Every summer we put up a collapsible shade canopy on our back deck. To make it high enough for tall people to walk under, I screwed short pieces of scrap 4x4s onto the legs, like stumpy little stilts. They worked but they were ugly, and had to be roped in place in case the wind ever tried to carry the whole thing away. This meant setup and takedown took time and it all looked sloppy.
So I designed and printed a trim set of stilts on modular joints that twist-lock into fittings permanently screwed onto the deck, tapered and nearly flat so people won’t trip on them. They’re barely noticeable and the whole project is super mundane, but I’m inordinately proud of them because I am a dull man.
edit: as requested, I added an image of one of the “stilts”. Besides what I already mentioned, another reason I did this was that with the 4x4 stumps attached, the frame didn’t fit in its fabric storage cover when taken down every year, and I didn’t want to unscrew and reattach the 4x4s every time. The new stilts attach to the canopy legs with one small screw, and they’ll all fit in a zippered side pocket of the cover. The other reason for doing this, and if I’m honest the main one, is my love of 3d design lol.
Sounds like a really clean solution, but we demand pics!
Added a closeup of one at the top.
Oh man that looks great!
Show me the handiwork, I want to ogle it.
I don’t have any Before pics but I added a closeup of one of the new ones. For perspective here’s the whole thing.
Sounds interesting.
Well it is to me - maybe I’m not as dull as I thought!
I’m not so sure about the direction of those layer lines my dude. Print at a 45 degree angle
Is the kind of plastic used by 3d printers usually strong enough for things like that? I always assumed it’d be rather flimsy.
It’s almost all in the design. That said, many printers have a wide range of plastics they can print from, including polycarbonate and ABS. People just use PLA because it’s cheap and easy.
PETG may be sufficient and has better UV/environment resistance.
Strength is largely a result of design, wall thickness, and infill.
Biggest issue with PLA is that it will cold-flow over time.
I’ve only had one problem with outdoor things - some pyramidal post caps I made using PETG sagged and turned into pagodas after a few weeks of sun. Nothing else in 8 years of printing. Even some PLA slug traps I made 5 or 6 years ago still look fine. I think there’s a lot of variance by brand, and probably even by color because of the dyes.
I only suggest PETG for the UV resistance. It’s surprising given the higher print temps but that doesnt meant it won’t cold flow as well.
My experience is PLA deforming under constant load. In the days-weeks range. If it’s just supporting itself it’s not likely.
Good info - the leg extensions I made are hinged so they can move back and forth a little in the wind - I was afraid something rigid might break. This means the hinges are carrying the constant weight of the whole canopy, so I’ll keep an eye on how they hold up.
There are different filaments with varying strengths, weather resistance etc, and design techniques also come into it. But PLA (the most commonly used filament) is surprisingly strong. I’ve made many structural things that are standing up amazingly well.
