Click it on.
Wear it all day.
Take it off on purpose.
NERDLOCK™ is a family of 3D-printable quick-attach mounts that lock without springs, park where you put them, and only let go when you mean it.
Three systems. One standard.
Every NERDLOCK part shares the same interfaces, so a puck on your prop fits a receiver on your armor, a rail on your belt, or a wall plate at home.
Helical bayonet
Drop the puck in, turn it 60°, done. The locking ledges are cut as a helix, so the turn itself pulls the parts together and preloads them — no spring to wear out or lose.
- Three-lug bayonet that draws itself tight as you turn it
- A magnet in each half pulls it into position and holds it locked
- Receivers to screw down, sew on or wear on a belt, for armor, helmets, display stands, wall plates and more
Captive rail
Pucks slide around a closed-loop track and settle into parking stations. There is exactly one way on or off — slide to the port and give it a quarter turn — so nothing falls out mid-con.
- Figure-8 and multi-lobe loops, combs, arc and curved rails
- Stations hold with a detent and a magnet
- Prints flat, with the lips bridged over the channel
Back dock
For the big prop on your back. Reach over your shoulder, put the plate in the flared mouth and let go — it slides down the dovetail, latches itself, and a witness pin tells you it's home. A cord over the shoulder releases it.
- Loads without looking: the mouth centres the plate for you
- Self-engaging latch, released by a pull cord
- No magnets: the prop’s own weight seats the plate and the latch holds it
The Fang family, and more
Drop-in docks for your back and your armor, the tiered Fangstone, stick-on wall mounts, shelves and push-to-click receivers. None of them uses magnets. These are drawings from the design files; test prints are under way.
The Fang family
Fang
A blind back dock. Drop the wedge into the mouth, the taper seats it and two catches click in. One cord, a push tab or a pop-up lets it go. In Mini, Trio and XL sizes too.
Twin Fang
Two Fang docks on hinged shoulder pods, worn like a shoulder holster. Drop a prop into each over your shoulder without looking.
Fang on armor
The Fang dock curved to follow a backplate, screwed onto a raised boss or set flush in a pocket in your armor.
Fang Wall & Fang Hook
Thin stick-on wall plates. Hooks, poster tiles and a picture frame drop into them, and swap without re-sticking. No drilling.
Fang T
Shelf brackets that drop into Fang docks, with a lock bar that leans over the board and holds it down.
Fang Shelf
A one-piece shelf that drops into a Fang dock. Push the tab under the dock and lift it off.
Fangstone
Fangstone
The armor dock with three stepped tiers in place of the cone. They centre the puck before it clicks and take side knocks off the jaws.
Fangstone Crown
Fangstone with a 24-tooth crown. The piece lines itself up to the nearest 15° and can't spin once it's docked.
Fangstone extender
A crowned puck on one face and a crown socket on the other: plug it into any Fangstone socket for a new one 30 mm further out. A Fang wedge with the socket on its face is coming too.
Armor mounts and more
Armor Dock
A push-in dock for armor. A cone steers the puck in, three jaws click over it at any rotation, and a pull tab lets it go.
Armor Lock
A slide-in lock on a flat armor plate. A V-guide lines the puck up, it clicks behind a ridge, and press-and-slide lets it go.
FangClick
Push to lock, push again to let go. For stands, wall plates and stick-on mounts.
Pull-in docks
A draw line pulls the piece into its dock from out of reach. Armor Dock, Fang and FangClick versions.
Workbench Rail
100 mm tiles that key together into a track for the workbench wall, a shelf's underside or the ceiling. The same pucks as the hip rails.
Self-closing hook
A hook whose gate closes behind the prop as it drops in, then twists open to let it go.
Want one of these first? Tell us what you'd mount with it.
More of the system
Stands, standoffs, receivers and hangers that all speak the same interface.
Sew-on receiver
The same twist-lock socket on a thin flange with twelve sewing holes, for fabric, straps and soft armour.
Patent pending
Belt receiver
The socket on a slide for belts up to 50 mm wide. Thread it on and any puck twists onto your hip.
Patent pending
Belt hanger
A belt loop with the socket facing along the belt. A puck on the butt of a prop pistol's grip locks in and the barrel hangs down your leg, like a holster.
Patent pending
Twist-on hook
A hook with its own puck on the back. Twist it into any receiver on the wall or your belt to hang keys, a bag or a strap.
Patent pending
Tilt & standoff stack
Toothed discs on one bolt: add spacers for height and wedges for angle, then cap it with a receiver. Magnets hold the stack together while you build it.
Patent pending
Bayonet riser
A receiver on a stepped riser that locks at four height stations with the same helical twist.
Patent pending
H-SNAP push-click
Push any NERDLOCK-H puck straight in at any rotation and three jaws close over it. A lever opens them all at once. No magnets.
Patent pending
Funnel receiver
A cone mouth that guides a stem-extended puck in, even when you miss the centre.
Patent pending
MAGBASE
A plate with countersunk magnets and a receiver in its face, for any steel surface.
Helmet display stand
A ballasted stand with a receiver in the lid; the column docks with the same puck.
Patent pending
Wall plate
Hang anything that carries a puck, then take it straight back to your armor.
Patent pending
Swivel prop hanger
A sized hook on a Chicago-screw axle so the prop hangs plumb from a belt, loop or adapter.
Try it free
The NERDLOCK-H starter is free while it's in beta, so printers can try the twist-lock on their own machines and tell us how it went.
The print files
A screw-down and a sew-on receiver, glue-on and screw-on pucks, a curved pair for 75 mm armour, a tighter rev B pair, the magnet polarity jig, a belt receiver, the pistol belt hanger and the twist-on hook. Every part carries the Nerd Abstract mark.
PETG, 0.12 mm layers
The helix wants fine layers. Supports go under the lock ledges and lugs only. You'll need one 10 x 3 mm magnet per part, and a README walks you through the rest, including a 15-minute pull test.
Ask for the beta
Email info@nerdabstract.com or message RogueShadowTech on Discord. Free for personal use; tell us your printer, how the twist felt, and send a photo.
Built to print
Every part was designed for a home FDM printer from the start — not adapted after the fact.
Print-first geometry
Designed for PETG, with each part oriented so its load-bearing features print strong. Most parts print at 0.2 mm layers; the twist-lock's helix wants 0.12 mm.
Common hardware
Standard neodymium magnets, M3 and M5 screws and Chicago screws. No custom springs.
One interface
Pucks, receivers and adapters share the same dimensions, so the pieces you build today keep working with the next ones.
Licenses
The print files are for your own builds. If you want to sell or give away what you print, there's a commercial license for one shop, yearly or monthly.
Print for yourself
The free starter and every file pack: print, edit and remix for your own costumes and props. Please don't share or re-upload the files.
One system
$250 a year (up to 500 printed parts) or $25 a month (up to 50 a month), for one system such as NERDLOCK-H.
Every system
$1,000 a year (up to 5,000 printed parts in total) or $100 a month (up to 200 a month), across every NERDLOCK system, including new ones.
Each commercial license has a number, shown with "Designed by Nerd Abstract" in the seller's listings. Need more parts? Ask about a volume license.
Launching soon
Printed parts and the full print-file packs are on the way through the Nerd Abstract shop. Want to know when they drop, or interested in trying a kit on your build?
info@nerdabstract.com