Boat Shuttle

cults3d

This is a boat shuttle use particularly for hand weaving with a floor / treadle loom. This was designed with minimal or possibly no support needed during printing to minimize post-processing. You can use it directly after printing with no sanding whatsoever, but you still need to provide the wire and the 3mm screw for the bobbin holder. The bobbin compartment is about 140 mm in length, 30 mm wide, and 30 mm deep. For the bobbin holder, I used a 1.6 mm diameter GI wire bended at one end in spiral shape so a 3 mm diameter screw will go through easily. The spiral shape also provides a spring action so the other end can lock into the slot. I usually do the spiral shape by wrapping one end of the wire around the screw. Provide enough allowance on both ends of the wire before cutting them to proper length. Printing orientation is upside down to provide a clean, smooth top finish. For Ender 3 v2 or similar sized printing bed, you have to rotate the shuttle 45 degrees to safely accommodate the size. Approximate dimensions: Length: 260 mm Width: 40 mm Height: 30 mm I have only printed it at low quality, 0.28mm per layer. It took 6-7 hours and around 80 grams of filament. At higher resolution, the bottom surface will probably look much smoother. To make it more resistant to damage when dropped, you may want to increase the number of walls. Using PLA+ and with only 2 walls, it did survive a 3-foot tall dropped onto a wooden floor twice with no apparent damage. I do not know about concrete floor. My stock Ender 3 v2 can not handle a 60 mm gap or bridging for the thread slot at the side of the shuttle so I had to use a tree support which I thought will provide the cleanest slot with minimal post processing like sanding the edges so the yarn or thread will not snag. The other notches and screw hole do not need any support. If your printer can handle bridging of 60 mm gap or more, you probably do not need to put any support. Here is a video showing the 3d printed shuttle in use:https://youtu.be/iTY_QNz5-YA Installing a bobbin/spool holder using a G.I. wirehttps://youtu.be/iwfy2GQqnGY