020 at 9:40
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    Can you tell us the function or what the part is out of? Motor brushes are shaped like that in some cases but that’s not a motor
    – Ed Beal
    Sep 24, 2020 at 14:13
  • the function of the clamp is to hold a some piece perpendicular to a surface. in the case of the photo on the left, the part is holding "piece held in place" perpendicular to the circular faces of the epoxy. in the original post, i mention the part is made out of a plastic, but am pretty sure there are versions made of metal.
    – gr4yh4t
    Sep 24, 2020 at 20:04

3 Answers 3

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I don't know what it's called, but I know how they are made. It's a roll of spring steel, about 3 layers, unrolled, and then rolled from both ends. Your diagram was close, but not quite right.

enter image description here

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  • Thanks for the input. Yes, your drawing is more accurate and I'm confident we are talking about the same thing! However, I'm aware they make the same part out of plastic as well. Unfortunately, searching for "spring steel/plastic roll" or "spring steel/plasitc clamp" did not bring me to a page were I can order more of these. I will keep looking.
    – gr4yh4t
    Sep 24, 2020 at 23:16
  • it's just a length of "watchspring" steel or curled plastic. steel can be curled in a cold forming process, I don't know how it's done for plastic.
    – Jasen
    Oct 3, 2020 at 8:55
  • I foinmd out how, just cut a strip of polycarbonate from a sheet and curl it on the back od the scissorl like a florist'
    – Jasen
    Oct 3, 2020 at 9:05
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Here's something:

enter image description here

"Vintage magnetic scroll memo letter holder, desk accessory, menu sign stand, silver gray metal curve, home office organization tool "

https://www.etsy.com/listing/463402573/vintage-magnetic-scroll-memo-letter?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

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  • This is much closer to the actual part! However, the part should be much smaller; no larger than 1-1.5in. I will edit the figure in my original post with a scale so this is more clear. Because the clamp I'm looking for is so small and a simple geometry, I expect them to be mass-produced and come in packs of 25, 50, or 100.
    – gr4yh4t
    Sep 25, 2020 at 17:03
  • A "scroll clamp"
    – mark f
    Sep 26, 2020 at 21:40
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To make this in plastic cut a strip of hard plastic (I used polycarbonate transparency film)

Then curl it like a florists ribbon. (by pulling it tight over a sharp 90 degree bend)

Then make a roll from the curled plastic,

Then unroll half of the roll and allow it to form a second roll.

done.

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