So anybody that's built a PVC mannequin can tell you that 'posing' arms, legs, etc.. can be a huge pain. You're pretty much limited to pre-made elbows at 45 and 90, some other unique (and usually quite expensive) tees, or your monkeying with heat-forming the PVC.
Anyways, I got fed up with dealing with that nonsense, and also being forced to use a limited number of positions that end up permanent if you glue it all up. My solution was to design an adjustable PVC joint that can be set to more custom angles. These first two are a preliminary experiment, but I would expect them to work just fine. Anybody that gives them a shot, please let me know how they work for you and if they could use some improvements (there's always room I know).
Here's what you're looking at:
As oriented for print (each file contains both sides of either 3/4" or 1" joint:
Important stuff to know:
- these are untested. They should work fine, but I would run them in PLA or nylon if I had the choice just for the sake of strength.
-they are sized properly for schedule 40 PVC in either 3/4" or 1", available all over the place.
-the joints have a hole to accept a 1/4" bolt. I would recommend getting a 1 3/4" long bolt, and a wing nut to eliminate need for a wrench on the fly.
-there are also holes in the actual pipe lengths (1/4") so the pvc can be secured with screws.
-as mentioned, each file contains two pieces, enough to complete one adjustable joint.
Files zipped and uploaded to mediafire:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/w5ng9aj9x29kl83/mannequin_joint.zip
Let me know if there are any problems, I'll do what I can to fix them. :thumbsup
Anyways, I got fed up with dealing with that nonsense, and also being forced to use a limited number of positions that end up permanent if you glue it all up. My solution was to design an adjustable PVC joint that can be set to more custom angles. These first two are a preliminary experiment, but I would expect them to work just fine. Anybody that gives them a shot, please let me know how they work for you and if they could use some improvements (there's always room I know).
Here's what you're looking at:
As oriented for print (each file contains both sides of either 3/4" or 1" joint:
Important stuff to know:
- these are untested. They should work fine, but I would run them in PLA or nylon if I had the choice just for the sake of strength.
-they are sized properly for schedule 40 PVC in either 3/4" or 1", available all over the place.
-the joints have a hole to accept a 1/4" bolt. I would recommend getting a 1 3/4" long bolt, and a wing nut to eliminate need for a wrench on the fly.
-there are also holes in the actual pipe lengths (1/4") so the pvc can be secured with screws.
-as mentioned, each file contains two pieces, enough to complete one adjustable joint.
Files zipped and uploaded to mediafire:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/w5ng9aj9x29kl83/mannequin_joint.zip
Let me know if there are any problems, I'll do what I can to fix them. :thumbsup