Diving Ring (Experimental)

thingiverse

Human: Experimental diving rings for pool use designed by me for my daughter. An air pocket is built into one side, allowing the rings to rest upright at the bottom of the pool, making them easy to grab.\nNOTE! This is an experimental project. Printing something hollow and adding a weight would be the easiest solution, but I wanted to try printing it right out of the printer. It turns out that the margins for proper buoyancy are quite narrow when dealing with PLA, so small differences in printer settings can make a big difference and throw off the buoyancy, causing it to "fail" by either sinking flat to the bottom or floating on the top.\nFour models are available, numbered 1-4. They go from most buoyant to least buoyant. ABS will not work without significant changes because it is very close to the density of water, making the margins slim or even negative if there is any trapped air in the print. I wish this were more predictable, so don't be surprised if you end up with a couple of rings that "fail" (float or sink flat).\nPrint Settings\nPrinter Brand: Ultimaker\nPrinter: Ultimaker 2\nRafts: No\nSupports: No\nResolution: 0.15 mm layer height\nInfill: 100%\nNotes: Print at 100% to avoid unexpected bubbles that can throw off the buoyancy. You may still get those anyway!\nPrint with PLA. ABS is too light, and it would need to be redesigned to work properly, which would make the buoyancy margins painfully thin compared to PLA.\nPost-Printing\nIf it sinks: Throw it in some water - does it sink to the bottom and lay flat? Try printing one of the models with a smaller number. Or try using sandpaper or removing small amounts of material until it is buoyant enough to stand up on the bottom.\nIf it floats: Sorry, you need to add weight. Try re-printing a more buoyant model, or possibly change the settings to print more dense. For example printing slower can result in less air getting trapped in the models, in my experience.