Nintendo Switch Grip (Docked)

Obviously there’s no lack of 3D printable docked grips for the Switch, and whilst I could go on in length about my motivations and goals, suffice to say that I can be quite picky when it comes to ergonomics and that I designed this as a complement to my portable switch grip found here.

Trying to be to the point then, the main thing setting my design apart is mainly that it incorporates the proper metal rails from either the standard grip or the slide-on covers that come with the Switch.
Furthermore, it also incorporates the light pipes from the standard grip to make it all a bit more complete. And on a similar note, the mid-section also has a cut out intended for a laser cut and engraved piece of acrylic in the place of a logo.

Recognising that not everyone has access to a laser cuter or that not everyone might be comfortable disassembling their standard grip to get at the light pipes; I've included alternate versions of the Mid piece. In the case of the logo there're versions that have the Switch logo incorporated into the design.

I do want to stress that I don't quite consider this to be finished, mainly in regards to the light pipes, and if you do decide to print that version then be prepared to put some extra work into it. Other than that the design should print easily enough with the settings listed further bellow.

General settings:
- Layer thickness: 0.1mm
- Wall-thickness: 1.6mm (4 lines with a .4mm nozzle)
- Infill: 5% - 10%
- Build Plate Adhesion: Brim (Mainly relevant for the Grip parts)
- Top/Bottom thickness: 8 - 12 layers (Mainly relevant for the Grip parts)
- Top/Bottom Pattern: Concentric (Mainly relevant for the Grip parts)

The orientation of the grips may seem a bit unconventional but I designed my portable switch grip to be printed in the same way and at this point I've printed dozens without a single one coming loose during print. Just make sure to give it a proper Brim Width (something like 10-15 lines worth) and you should be fine.

As for the overhang I strongly recommend printing the Grip parts using Curas Interface feature which you can read a bit about here: https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52663-
This feature is dependent on the Layer Height you print at as the Z-Distance between the interface and the model has to be a multiple of this number. As such the thinner the Layer Height, the more fine control you'll have to tweak this. I've found that 2 layers Z-Distance at 0.1 Layer Height will produce reliable results which can be sanded smooth with minimal effort.

Parts

Printed Parts:

For the printed parts you’ll note that there are a few variants of the Mid Section and the Bracket parts. The Mid Section varies depending on whether you want to use the light pipes (A and C if you do) and whether you want to laser cut a logo, or if you’d prefer a simple switch logo incorporated in the model (C and D if you prefer the incorporated logo).
As for the Bracket parts, A is intended to go with the rails from the standard grip and B with the ones from the slide-on covers.

Other Components:

Necessary:

A pair of joycon rails + accompanying philips-head screws (2-3 screws per rail)
3x m4 screws (no longer than 9mm and with heads no wider than 8mm)
3x m4 nuts
Superglue
Optional:

Light pipes from the standard switch grip
2x metal rods 3mm in diameter 3-4 cm long (m3 screws with the heads removed will do)
Wet Sanding paper (120, 240, 400 grits)
4mm thick acrylic
Details:
For the rails themselves, either pair will do but the ones from the grip are preferred as they fit the Joycons more securely. The only disassembly required to get at them are the small Philips head screws holding the rails in place.
To get at the light pipes you’ll more or less have to disassemble the entire grip for which you’ll need a Tri-point/Y-type screwdriver size 00 but other than that it’s fairly straight forward. Do note that if you’d like to use the light-pipes then you’ll have to use the rails from the grip.

Finally, if you want to do something akin to the engrave GameCube logo you’ll naturally need a laser cutter and a piece of roughly 4mm thick acrylic. I’ve included an SVG of the GameCube logo but if you’d prefer to make something on your own then the circle should be 25.2mm in diameter (be prepared to tweak this). I made mine from a frosted acrylic which I spray painted black on one side before cutting and engraving the logo on the side NOT painted.

Assembly

The left and right grips should be glued together with superglue or similar, but make sure to rough-up the surfaces with some sandpaper before applying the glue for better adhesion. The holes are to help with alignment and to make the seam stronger. A pair of m3 screws without heads will work well for this.

Once glued together I recommend that you wet sand the grip starting at 120 grit and moving up thought the grits ending at 400 grit.

Before attaching the brackets and rails to the Mid Section you should pre-tap the holes using the screws intended for the rails. Don’t try to screw it in in one go - as you'll just strip the threads that way - instead screw and unscrew, progressively going deeper as you build up heat.

If you’ve printed the light pipe version, then clean up as necessary and insert the light pipes before screwing the bracket and rails in place (Diamond files or a Dremel are handy for this part).

Moving on to the underside, the m4 nuts should press-fit into the hexagonal holes. Depending on the exact dimensions of the nuts you may or may not need to use some superglue secure them.

Before screwing it all together, note that the versions with a cut-out for the logo also have holes to make it easier to remove the acrylic if you misaligned it. Take care not to overtighten the m4 screws as this might crack the plastic or the glue holding the nuts in place, and now you're done!