Floppy Leg Bracer for Mini Tripods

thingiverse

I've been getting reports of some folks experiencing floppy leg syndrome with their Mini Tripods. To combat this, I designed a modification to provide extra support to those legs. First, I printed a test mini tripod in PLA to see how it would turn out. The result was a solid structure that functioned perfectly. Next, I moved on to printing one in flexible TPU for added strength. Initially, the flexible filament proved easy to snap apart after printing, making it effortless to unfold the legs and even replace them with new ones if desired. Unfortunately, this flexibility led to loose legs that tended to become floppy over time. To rectify this issue, I created a retaining collar to keep those errant legs in line. I designed the collar as flexible and lightweight to avoid interfering with the hardware mounted on top. In hindsight, I think printing it in a more rigid material might have provided even better results, but my primary concern was preserving the color scheme of the mini tripod. Implementing this modification is relatively simple. All you need to do is position the collar between the ball head and legs, and you're good to go. Easy as that. Here are the print settings I used: Printer: FlashForge Creator X Rafts: No rafts Supports: No supports Resolution: 0.15 mm resolution Infill: 100% infill density Notes: For my test print, I used a 100% shell setting with TPU filament. I've found this combination yields excellent strength and visual appeal.