3D Printed Pool Parts

[patpend]

A few months ago I splurged on a 3D printer and have been using it to make replacement parts for the pool & yard (and anything else I can think of). Here are a couple of things I've made so far. These are all available free for download if you want to make them too.

Pool Pole Friction Ring
Hayward Super Pump Drain Plug p/n SPX1700FG
Diving Board Nut Cover
Shower Hose to Garden Spigot adapter

 

[bdavis466]

What program and printer are you using?

 

[patpend]

Using Simplify3D for slicing and my printer is a Qidi Tech ($699 on Amazon - a bargain IMHO). For design I've been using a few different programs, OpenSCAD, 123D Design and Meshmixer mostly.

 

[tlevy]

This is brilliant! I never thought about this, but admittedly didn't think 3D printers were that accessible as of yet. Where do you get the plastic from, and is it very difficult to design things?


68,000litre, IG vinyl, LorentzPS 600 Solar Pump & 1/2 HP Tristar, Sandfilter, Aquarite T-15 SWG

 

[patpend]

Nah, I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants. The plastic comes in spools of filament and you can get it from Makergeeks.com (my personal favorite), Amazon, Micro Center, and many many other stores.

Designing things as 3D models that can be printed can be surprisingly easy especially if you can find something online that you can modify or combine with other things to make what you want. OTOH if you need a unique complex part you'll need some skills with a program such as Solidworks, AutoCAD Fusion or the like.

The good thing is there are huge amounts of info & tutorials online and many forums to learn from if you want to get your feet wet.

 

[Geebot]

A few months ago I splurged on a 3D printer and have been using it to make replacement parts for the pool & yard (and anything else I can think of). Here are a couple of things I've made so far. These are all available free for download if you want to make them too.

Pool Pole Friction Ring
Hayward Super Pump Drain Plug p/n SPX1700FG
Diving Board Nut Cover
Shower Hose to Garden Spigot adapter

How durable are those parts? Most of the 3d printed samples I've encountered are not especially strong.

 

[patpend]

So far none of them have failed. The Super Pump drain plug is leak free after almost two months. It all depends on the material you choose and the printing techniques you use. I made a gear for my paper shredder out of a nylon blend that's insanely tough. You could smash it with a hammer and it wouldn't break. See Zahnrad fur Aktenvernichter Fellowes SB-95C

 

[1-prop-head]

Just a Note:
Ever since I purchased a Ultimaker 2 3D printer and figured out how to daraw in OpenSCAD I have made several parts for the pool. The ones most interesting hear might be:
Replcement gear for track drive of ZodiacMX8 pool cleaner
Enclosure for dedicated RPi Aqualink Control Web Interface
The .Stl files for these can be found on YouMagine.com under my ID - 1-prop-head