Reinforced Double Ball Cup

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

I don't know why, but the old Bionicle parts' tendency to break has always bothered me. If you look back on my older posts (of which there are few) you'll notice I have chimed in on a few topics about this subject, trying to see if someone's come up with a solution. There have been solutions to an extent, but they all seem a bit unstable for my liking. As a result, I decided to make this.

It's essentially a double ball cup, but with the redesigned sockets that Lego introduced in late 2010. However, I attempted to retain full functionality of the original joints. For example, I have decided to open up the holes on either side of the socket so that an axle or pin can go through like so:

So far, that hasn't affected structural integrity, and when inserting a ball you are greeted by the typical muffled pop.

I've only popped it in and out a few times, so I'll certainly have to do some more testing before I can confidently say that it won't break on me. As for tolerances, it's a little more loose than I'd like and won't support some more heavy structures, so on the second build I'll have to fix that.

As you can see in that picture, it's a bit shorter than an actual Lego piece, so I'll need to fix that as well. However, as other dimensions go, it's satisfactory. Overall, as a first build, I'd say I'm happy with what I did. For those of you wondering, I modeled it in Autodesk Fusion 360, and ordered it from Shapeways. Just as a disclaimer, I am associated with neither of the two, and I am making no money by promoting them. Any who, here are a few more pictures, so you can get more of an idea of its scale and whatnot.

Ehlek wonders if these come in lime green...

 

Well, that will do it for me. Let me know what you think!

[ShadowBionics]

I'd be happy to try out something like this. Ironically yesterday I was swapping out parts for Mistika Onua, whose legs exploded because of these weaker parts. I'd be interested to see how these parts go.

[Tahu3.0]

Wow this is actually a really useful 3D printed part as those are the kind of G1 Bionicle pieces that break easily even before 2008.

[Sir Keksalot]

Man, do I wish I had a bunch of these when I was a kid. Or even now. As far as your friction problem goes, I don't think there's a solution that lets you keep the ability to put an axle through the socket's holes. You probably need to close it up more so there's more contact with the ball. The only other thing I can think of is making the socket slightly more closed-up so that it's physically tighter, if that makes any sense.

 

I apologize if I'm coming off as a know-it-all, I don't actually make 3D parts myself.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Sir Keksalot

[Iruini Nuva]

As far as your friction problem goes, I don't think there's a solution that lets you keep the ability to put an axle through the socket's holes. You probably need to close it up more so there's more contact with the ball. The only other thing I can think of is making the socket slightly more closed-up so that it's physically tighter, if that makes any sense.

Wait, is friction the reason you can't stick an axle through there like you can with earlier sockets? Never noticed a difference in friction, but the inability to stick an axle through (plus likelihood of survival) drives me to pick the older style pretty much every time. Always seemed like an inferior part.

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

 

As far as your friction problem goes, I don't think there's a solution that lets you keep the ability to put an axle through the socket's holes. You probably need to close it up more so there's more contact with the ball. The only other thing I can think of is making the socket slightly more closed-up so that it's physically tighter, if that makes any sense.

Wait, is friction the reason you can't stick an axle through there like you can with earlier sockets? Never noticed a difference in friction, but the inability to stick an axle through (plus likelihood of survival) drives me to pick the older style pretty much every time. Always seemed like an inferior part.

 

No, I don't believe the axle impacted the friction. I think I made the socket a little big, so on my next model if I dial it down by .05-.1 mm, that should do the trick. However, I do agree that more coverage couldn't hurt, although I'm already gonna widen up the socket on my next iteration of the design for the sake of movement, so I'm not sure about how I'll achieve that.

[Umm Durmán]

This is some truly excellent work you did here. I don't know whether the problem with the original pieces was that they weren't sturdy enough or that the material used was defficient (probably a combination of both). I had problems with cracking parts too - it made me completely lose my trust into plastics. Shapeways already offers stainless steel as 3D printing material, but it is insanely expensive, though with technology advancing the price should drop in the upcomming years and once it drops I might be interested in printing original looking LEGO pieces (although it remains to be seen if socket parts aren't too strong to be assembled by human hands if printed from stainless steel). I plan on getting into 3D design in the near future so your work definitely serves me as an inspiration 

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

This is some truly excellent work you did here. I don't know whether the problem with the original pieces was that they weren't sturdy enough or that the material used was defficient (probably a combination of both). I had problems with cracking parts too - it made me completely lose my trust into plastics. Shapeways already offers stainless steel as 3D printing material, but it is insanely expensive, though with technology advancing the price should drop in the upcomming years and once it drops I might be interested in printing original looking LEGO pieces (although it remains to be seen if socket parts aren't too strong to be assembled by human hands if printed from stainless steel). I plan on getting into 3D design in the near future so your work definitely serves me as an inspiration 

Thanks for the kind words! I'd certainly be interested to see a stainless steel part. Good luck on your up and coming 3D endeavors!

[Toa Imrukii]

Firstly

 

https://youtu.be/3MD48_-NUBE

 

Secondly, where can I go and get myself some of these 3D printed at? There doesn't seem to be any links for Shapeways.

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

Firstly

 

https://youtu.be/3MD48_-NUBE

 

Secondly, where can I go and get myself some of these 3D printed at? There doesn't seem to be any links for Shapeways.

Actually, I haven't made it an item that can be bought on shapeways yet, due to some imperfections. The dimensions aren't quite correct, so I'm currently working on another model with (hopefully) the correct dimensions. If they check out, I'll make the piece publicly available, provided it's legal, which I haven't looked into yet. This whole process should be wrapped up within a week from this coming weekend or so. At that point, provided everything works out, I'll post the link somewhere in this topic. On a different note, thanks for the support!