Introduction: Strap-On Cleats for Ice and Snow Traction
Winter can be such a blast, but slips and falls from slippery sidewalks and icy roads pose a serious threat to those that need to walk or commute in icy conditions, such as workers, students, or individuals with disabilities. They are at higher risk for serious injury, but don't always have the option to stay indoors. Snow shoes are often an excellent solution, but they are bulky and inaccessible. Some places rarely experience snow and ice, so homemade strap-on tracks can provide quick, accessible, and affordable relief to icy conditions.
Supplies
- Stiff TPU Filament
- 12x m4x10 Button Head Screws
- 12x m4 Nuts
STL, DXF, and F3D files for this project are attached here
Step 1: Designing the Plate - Profiling
There are many ways to make the plate, so opt for the your best option. Mine is 3D modeled using Autodesk Fusion 360, for its simplicity and efficient sketching workflows, but this project is suitable for laser cutting, machine cutting, and more.
Obtain a picture of a shoe's sole, and roughly fit a curve to the perimeter of the sole using point fitting splines.
Step 2: Design the Plate - Cutouts
Add locations for screw holes and cutoff zones for modifying the thickness of the sole. Locations for straps to attach to should be added here. The exact placement for most of these is not critical, hence why most of the sketch is unconstrained.
Extrude holes for each screw, clearances for each screw head, and slots for straps. I am not providing specifics on the dimensions of these as they heavily depend on materials available to you. See the attached drawing and DXF that I created in Fusion 360 for additional measurements.
This mid-section of this part needs to bend, so design this section thin enough for your material of choice to reliably do this.
Many of the characteristics of the sketches shown above will become apparent in later steps, so take at look at those before returning to this step.
Step 3: Fabrication!
It's time to make it! Slice your model for 3D printing, or fabricate it the way you want. Mirror this part for the other shoe.
I'll go over a few important details for 3D printing, so skip to the next step if this does not apply to you!
Materials
The part needs to bend to follow the curve of the continuously bending shoe sole, so chose a material that allows for this. If you do not have the ability to print hard flexible materials, you can modify your design to allow for a strap to tie the front and back sections together.
Slicer Settings
Choose an infill pattern and density that will allow it to bend with the shoe. By having the screw heads sit flush with the shoe sole, most of the forces can be transferred directly into the screws. Because of this, you should establish strength though perimeters and allow the infill to let the part bend.
Step 4: Screw This Project
Literally. Using washers if you need to, secure all of the screws with nuts.
Step 5: Conclusion
And with that you can make yourself a pair of strap on tracks for your shoes!
![Cold Challenge](https://content.instructables.com/FLM/T0V5/LCT3P8KC/FLMT0V5LCT3P8KC.jpg?auto=webp&crop=1240%2C600&frame=1&width=320)
First Prize in the
Cold Challenge
5 Comments
6 months ago
Great idea! Reminds me of a set of mini-crampons I made about in about 1984 that fit in the instep area of my hiking boots. 1/8 aluminum with 8 large teeth each. Worked great until I got a pair of the real thing.
6 months ago
Хорошая идея.Нужно еще добавить крепление или ограничитель для пятки,чтобы ботинок не съезжал с этой конструкции.
6 months ago
Really nicely done! A clever idea that solves a problem! I am a big fun of the use of TPU and of the thinner section in the middle. Keep it up!
7 months ago
Cool design (no pun intended). You should consider using locknuts. Otherwise, you will likely start to lose the nuts through normal wear and tear.
7 months ago
Nice job on the design!