Ping Pong Sword

thingiverse

I work as a firefighter in my local town where one of my colleagues asked if I could design and print an "awesome" custom ping pong paddle for our station, so I gladly took on the challenge. The design inspiration came from Targ's baby rattle sword, particularly his interlocking mechanism that secures the blade and pommel to the handle, which I used as a model for my project. I drew heavily from ScurtWad's paddle design when creating the ping pong paddle, but I had to modify it significantly to make the handle longer and more ergonomic for an adult's hand. Designing and printing this custom paddle was an absolute blast! I highly recommend using a heat gun to bond the pieces together for a snug fit. This project works exceptionally well, bringing awe and fear to opponents in the intense game of ping pong. I printed it on my Anet A8 with specific settings: no rafts, supports enabled at 1.5 mm resolution, and infill levels set at 75% for the paddle and 50% for other parts. It's essential to orient the paddle with the blade facing upward when printing. To replicate corrugated cardboard strength in the paddle blade, I used a "triangle" infill pattern in Cura. A brim was applied to all pieces except the jewel and pommel for added support during printing. After printing, construction of the sword ping pong paddle involved using a heat gun to melt the handle piece ends and forcing them into grooves at the paddle end and hilt, creating a strong bond between all parts. Superglue was used on the jewel that fits into the pommel.