20mm Conduit 5-way connector for garden net/frost cover frame/trellis

thingiverse

WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS FOR ELECTRICAL PURPOSES, THE BOLT HOLES (IF USED) WOULD GO THROUGH THE WIRES, THIS IS FOR GARDEN/OUTDOOR FRAME WORK PURPOSES ONLY. WHY 20MM CONDUIT? I use a lot of 20mm electrical conduit to support my frost covers, netting, and 2D/3D trellises. Some use them for hoop houses and green houses too. I like the 20mm conduit because it's very cheap,available everywhere, lasts for ages, is flexible, and yet, with the right structure... it's quite rigid. However, the connectors to create fanciful 2D/3D structures aren't available, and the commercial connectors are for electrical purposes only.. no where NEAR strong enough to handle the weight/stresses of bent conduit, particularly in windy locations. Also, 20mm conduit, if combined with frost covering, can use 50mm bulldog clips to attach/anchor the fabric, this further reinforces the frame too. WHY 5-WAY? This is the 5-socket star-shaped connector, I actually built it with simple dome like trellises in mind, but it's also useful for some configurations of geodesic domes. This is a flat adaptor, if geodesic domes are your thing, the sockets aren't tilted down as you would with straight "struts", because the angle needed is size/dimension/configuration dependent. That said, the conduit flexibility will provide some of the angles required with some careful thought (and use of an online Geodesic dome calculator). Why stop with just 5 sockets? I've also created a whole series of connectors for 20mm conduit. Seriously, why be boring with rectangular frames and trellises? 1- Way "Stake styled" Anchor found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6228095 1-Way "Screw down" anchor found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6228135 2-Way "Straight" connector found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6187349 2-Way "Right-Angle" Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6188056 3-Way "T-connector" found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6163480 3-Way, "Y-connector" found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181085 4-Way "cross" connector, found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6163584 5-Way: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181104 6-Way : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181111 7-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6187567 8-Way found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6167506 Half 8-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6195584 Quarter 8-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6196723 9-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6190630 10-Way found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6182651 My design basis (for all of these connectors) has three things going for it: 1. It can be easily printed without ANY supports whatsoever. 2. It is FAR stronger than commercial connectors, and takes advantage of "laid flat" orientation to minimise the weaknesses involved in layered FDM printing) and if that isn't enough... 3. I included M4 bolt holes so you can simultaneously: a) Lock the conduit into the connector using the bolt. (Drill a hole through the conduit first, obviously) b) Use the M4 bolt to ensure the layers of the connector are held together, even under significant strain. NOTES: While I don't recommend PLA for this purpose, (It's exposed to UV and water after all) I chose to use PETG and protect the conduit from UV by wrapping it in duct tape. It's working well so far, but we'll see how it's going after a couple of seasons.