Customizable Hamster Wheel

thingiverse

Customizable Hamster Wheel [Short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mc1dFtjHH4&feature=youtu.be) This fully customizable hamster wheel is implemented in OpenSCAD. You can change the size, thickness, and design quite a bit. See some examples in the STLs, which fit nicely in a 5-gallon aquarium. I have incorporated a dust bath/litter-box area into the base, using the space well. Yes, our hamster uses this as a litter box! The wheel uses a 608 skateboard bearing for very satisfying and silent operation. Don't worry if you don't have one - just order it from Amazon for a few cents. There's nothing else to know and it's worth it. I have added a printable bolt and wingnut, as well as two printable washers that keep the wheel spaced correctly. The thin washer goes between the base and wheel, keeping the wheel from rubbing. The thicker one goes between the wingnut and the bearing. See Notes about printing and fit below. One reason this design is so useful in OpenSCAD is that scaling it up or down in your slicer won't work with the standard 608 bearing. It's also fun to customize exactly to your critter's needs! See my full project: Hamster Land, for more: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3435179 This wheel was inspired by Mark Butler's excellent design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1083729. Thanks, Mark! ## Printing and Fit I printed the wheel and base at 0.35 on my MK3 at 15-20% infill. For the nut and bolt, I used 0.1 or 0.2 with 100% infill and slowed it down. I used PLA for all of this, which is non-toxic, but my hamster hasn't chewed on any of it yet anyway. Note that PLA doesn't hold tension well, so don't over-tighten the wingnut. Just enough to hold it on well is all you need. If you notice some play between the bearing and bolt (e.g., if the wheel sags down or scrapes the base), you can add one or two more of the outer washers for clearance. I may increase tightness there in a future update.