Can we recreate the $2500 airless basketball on a Hobbyist 3D Printer?

In this video, we set out to discover a filament capable of mimicking the bounce of a basketball. While the original airless basketball an unique design, can we replicate its properties using an FDM printer? Join us as we explore various filament materials to find one that closely mimics the bounce of a real basketball.
Patreon: / twomoose
Files used
www.printables.com/model/7974...
www.printables.com/model/7886...
@UncleJessy • Can you 3D Print your ...
Filaments used
Best options
Flashforge has been in and out of stock
Flashforge Flexible PLA: amzn.to/3VwCmPg
SUNLU TPU 95A: amzn.to/3PyQio6
Other filaments used
ASA:amzn.to/3TNcgWC
Overture super pla: amzn.to/3IRFaPo
Atristia Flexible PLA: amzn.to/3TYkuM1
Ranki TPU 98A: amzn.to/3vl7bvx
Printers used:
Creality K1 MAX: amzn.to/4aOKuzQ
Creality K1 MAX: bitly.ws/3ejjs
QIDI X Max 3: bitly.ws/3eH4Z
QIDI X Max 3: amzn.to/4bQ7QFE
QIDI Q1 Pro: shrsl.com/4gpo3
Amazon: amzn.to/3Txv2Qu
Bambu labs X1C with AMS: shrsl.com/4hxdm
Bambu P1S: shrsl.com/4hxdk
3D printing Accessories:
Sunlu pla plus: amzn.to/3uL3GOF
Sunlu Filament dryer: amzn.to/3PwzihX
Large Sunlu Dryer: amzn.to/3PUKIwv
Creality Dryer: amzn.to/3VuiTyp
Brim Remover: amzn.to/3TRH1dK
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#airlessbasketball #3dprinter #Basketball

[@PartyLime]

TPC is the best filament I've found. It bounces really well and holds up for a long time.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

I’ll look into that! Thanks for watching

[@PartyLime]

I think it's hard to get hold of in the US. FormFortura FlexiFil is TPC I believe. If you find my model of the ball on Printables or Makerworld I've uploaded a gif of it bouncing there

[@honda-s2k]

@@TwoMooseDesign no such thing as we can't make the airless basketball. thats quitter talk

[@RobSandstromDesigns]

I would’ve never thought about trying this. Interesting experiment

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Thanks for watching! It was pretty fun, and a little stressful 😆 I learned a ton making these!

[@jimmassey140]

It'd be worth looking at the actual airless prototype...it appears to have quite a bit of internal structure that gives it a similar collapse profile to an air filled ball (i.e. it gets harder to compress the more you compress it). I'm interested to see how close you can get! Good luck, and thanks for the entertainment. :)

[@christian455]

I 3D printed that airless basketball out of PA12, but it was way too hard and it broke. I've done a lot of research and the best filament I could find was the TPU CF from Extrudr, with a hardness of 58D. It's somewhere between normal TPU and PLA Flex. This filament probably bounces perfectly and the carbon fibers make it more durable. I think it's worth a try.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Interesting! Thanks for the input. 👊🏼👊🏼

[@ThaifulacLP]

Best filament for the Airless Basketball I’ve seen was with PP. Immediately ordered some and looking forward to printing this weekend!

[@Grimmy1477]

Any update?

[@rickyneeter69]

Any update?

[@christian455]

@@rickyneeter69 sorry but Ihave some problems with my 3D printer and as a student I can't afford the TPU cf just for one try. Maybe someone else wanna try it.

[@shiccup]

Why did you add extra support to them? If you added a layer inside theres a potentially for it to be less breakables

[@marksierra3522]

I lol'd with she tried to dribble the 2nd ball

[@TwoMooseDesign]

same lol

[@icemaster127]

The ball needs a hard interior made of a strong a durable material (PaCf-6 maybe) and then needs a softer flexible exterior like tpu. The science is too much to explain but it will allow the harder material to flex more without breaking. This is the same concept that's used in fiber optic cable wherein the core is glass (yes hard brittle glass) but has a flexible polyacrylate sheath or something similar which takes strain off the glass and allows it to be flexible.

[@sabotage3d]

How do you print that?

[@icemaster127]

@@sabotage3d my best guess would be a multi material print system like the Bambu AMS. Unfortunately I not all that skilled in modeling nor do I have an AMS. But it would essentially just be making the infill solid and of a different material.

[@sabotage3d]

@@icemaster127 AMS doesn't support soft materials, they also won't bond well together.

[@Suns1-yb5um]

Since it don’t need to be exactly the same maybe try adding multiple layers(thin) with different materials to create the bounce and durability.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Let me know your opinions on the airless basketballs and types of filament! I most likley wont make basketball another video as all the filament is expensive and they take forever to print but I would love someone else to expand on it and hopefully come up with better options. Thanks for watching!

[@pfabiszewski]

What about 2-material print? With like inner "core" (eg flexible PLA) and a "shell" (TPU?) fused to it? Totally doable with AMS or MMU

[@crashoveride1043]

using flash forge flexible pla filament I have had best results just using a pretty standard pla profile and just running the speeds and temp a little lower.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Interesting, I’ll play around with that thanks!

[@irkedoff]

Hint: run simulations to adjust your model and use a Durometer to measure the hardness of the TPU. Use a scientific approach to solve the problem.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

I don’t have that kind of time for a basketball I’m never going to use 😆 this was 100% for fun

[@desiraedibble3657]

Hey there! This video on 3D printing is awesome! It got me thinking about a wild idea: what if we could print objects layer by layer, but from the inside out? Imagine a 3D printer on steroids, with a spinning mold and robotic arms depositing materials. We could create super intricate mechanisms or even build entire structures floor by floor with spray concrete. This "layered construction" approach could be a game-changer for fabrication! #layeredprinting #futureofconstruction

[@TwoMooseDesign]

That would be amazing!

[@desiraedibble3657]

@@TwoMooseDesign build a object from inside out layer by layer with spinning vat.

[@win15968]

I don't know how many times i've told people this, but you have to use PEBA. It has the highest energy return out of all filaments, second to chinchilla.

[@sabahoudini]

ASA with actual layer adhesion will be perfect for this. You need an 80C chamber and LOTS of cooling to print it with properly. Regular printers are not going to cut it. You need a Voron or something with parts that can take 80C and with a lot of insulation. Proper nylon would be ideal but it's difficult to print with fdm. Even in a 100C chamber it will shrink and fuck with you.

[@zakparamir755]

What about PEBA?

[@sabahoudini]

@@zakparamir755 No, flexible filaments won't bounce. It needs to be fairly stiff but with impact strength. ASA or ABS but printed properly in a very hot chamber will do the trick.

[@sabahoudini]

@@zakparamir755 PETG might work too if printed in a 50-60C chamber.

[@roknoemo]

hey mam. first time i see your videos keep it up the good job. i can tell you why all of the balls you print fail. the reason is way simpler than just the filament. the original wilson ball was a second smaller ball inside who touch the outside(like a centimeter from the exterior) this gives the ball the stability to bounce like spring.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Thanks for the tips!

[@isaacboucher5147]

I would like to see how super hard 70D hardness or greater bounces

[@TwoMooseDesign]

I looked and a lot of those were hard to find. There was one brand but it was over seas and expensive. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places lol

[@JonWilliams84]

Try SEBS 95A. Or PEBA

[@TwoMooseDesign]

I’ll check that out

[@ajciccone88]

Agreed, been waiting to see a PEBA one.

[@peterpeter5666]

china will make one for 100.00

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Oh for sure, someone with money to burn will absolutely knock it off lol

[@nahtanoj92]

Or less

[@isaiahreinmiller9311]

0.01 cent

[@tristano.2901]

Someone who tested this ball said that it smells exactly like a new shoe.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

😆😆 i guess it’s not a bad smell

[@myhermitlife]

🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@vexedgriffin9668]

Use TPE at 50-100% infill.

[@vexedgriffin9668]

Expensive filament but worth I think, it's bounce and durability is nuts

[@kennykd97]

as any1 done nylon?

[@TwoMooseDesign]

I have not but would be cool to see someone try!

[@kennykd97]

@@TwoMooseDesign I recon that's the best 1 to try.

[@chrisbaker3760]

I am right now using PA6 and have pa6-cf coming this week. So far it seems really promising. Polypropylene could also be a decent option too but right now I am testing a range of nylons to see what I can discover. The Wilson ball is a nylon blend so hoping that its workable. I'm not doing it for money myself, I run a business that helps companies develop prototypes and this is a great opportunity for me to demonstrate on a project that we know the end goal is possible, as well as showcase FDM technology even though it's not the right choice for this project really

[@TwoMooseDesign]

Flashforge Flexable PLA was the best option to my knowledge/ testing. It has been in and out of stock over the last week so if you're interested use this affiliate link or check it out on amazon. amzn.to/3VwCmPg

[@hot_wheelz]

PEBA is the filament that you need to make this actually work. It isn't super difficult to print, just be warned, it isn't exactly cheap. You're also printing the wrong model, the correct model had an internal lattice which I'd connected to the external ball so it's almost a ball inside a ball but that allows it to behave like a composite which I MUCH thicker effective wall thickness.

[@TwoMooseDesign]

@@hot_wheelzI’ll check that out!

[@user-ht6eg3bz1h]

You think that with the filaments that are on the market, you will make a ball (it costs 2.5K). Well, what are you kidding, you need to develop special filaments, make them, test them, and you know all this just to fill up space on KZbin, but thanks for making me laugh