T-Post to 15mm aluminum electrical conduit adapter (for garden trellises)

prusaprinters

<p>I designed this to aid people wishing to make trellises as shown by Youtube channel “Josh Sattin Farming” in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vqRMKOxaW8">this video. </a>It's sized to fit 15mm aluminum conduit closely enough to serve as a coupling all its own, without need for the (poor) screw-tension couplings usually used. (This is specifically for 15mm pipe with 1.5mm thick walls with an outer diameter of 18mm; the tubular receptacle is sized at 18.5mm.) An “end” piece is also available that should save you some plastic; use the mirror function in your slicer to get “right” and “left” handed versions as needed.&nbsp;</p><p>I designed this with DesignSpark Mechanical 5.0, and have included my .rsdoc files. For those who doesn't use DesignSpark (i.e. everyone) I've included .obj (and their related .mtl) files. If you need the tube size adjusted, feel free to ask!<br><br><strong>Printing</strong></p><p><br>I printed this on an Ender 3 Pro in PETG with a 0.2mm nozzle, using 2 walls, 30% Grid infill, and printing it on end (with the face of the tubular portion flat on the print bed) for strength. Materiel usage (including supports) and print time is comparable to an upside-down print using four walls, but especially with PETG aligning the stress across, instead of with the layer lines should be the stronger print. I've included my Cura .3mf project file with the settings used to print the examples currently in my own garden, including some custom optimization of the supports (the utility of this seems dubious now but I'll let you judge.)&nbsp;</p><p><strong>I strongly recommend you print this in PETG due to the UV and thermal resistant properties of the materiel, </strong>but strength-wise there's no reason this can't work in PLA+, as the part is not designed to “snap over” or deform to grip the T-post in any way; as the installation method of T-posts usually deforms the tops to some (randomized) degree. &nbsp;To print PETG all you'll need is a roll of it (now cost-competitive with PLA+[!]) and a suitable build surface; I've had great results simply lying a sheet of 1/16th inch FR4 fiberglass purchased from my local Graingers over my glass build plate (with a little glue stick applied and refreshed only every four or five prints.)<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0PK4oXbJT8&amp;t=2s"> Maker's Muse's video on fiberglass/garolite build surfaces is a must-see in this regard.</a> &nbsp;</p>