Any Size Ball Joint by IamSLy

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Any Size Ball Joint:
A 3D printable customizable universal ball joint.
Fully 3D Printable without supports
Up to 30 deg lateral deflection
Customizable to any size by editing values in FreeCAD
STL exported for the following diameters:
5 mm
6 mm -> Shown on the pictures
8 mm
10 mm
12 mm
16 mm
20 mm
40 mm
Note on the clearance:
Your slicer settings MUST have the "Horizontal Expansion" (Cura name) setting calibrated so that a X mm cylinder will fit into a X mm hole. This setting could have an other name in slicers other than Cura. A typical value for FDM printers is around -0.1mm. A more negative value will give a larger clearance.
This point is important as there is no clearance in the object dimensions!
Only the thread has some added clearance (given parameters).
All the exported STL are tested for good clearance with a 0.4 mm print width and 0.16mm layer height. If you want to increase these values, please re-export the STLs following the customization instructions.
If the thread does not go fully in at once, do not use force: twist it in and out rapidly and it will progressively go deeper. From time to time during this process, completely unscrew the thread and clean any dust and blobs.
Two attachments proposed:
Using a base plate : Glue or fuse into your own stuff
Using the holes : By inserting rods of chosen diameter
How to print your desired diameter #:
Important: Have your printer calibrated for "Horizontal Expansion" as previously mentioned.
Print the following parts:
SBJ-Nut#
SBJ-Ball-North#
SBJ-Ball-South#
For the version with base plates:
SBJ-Screw+Base#
SBJ-Ball+Base#
For the version without base plates:
SBJ-Screw#

How to assemble:
Put the 2 half spheres on the screw.
Screw the nut on top
Align the 2 halves with the rod
Slightly tighten the nut
Glue the rod into the sphere
How to customize:
Open the FreeCAD file and edit the Size spreadsheet.
Put your values on the leftmost column. (Values used for the STL exports are listed on the other columns).
The "Thread Lateral Clearance" should be proportionally increased for print width over 0.4mm. (recommended: print width / 4)
The "Thread Vertical Clearance" should be proportionally increased for layer height over 0.16mm. (recommended: layer height)
Check FreeCAD recomputed your new ball joints correctly.
Select and convert all objects located into "Print Export Parts" to Meshes ("Create Mesh From Shape...").
Export your newly created STLs.

Enjoy :)