3D Printed Ball Joint (Rod End)

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In this video I experimented with a 3D printed ball joint. I was able to 3D print a rod end that contains a ball joint. Rod ends are commonly used on push rods/control rods in rc steering and suspension setups.
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[@Gkuljian]

I keep being amazed at the way printing changed the way I have to think about designing something. Your idea is brilliant.

[@lightandcolour]

I designed a Ball and joint in 2 separate pieces, pull the ball in the freezer and the socket in hot water, and then assemble them (PLA)

[@adalh.castro4432]

What difference in dimensions did you use? In terms of the diameter of the ball and the socket for the ball. And what size did you print at. I'm working on a project that uses ball joints and I hope to join them like this.

[@grewed_4470]

Thx, I was searching all over the internet to found this, excellent

[@rochamocha5705]

It would be nice to see an updated version since they recenntly came out with slicers that do dinamic line width. This would probably make smaller gaps feasible, assuming your printer is very well calibrated and prints slowly to avoid dimensional inaccuracies due to movement

[@puyobock]

just printed one, works like a charm, thanks!

[@thehardwareguy]

Awesome, glad I could help!

[@JohnDoe-yh9ll]

Same on ender 3 pro very good

[@Ankit-ud9pt]

You beauty! saved my assssssssssssss Not available in my area have to import at a high cost just for 4psc .... Thanks a lot mate

[@avejst]

Thanks, great design Looking forward to see/hear about the incounter with the real wold abruse Thanks for sharing👍😀

[@thehardwareguy]

Thank you! Yes we’ll see how they hold up in the real world

[@ValTek_Armory]

The petg should hold up pretty well with some grease to minimize friction

[@winthulatt2318]

I really need those for my violin

[@3dgiftz]

Nice

[@waynefilkins8394]

Isn't it grindy though? Don't you have to put grease in it or something? Ball bearings usually require grease so I expected this to not go well, but seems really smooth. I wonder if you put weight on it over a long period of time would it grind down if you print it with PLA? Would PETG be better I wonder?

[@santiagoblandon3022]

0.5mm gap or 0.5mm diameter difference? cause an 0.5mm gap is quite big

[@thehardwareguy]

The difference in diameter between the ball and socket is 0.5mm. It’s likely to be slightly different for each printer and filament... I printed with PETG on a Prusa MK3

[@santiagoblandon3022]

oh.. ok ok. thanks for clarifying.

[@parsianproductions6596]

Brilliant thanks

[@GeeWhizRS]

Excellent stuff. I’ve just ordered a Prusa mini for delivery in September so I’m trying to get a bit up to speed before then. If it’s not such a long answer, how can you print a free spinning ball inside a socket like this without it fusing together? Or do you need to press it in afterwards?

[@Gudi]

Great video! I just recently got a 3D printer and was wondering if this would be possible.

[@alexanderkairo4869]

pro tip : watch movies on flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching loads of movies these days.

[@josepeter155]

@Alexander Kairo yea, been watching on flixzone for months myself :)

[@trippjustice5032]

@Alexander Kairo yea, been using Flixzone for years myself :D

[@bentondarren9521]

@Alexander Kairo definitely, been using flixzone for months myself =)

[@ManicQuinn]

I subscribed! Was wondering, could this be used to print them for some 2mm metal beads and push the beads through? I'm currently working on a tiny rc project and was thinking of modeling some of these ball rods but then came across your video

[@VaticansHolocaust]

You might break or ruin the joint by forcing a metal bead through. However, a little modification would not need to push anything through at all. Rather, modify the model to leave one side of the joint open to the size of the bead. Make sure that side is extended to provide some extra plastic. After you insert the bead, melt the excess plastic to trap the bead inside the joint. I'm sure a little experimentation could lead to very effective results.

[@jovanperic4214]

I was having a hard time understanding the gap dimension at 1:37. Can someone please write it. Thanks

[@dzfattnutz]

0.5mm

[@JohnDoe-yh9ll]

Can you put the ball in your .stp files please. I downloaded your files to the push rod but ball wasn't in the files.

[@thehardwareguy]

Oh I didn’t know that, thanks!👍🏻 I will try and fix it as soon as I can!

[@JohnDoe-yh9ll]

@@thehardwareguy thank you.

[@winthulatt2318]

What is the 3d printer you used?

[@user-xb2dv2ew6j]

How did you push the ball into the hole?

[@edgarcoria6329]

He didn't, it was 3d printed everything together

[@simonpatino8636]

👍👍