Tiny Whoop Gate Base - Easy Print by kiteless

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

Easy Print Tiny Whoop Race Gates – USB Powered LED's.
First off full credit to David Just for the original design that I based the idea of this design from.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3323922
Backstory:
The drive came from my good printer being out of service, so I was using my old PrinterBot Metal Plus to make his design and it was just a bit too rough. I also purchased the wrong size PVC and found that the print tolerances were just not good enough on my PrinterBot for the area of his design where the polyurethane tube goes in. I decided I wanted to make something on my own based on his idea of using PVC tubes as feet. So after a few hours in TinkerCAD I came up with a v1 design. The entire goal was to make it as quick and easy to print as possible using PLA while still being strong enough to take a hit from a TinyWhoop. After the v1 was printed and tested I found that it needed more zip ties. I also added a concave area on the top to give the polyurethane tubing a little more surface area to grip on.
Overall Dave's design is superior, but I really wanted something simple and quick.
Pros: quick print time, around 2 hours, Strong, easy to print on almost any printer even if it's not well calibrated.
Cons: Doesn't grip the polyurethane tubing as well as Dave's design, no way to mount on a pole, kinda ugly. :D
Parts needed:
Filament: Any PLA (that your printer likes) is fine.
PVC tubing: Any PVC that is about 22mm outer diameter (roughly 0.75 inches). I believe I ended up with Schedule 40 cold water PVC. It should say something on it like “PVC 1120 SDR 13.5 PR 315”. The stuff I used is Charlotte Pipe 23155. Clear as mud? OK good. My advice is to print one of these and just take it to the hardware store.
This is the PVC I used:https://www.lowes.com/pd/Charlotte-Pipe-1-2-in-dia-x-10-ft-L-315-PSI-SDR-13-5-PVC-Pipe/1000080799
Polyurethane Tube:https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/rough-plumbing/pipe-tubing-hoses-fittings-accessories/hoses-tubing/polyethylene-tubing/sioux-chief-3-8-od-x-25-polyethylene-tubing/901-03103w0025m/p-1470660864282.htm
Small zip ties: Using wider zip ties that fit into the slits will give you a little more grip.
Lights: Whatever USB powered lighting you want. I used these USB powered fairy lights. These are WAAAAAAAY too long, but can be cut shorter.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085MBTFSK
NOTE: plug in your light source before you do all this below to make sure it works. :D
Instructions:
Print the base. I used 20% infill, no raft or brim. Could maybe get away with 10% infill but haven't tried that yet. The part is a little weak in the center where the cable strain relief is, could improve this with thicker top & bottom layer.
Cut a length of polyethylene tubing to 55 inches (140cm). In Dave's design he called for 59 inches (150cm). This will result in a slightly bigger gate if you want one.
Cut 2x 12” sections of PVC for the feet. PVC cutter is recommended for this.
You can measure out enough fairy lights to fold them in half, try to space them out evenly for a nicer look, cut off the extra and feed them through the tube. When you cut make sure to give a little space between the positive and negative wires to they can't ever touch. Just do an angle cut or something.
This next part is tricky. The lights do fit but the more you push through the more resistance you get. I ended up using some 18 gauge wire that had some slightly stuff casing on it, feeding it through, taping it to the lights and pulling it through the tube. Was actually really surprised how much I could pull and they didn't break. Feeding it through by pushing while pulling on the wire also helped a lot. This is fiddly and annoying to do alone, if you have an extra set of hands it helps a lot.
BONUS: You can actually fold over the lights 3 times and they will fit as long as the individual lights aren't ontop of each other. 2 loops (one loop folded in half) is reasonably bright, especially with the room lights dimmed a little.
BONUS 2: skip to step 9 then feed a single length through till it comes through the other side of the hoop, feed that end back into the other side , this lets you push and pull at the same time. This is still fiddly and annoying, but another way to do it. Now back to step 8 then 10.
Make sure to feed a little bit of the USB cable into the tubing.
Zip tie the tubing to the base (3D printed part). Do this in what ever process you feel is best. Make sure the locking part of the zip tie is flush with the base to get maximum grip. I start off with one zip tie on each side to hold the tube in place, then I do the other one on each side facing the same direction.
Zip tie down the USB cable with the provided strain relief slits. I did this to the back of the base for a cleaner look and to put the USB battery behind the base, but it doesn't matter what side you use. Get them snug but don't torque them hard. Make sure there's enough slack that the cable has enough motion for the hoop to be knocked down 90 degrees in case of a TinyWhoop strike.
Insert your PVC, you may need to clean up some burrs and such. They should fit in slightly snug.
See pictures for how I arranged the zip ties & USB cable.
That's it, your done. Plug in USB power and enjoy.
Specs for the print in the pics:
Layer Height: 0.25mm
Shell Thickness: 0.8mm
Bottom & Top thickness: 0.4mm
Infill: 20%
Speed: 40mm/sec
Filament: 1.75mm PLA
Nozzel: 0.4mm
Supports: None
Final notes:
At some point soon I'll be releasing a version that will be pole mountable and still easy to print. I have some other variation ideas as well. All with the goal of being as easy/quick to print as possible.
Please post your makes and remixes! Cheers and happy Whoopin! I'm excited to finally release something that other people might actually make! Haha.
This was made with TinkerCAD. This is about as advanced as I get when it comes to CAD or 3D modeling at all. I'm very much an amateur with this stuff. That said I'm really happy with how it came out.