Magnetic Ball Joint Rod Ends by huntley

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

These are designed to work with 3/8" balls, 0.230" diameter carbon fiber rods, and cylindrical magnets which are 10mm in diameter and 15m high.
These can be printed with a layer height of 0.2mm or 0.1mm.
Use a shell thickness of 2mm, so that all of the walls will be printed with concentric circles, instead of back-and-forth infill.
For PLA, use a relatively low temperature, like 185C, so that the overhang inside of the ball bearing sockets comes out as cleanly as possible.
I use a 3/8" ball end mill to gently clean out the ball bearing sockets.
Note: I have to print out at least two of these at a time, to get the correct dimensions. I usually print out a dozen of the ball bearing holders, followed by another of the rod ends -- ie. I usually don't mix them in one print run.
I use these with my magnetic effector: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1546124
And magnetic carriages: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1546091
Contact haydn.huntley@gmail.com if you need an inexpensive source for the ball studs or magnets.
I offer the ball studs for $1 each (12 are needed), and the magnets are $2 each (and I include printed and slightly machined rod ends with the magnets).