3D-Printed 1 Modular Hose (LocLine-like)

[giulianom]

Thought I'd give a little preview of what I'm going to try and 3D Print tonight...

This guy made an OpenSCAD library model for modular hose fittings - like LocLine:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9457">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9457</a>


So, I modified some of that code to generate a model of a 1" inside-diameter LocLine-like hose connector.

[IMG]http://imgur.com/pwl0vtT">[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/pwl0vtTl.png alt="" /></a>


I'm going to try and print one (or two) tonight!

It ought to be huge, about 3" long and 2.5" in outer diameter...

 

[ff337]

Technology is great.

 

[giulianom]

Cut-away view:

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I'm going to see if it's feasable to use 1" modular hose connectors for the nozzles on my closed loop...

 

[lagunareef]

FYI, thought you would like...

CNN
July 31st, 2013
12:06 PM ET

 

[enderg60]

two things. First do a test run and assemble and disassemble it a few times. Im just not sure the media you have is flexible enough, but cant find out till you test it.

Second. Eductors....DO IT.

 

[giulianom]

EnderG60;885923 wrote: two things. First do a test run and assemble and disassemble it a few times. Im just not sure the media you have is flexible enough, but cant find out till you test it.

Second. Eductors....DO IT.

Eductor model: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:25850">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:25850</a>

:)


[QUOTE=][B]leveldrummer;885927 wrote:[/B] the plastic is going to rip apart trying to snap these together and apart.

If these are cast in a plastic strong enough to take the abuse, they would be very very hard to snap in and out, look at the difference between snapping 1/2" lock line and snapping 3/4" lock line. huge difference in how hard they are to work.[/QUOTE]

The plastic is PLA, which is good for tighter tolerances - and it's pretty stiff.

And it's printed on fused layers, not cast materials like resin...


I do also have ABS which I may try, as ABS tends to be a bit more flexible.

 

[giulianom]

1-inch eductor?

Sure, why not...

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About 6.5" tall and 3.5" in diameter...

 

[enderg60]

The ABS would definitely be a better choice.

Also if you can modify the eductor model so its not smooth and looks more like a rock it wouldnt look so out of place in a tank.

 

[giulianom]

Well, this is on hold...


Apparently, I somehow damaged the Melzi controller board this morning, and now the X/Y axis steppers don't work... Z/E are fine...

I do have a 2nd board, but it will take me some time to reprogram it... lol.

 

[snowmansnow]

so find some material to print "rockwork" to order !

imagine.. no more stacking and gluing.. just modular parts of the reef that snap together like legos to create the actual structure you want!

 

[giulianom]

SnowManSnow;887354 wrote: so find some material to print "rockwork" to order !

imagine.. no more stacking and gluing.. just modular parts of the reef that snap together like legos to create the actual structure you want!

Not a terrible idea, designing pieces that are suitably random to look like rock would be the challenge...

Could print a reasonably sized part at around 9"x9".

Anyway I'm going to try printing a nozzle and a few connectors soon, hopefully to bring to the BBQ.

I'll try it in ABS, the pores can be sealed with an acetone vapor bath.

 

[giulianom]

Well, they printed out just fine...

ABS, 100 micron layers (0.1mm)... Took a good 10 hours or so to print 2 at once.

alt="" /></a>


They came out very smooth, with only a little cleanup of excess plastic blobs to remove...

However, I don't think I'll be able to fit them together by hand.

I'm going to find a pair of 2x4 boards and some clamps and squeeze them until they pop together.

 

[ff337]

Incredible

 

[giulianom]

The picture doesn't really show the size - they're about 3" in diameter...

I'll bring them to the BBQ party for Show & Tell.

 

[enderg60]

3" ?!

Compensating for something?

 

[glxtrix]

GiulianoM;888062 wrote: I'm going to find a pair of 2x4 boards and some clamps and squeeze them until they pop together.

Those look great! Good idea too, don't want that to pinch the skin

 

[giulianom]

EnderG60;888070 wrote: 3" ?!

Compensating for something?

LOL... nope.. I wanted it to be a 1" inside-diameter, I just didn't expect the outside to be that much bigger...

The 1" inside diameter is measured at the narrowest point, and the rest of it is calculated from there.


Anyway, I lightly sanded the surfaces a bit and using a hand clamp and some pieces of wood, they popped right together!

alt="" /></a>


They fit tightly together, but can be adjusted with a little effort...

 

[darrrenjmartin]

what program are you modeling in?

 

[giulianom]

This part was done in OpenSCAD, a programming language to describe 3d objects.

Somebody else wrote the "code" for this, I just modified it for size.

 

[haninja]

Why don't you stop playing with LocLine and print some