Hitch Ball Mount Flag Holder

thingiverse

I wanted to mount a flag to my car for Memorial Day. I realized I had a 3D printer, so I decided to make something professional and permanent (reusable). I made this mount that slips over my 1 7/8-inch ball, and it should fit a 2-inch ball as well. The flag pole goes into the smaller hole; you'll need to drill a 1/4-inch hole through your flag pole for a 1/4-inch bolt to secure it. Two 1/4-inch bolts go through the other two holes after you slip it over the ball, securing it snugly in place so it won't fall off. The plastic alone might not be strong enough; even with this thickness, I'm betting it would break under a good gust or high speed. To address this issue, get one of those thick rubber bungee hook hold-downs like this: http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-6190-10-Inch-EPDM-Rubber/dp/B003DN3RC4. Place the bungee in your open hatch or trunk lid so it won't reach your flag pole without stretching. Close the hatch or trunk, ensuring it's firm, and then stretch and snap the strap around your flag pole. You're done; the bungee will take the hits and forces, keeping them from translating into leverage force on your printed mount. The mount now only needs to hold the flag bottom in place and keep it from moving around, which it did splendidly today while I was delivering pizzas. Just make sure your flag doesn't touch the ground when at rest; you'll probably want most of the flag under the roof line to prevent it from being ripped off, especially if you're going fast. I don't recommend using this on highway travel, even if the flag holds; it might whip around and mar up your car's paint. I was fine up to 40mph but didn't try faster speeds since I had no need while delivering pizzas. I'll add more in-place and ready-to-go pictures and video tomorrow when the light is better (it was dark by the time I got home tonight at 2200). The part has a socket for the hex heads of the 1/4-inch bolts on the side; I used a washer, lock washer, and wing nut so no tools are needed. If you need to remove it, just spin off the flag shaft nut, pop out the bolt, and remove the flag. You can leave the mount in place for later or when more convenient; it will remove the same way by spinning off the wing nuts. Here's a link to a video showing how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyomRiBppDI Print Settings: Printer: Monoprice Maker Select i3v2 Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: .3mm Infill: 40% Notes: High infill for strength and large layer height for speed. I printed this in roughly 8 or 9 hours, so overnight. The wedges under the bolt holes are not for strength but to allow printing with zero support at all; simply drop it on the bed and go. It would look nicer at .2mm, but you'll never look at this up close really, and it looks fine from a couple of feet away or even holding it in your hands. Post-Printing: Pre-seat the bolts, slide them in, add a washer, and spin the wing nuts on until they're snug. Pop them back out, and you're ready to go; no post-print work is needed.