I've done this a few times but I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of fundamental of latches, specifically where to put the pivot point. I'm doing a latch to lock something down and I don't want the latch to pop when the object is pulled up. I belive it has to do with the reaction force and the resultant component forces when the unit is removed pointing to the pivot point. Any help is appreciated. ---- ^ | | | o | works
: I've done this a few times but I was wondering if someone could point : me in the direction of fundamental of latches, specifically where to : put the pivot point. : I'm doing a latch to lock something down and I don't want the latch to : pop when the object is pulled up. I belive it has to do with the : reaction force and the resultant component forces when the unit is : removed pointing to the pivot point. Any help is appreciated. : If you're using a snap type latch that hooks over a clip, the pivot point is usually directly under the clip. If you put the pivot to the outside, it is trying to pull the latch off the clip. Put it to the inside and it is trying to rip the end off the clip. You can see these different scenarios by crudelly drawing these configurations by hand and tracing the path with dividers. The path of the outside positioned pivot point shows the path to be lifting off the clip which means the it could do this naturally. The path of the inside positioned pivot point shows the path cutting through the end of the clip, meaning that as you try to remove the latch, interference increases. I don't believe this changes even with different style latches. You are trying to pull the halves of a case flat together just as if you were C-clamping them. And C-clamps work best when the load is centered over the contact faces. David Janes
