Air vent duct

thingiverse

With warmer seasons approaching for my area, we require something to redirect cool air from our central air conditioning up into the bedroom and prevent it from sliding under our bed straight to the return duct (cool air sinks). Last season I created a quick solution using cardboard. This year I wanted something better that would gently redirect the air with less loss due to turbulence. I designed these end caps to hold standard single wall cardboard, approximately 0.12in/3mm thick (technically it's corrugated paper, but everyone calls it cardboard). These end caps can support themselves if the vent is mounted on a wall and positioned right on the floor, but I added magnet holes for 18mmx5mm ceramic magnets in case they're needed. One great feature of this design is that its length is only limited by how wide your cardboard is. I'm working with a 6x14in air vent. I cut a piece of cardboard just under 8.25in/210mm by about 15in/380mm to accommodate the distance the cardboard recesses into the end caps. To help the cardboard bend, I marked out 1in/25.4mm lines parallel to the long axis and then used a ruler to fold along these lines. Fully folding before attempting to insert is highly recommended. After dry fitting the unit to your vent and adjusting as needed, hot glue your cardboard to the end caps for added structure to prevent them from falling apart if bumped. I aimed to design this part using commodity materials, accommodating various use cases, and requiring no support material. Hopefully, this will be helpful to others!