Drone Race Gate

prusaprinters

Easy to print low cost gate for drone races. I use 4' of 1/2" PEX pipe for the hoop on mine. It requires you to heat the ends of the PEX while you push the shaft piece in to form around it. Doing it this way makes it less likely to twist on you from collisions or gravity depending on how its mounted. Other 1/2" ID tubings would also likely work. Vinyl was too soft for me. When you insert the shaft in to the base, first it pushes in, then rotates, then it can be pushed in or pulled up again to sort of lock and resist rotating during collisions. When you're done with it, unlock and twist it back and remove the shaft. This way you can leave the base mounted while removing the entire hoop or just pack it back up more efficiently and flat. The base has multiple holes in it for various mounting methods. The larger outside holes should fit basic rod tent stakes or the included printed stakes to stick in the ground. The holes closer to the center can be used to zip tie it to a pole. Or any of them could be used to screw it to a wall/floor/ceiling. You can feed fairy lights through the top of the shaft then the ring if you want. Also through the bottom. El Wire might work but I didn't have any to try. I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081N5N8D5 in the included pictures. Inspired by https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2239802 but I used no measurements from that design. Loved the idea but I didn't like how the shafts went together. I think the base on mine is larger too. Print instructionsNo supports required. The included stl has the shaft scaled down X/Y 98%. Leave Z at 100% imo. You may need to tweak this based on your printer and filament. You want a snug fit, but not too snug. I'd suggest scaling only a half percent at a time if you do need to. For me, the included file was perfectly snug for PLA, bit loose with overture PETG but entirely usable. 100% worked best for esun PETG for me which always seems to be undersized, at least for what I have. I do 50% infill with 4 perimeters on the base and shaft. 100% for the pegs. Likely overkill but it doesn't use much plastic. You want the shaft to have strength so it can resist collisions. I've only used this with tiny whoops so far and not for very long. I can't make any promises on its durability just yet, especially when mounted and hit with larger drones.