I fixed the rash from the wristband strap (3d printing to the rescue)

I have had a severe rash from the wristband strap, almost from day one.

I finally got myself to try to model, and 3d-print a replacement strap, to see if the material change would do any good.
I made it in TPU, a soft type of plastic, ideal for a new strap.

And, it did work, so now I am rash free. Completely.

Just a tip, if anyone has the same problem as I did (and I can see from a search that many other have had type the same problem)

(I will try to link in some images, if any one is interested, I had them ready, but was not aware that you must link in them from another website).

Disclaimer: Since English is not my native language, with "strap" I mean the little 30x10x8 mm little thing that collects the loops from the wristband. I hope that I named it correctly.

Claes.

Edit: Added images.

Edit2 : Added in the stl file for the ones interested : garmin-strap-01.zip

I used openscad to create the model.
Slicer was Prusaslicer, default settings for flex, but infill set to 100%,
Printed on a Prusa mk3s.
Filament brand is Eco Tpu, shore 90A. Got it from the guys that did the benchy , Createive Tools in Sweden.

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0 Sam201176 over 4 years ago

Well done... yes let's see some pictures, always interesting to see something different...

All the best...

Ps... You should be able to upload pic's directly from your phone or computer that you have stored locally.

0 claes.bostrom over 4 years ago in reply to Sam201176

Thanks, and I did found how to add the images (after you said that it was possible),

0 NemoSandman over 4 years ago

Yes you mean the "keeper". Great work !! :-)

0 I922sParkCir over 4 years ago

Looks great! Link to the STL?

What printer did you use? Slicer settings?

0 claes.bostrom over 4 years ago in reply to I922sParkCir

Thanks, I updated my post with stl and the details you wanted.

0 C.sco over 4 years ago

Glad this solved it for you! I'm confused, though... how did replacing only the silicone band-holder thingy, without replacing all the rest of the silicone band, resolve the rash issue?

0 claes.bostrom over 4 years ago in reply to C.sco

I really don't know.I found out by pure luck, as it was not my intent to solve the rash in the first place.

As I have had several other Garmin watches over the years (Forerunners, from 610 up to 945), and never had a rash problem with any them, but I have had the "keeper"(silicone band-holder thingy) break on almost all of them. And a replacement strap is costly.

So, this time I was decided to model up and create a replacement BEFORE it broke this time. Since I have a couple of 3d-printers, I decided to test it out with one of them.

So after I created it, I decided to test it on for a couple of days, to see how it worked, and to my big surprise, the rash disappeared, almost completely, in just a couple of days. Unexpected.

It might be that the "keeper" is made from a different material than the wrist band, it could be that the "keeper" is making more contact pressure on the skin,

I really don't know the answer to why it helped me. I am just glad it id.

0 C.sco over 4 years ago in reply to claes.bostrom

Interesting!

It must be some combination of both the material AND the fact that the "keeper" is a pressure point. I've noticed that my "keeper" makes a deeper indent on my skin than the rest of the band.

So maybe you're only susceptible to a skin reaction from silicone in places where the silicone is digging into your skin particularly hard.

0 EricJRW over 1 year ago

Thank you for this! I don't own a printer, but a friend does. Hoping h can print me a new keeper!

Cheers

PS. I have the FR235, so hope size is similar.