Airless basketball by PartyLime

PartyLime

Hobby & DIY>Sport & Outdoors

Print Profile(11)

All

A1 mini

P1S

P1P

X1 Carbon

X1E

GEN 10, 50% size, 0.16mm layer, 12 walls, 15% infill

Designer

18.7 h

1 plate

4.4(68)

GEN 11, 0.16mm layer, 4 walls, 100% infill

Designer

18.6 h

1 plate

4.7(31)

GEN 9, 50% size, 0.16mm layer, 12 walls, 15% infill

Designer

19 h

1 plate

4.8(20)

GEN 8, 50% size, 0.16mm layer, 12 walls, 15% infill

Designer

19.6 h

1 plate

4.7(45)

Click to see more

Boost

1804

2114

595

7.7 k

2.2 k

Released

Description

GEN 12: please see my profile for the GEN 12 ball. There's a limit of 500mb on one page so I had to make another for the latest Gen. It bounces really well and feels super durable in TPC

I wasn't satisfied with the current models of the airless basketball on here as they only had a single lattice. This took me days make sure the double lattice worked in CAD - SolidWorks was not built for this! As I don't have $2,500 to spare, I worked from the images available online.

I printed it in TPU. It doesn't bounce as much as a standard basketball in TPU so I suggest a stiffer material.

GEN 9: I have added a gen 9 version. It is a little closer to the original and should weigh about the right amount when printed in TPU/PLA

GEN 10: I have adjusted the size of the hex holes and increased the filled on them. I've also increased the lattice thickness to 8mm to hopefully increase bounce. The logo on the top and the airless gen 10 tag have also increased in size a little to improve how they look. Lastly, the holes around the seam are now pentagons as in the original ball

GEN 11: I have added a new version with cut-outs throughout the seams. This will hopefully make the bounce more consistent.

The original version I uploaded was removed due to “abnormal download data”. MakerWorld support took all my points but said I could re-upload so here it is again. Hopefully that won't happen again.

MATERIALS:

Extrudr Hard TPU (58D) - good durability about 40% bounce

Overture Super PLA+ - 100% bounce but broke easily

Overture easy nylon (PA6) - broke almost instantly (the community have suggested “annealing” the print in water to increase durability)

BASF Forward AM Ultrafuse TPU 64D - good durability and 60% bounce (BEST SO FAR)

BASF Ultrafuse TPC 45D - good durability and great bounce. I recommend annealing this one at 110°C for 10 hours at least.

Comment & Rating (595)

@mapfilippi

Okay Boyz and gurlz. I did the 4 day print of the gen 10, layers in tpu 95a. It bounces really well. I would say like 30 to 40% of a standard ball. The one hiccup I had was the power to my place went down 5 hours before the print was done, and caused a fatal layer shift. We were playing with the ball for a day, but eventually that part where it layer shifted peeled away. Will print again and get an ups for my x1c and maybe in a 100a cpu or carbon fiber tpu.

The designer has replied

@mapfilippi

You can see where the power went out

@mapfilippi

It's hard to tell how bouncy it was, but trying to dribble on the side with no layer shift, resulted in a good bounce. took it to the hoops and was getting some good shots (made some three pointers) Might print in a highflow tpu because 4 days is a long time for something to go wrong. but the feel is very good, rolls good in the hand and behaves like a basketball.

@mapfilippi

Replying to @mapfilippi :

It kinda also failed at the layer shift, because I kept pressing it in there to see if it would fail. Did that for a day lol.

@RendoWorks

best looking model imo! I printed in Easy Nylon from Overture and made sure to rehydrate the Nylon in a hot bath before bouncing it. it probably would have shattered dry but it bounces very well after hydrating it. it seems to bounce best on the open mesh vs the “seams” but regardless I’ve bounced it pretty aggressively and it hasn’t broke!

The designer has replied

@user_1114614323

Nice, Nylon is the Way to go. I am printing it on PA12 on a SLS 3D Printer. Does it bounce and behaves like a real basketball(feel, weight, bounce)?

@YoungMoney

@RendoWorks what Speed/Temp settings did you use? I just finished a full size ball in FPLA and it broke after 3-4 bounces. Does the Nylon bounce like a real basketball?

(Edited)

@RendoWorks

Replying to @user_1114614323 :

Yeah I think Nylon is a great filament for this but I must admit I haven’t tried anything else yet. I would be inclined to also test a very stiff TPU but only if this Nylon ball breaks. Easy Nylon is a CoPA made with Nylon 6 which is supposed to be a little more flexible than 12 (after wetting) but definitely let us know how it comes out on the SLS, that’s awesome. Feels how you’d imagine, cool texture, nice weight. I will say I kinda messed up on my supports by allowing them to go up in the holes , I spent a couple hours cleaning and removing them. (nylon supports were TOUGH to get out of the holes but I managed it). I then lightly sanded the area and torched it to smooth it a little more (only the areas I sanded). Weight is 510 grams w/supports dry. I haven’t weighed it wet. Bounces probably 90% as good as a real ball I’d say. Good enough that I can dribble no problem. it will occasionally hit a “dead spot” where it doesn’t bounce as good (I think the ends where all the “seams” come together is not as bouncy. Perhaps this can be fixed with some tuning or maybe the ball will “break in” with more bouncing

@I_Print_Stuff87

If you’re wondering “does it work in PLA?” the answer is no. It does not work in PLA.

@MikeyCFitz

RIP all of that Filament

(Edited)

@Jury1982

Replying to @MikeyCFitz :

more time than everything, they are basically 100g of filament

@MikeyCFitz

Replying to @Jury1982 :

And all that time

@laurino

i like it, but what TPU is the best for the Airless basketball

The designer has replied

@PartyLime

TPU means it won't bounce. I'm currently printing it in overture super pla pro which looks like it will work well

@PartyLime

I saw one on tiktok just now from extrudr hard tpu and it bounced pretty much the same as a normal basketball!

@vanbluca

I think Nylon would actually be best. Haven't tried this on the bambu yet though

@pmnucum

Print Profile

GEN 10, 50% size, 0.16mm layer, 12 walls, 15% infill

printed great!

The designer has replied

@PartyLime

Looks awesome!

@DrFubbe

Hey man, how did you added a support like that? Please explain to all of us, alot of people struggling with it :(

@bsancken1

Replying to @DrFubbe :

That's just the normal support type

@wow_models

Glad to see the "correct" model posted finally! This is excellent. I was trying to model this as well but couldn't get the inner to outer supports to connect. I posted an image of the original , looks like they use two separate supports at each node of the hexagons. Any chance you can upload the sldprt file? I'm curious how you were able to model this. I would want to tweak the size of the hexagons if possible to make a bit bigger, and add small ones along the seams like the original. Also the seams look a bit too wide, but i'm nitpicking. Apparently Wilson used a material with 86A shore hardness. This is fairly stiff. The flexibility and "bounce" can be tuned by changing the thickness of the inner and outer shells. Thanks!

(Edited)

The designer has replied

@PartyLime

There are already small ones along the central seam in this model :). I'm hesitant to give out the sldprt file as it took a hell of a lot of work!

@user_2056401815

good information on this answer 👍i Hope u Can progress on it

@user_2056401815

maybe this one https://esun3d.fr/products/esun-elastic-tpe-83a-noir-black-1-75-mm-1-kg

@jdwede

Nice model. I created a replica of the official Wilson stand for those that want to display it: https://makerworld.com/en/models/240939#profileId-256901

@mrcnmajda

the ball at a scale of 50% could bounce better. TPU

@berkeozkir

What the shore value of your TPU?

@mrcnmajda

medium , ~60-65

@mrcnmajda

but project is very good :)

@berkeozkir

Print Profile

GEN 8, 50% size, 0.16mm layer, 12 walls, 15% infill

Tested with ASA and PLA. PLA cracked after bouncing too high. ASA has a flexable feel to it and bounces good. Printed with 0.2mm nozzle.

The designer has replied

@PartyLime

I'd love to see the ASA bouncing. I'm tempted to try it in ASA. I want to try using fuzzy skin on it too to give it a grippy texture

@powerscoot

I tried ASA, it does bounce but a few bounces later, it cracked.

@berkeozkir

Replying to @powerscoot :

It might me about the size. I printed the ball smaller with 0.2 nozzle. Does your ASA ball feel softer than PLA does?

@jchoiniere

Hey! I tried this at about 30% scale (baseball-sized) to see if it would be workable at all, using PC-TPE; I had a lot of bed adherence issues but once I got that sorted I printed my small version in about 10 hours. Looks terrific, but I'm surprised at how brittle it was - I tried bouncing it and it immediately cracked.

The designer has replied

@PartyLime

I've never used PC-TPE before. I've heard hard tpu like the one extrudr make might work better

@.s_.

i just got some pctpe and also printed a baseball sized one and it worked well. what brand was your filament? mine is slightly flexible doesnt feel like itll crack but idk. i wanna print a full size one

@jchoiniere

it was Taulman, purchased off Amazon; I don't have a filament dryer but I propped it on a little scrap piece in my p1s over a 90C plate for a day to try to dry it a little

License

This work is licensed under a Standard Digital File License.

You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used without permission in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, or collect fees.

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Print Profile(11)

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Comment & Rating (595)

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