Konrad RudolphNov 6
Iakov Davydov

I ended up with way too many IKEA Allen keys. And this may sound a bit silly, but instead of throwing them away, I designed a connector system to turn them into a construction set for my kid. 🤷

It took a few iterations to get the parts strong and robust (prints well in ASA/ABS).

Would this be something you’d like to see on Printables?

Sharing a few design challenges in this thread.

#3DPrinting @3dprinting

Nov 1 at 8:42amWeb
Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@3dprinting

First, how do you make something that holds well and doesn’t degrade quickly? You add flexible fins. There’s a great video from Slant 3D about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzg_NXM-NRs

This works great on the top and bottom, but what do you do with the sides? You can’t print those angles on the sides.

No problem — let’s just use a cube net. We also add some angled pins for a reliable hold.

Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@3dprinting

This almost works but requires a fair bit of assembly; the last side is difficult to clip in. There are also annoying gaps between the sides. It turned out much better than I expected, but still too involved. It might be possible to fix, but let’s try making it work with no assembly at all.

Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@3dprinting

Which type of grip features can we print on the sides? How about two fins on each side?

This might work at a larger scale, but at this size the grips will just snap along the layer lines.

Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@3dprinting

What if we make the grip feature horizontal? This almost works — the only problem is that the slicer prints all the overhangs at once, which causes some pretty severe sagging.

Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@3dprinting

The solution is to shift the X-axis holes by 1–2 layers along the Z-axis.
And that seems to work quite well, when printing from ASA/ABS at least.

Show threadSimonNov 1
@idavydov @[email protected] sure! This clever!
Show threadKernel Bob Nov 1
@idavydov @3dprinting That's incredibly clever and whimsical. You should post it to some of the IKEA hacks sites.
Show threadU.LancierNov 1
@idavydov @3dprinting interesting, but how many more varieties would be possible if the connectors would be based on different platonic bodys?
Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@Ulan_KA @3dprinting I was thinking about a triangular prism next, but I have to see how successful the toy is. So far my kid didn't play much.

For anything other than a cube you'd also probably have to scale it up to give enough clearance for the fins/flexible features. My guess for a dodecahedron you would need something at least 2-3 times bigger (in every dimension; i.e. >8 times more plastic).

Show threadKepekenNov 1

@idavydov @Ulan_KA @3dprinting one thought, if you wanted all of the sides to be symmetric, would be to bevel all the corners and stand the cube on one of them 🤔

this is a really great project btw.

Show threadIakov DavydovNov 1

@kepeken @Ulan_KA @3dprinting Nice idea!

I'm not sure grip fins would print well on a 45-angled surface, but they actually might. The other problem to solve would be bed adhesion. So some brim or designed features might be needed.

Show threadKepekenNov 1
@idavydov @Ulan_KA @3dprinting In my head, I am imagining taking the bevel all the way to the edges of the sockets, and maybe even beyond (they don't need to have a complete circumference at the outside, in fact they'd flex more if they had gaps), which could reduce the need for a brim. i am not that experienced, so as for how well it would work, i cannot say
Show threadU.LancierNov 1
@idavydov @kepeken @3dprinting I expect all the grip parts to be equal. They just need to be sufficient deep and firm gipping. Then the body itself is only providing the orientation. I guess printing it all flat (with those holes sticking up on a plane) and then folding it up, finally filling the void around the holes with hot glue will be the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to produce them.
Show threadIakov DavydovNov 2
@Ulan_KA @kepeken @3dprinting fair. If assembling from multiple parts I can also imagine printing a whole cube with larger threaded holes separately from the compliant grip fins. Then screwing the compliant parts in somehow.