A Crying Case For Better Case Latches

This faux Pelican case is like the poster child for Harbor Freight: It almost works great.

The case latches do not stand out away from the case when you open them. They flop uselessly back down where they impede my progress. That was intolerable.

I did tolerate it until I could get time to attack designing replacement latches. But no more tolerance is required.

OpenSCAD and Prusa to the Rescue!

"Those latches look pretty complex.", I thought to myself. Turns out they are, but just take a look at how simple it was to create a worthy replacement in OpenSCAD:

// CaseLatch.scad - A replacement latch for a Harbor Freight "pelican" case.
// 2025 - dr.gerg@drgerg.com
//
//
$fn=48;

linear_extrude(36)
difference(){
    union(){
        square([52,9]);
        translate([44,0])
        square([8,21]);
        translate([17.3,15.3])
        circle(3.4);
        translate([13,7])
        rotate([0,0,-12])
        square([5,11]);
        hull(){
            translate([-10,-3])
            circle(2.25);
            translate([-1,18])
            circle(1.5);
            polygon([[0,0],[-12.3,-3.4],[-2,18],[0,18]]);
        }
    }
    union(){
        translate([48,16])
        circle(1.8);
        translate([48,22,0])
        rotate([0,0,135])
        square([5,10]);
    }
}

And here that is on the printer:

I printed them in PETG because it's supposed to be a little more flexible and tough than PLA. Also not as stinky as ABS. The printer is in Bldg S1 where I work, so stinky matters.