BubbleRing: Float Some Magic

This is a bubble wand designed to make medium-large bubbles while still fitting just within the build volume of a Bambu A1 mini (180 mm x 180 mm). It’s simple, light, and sized just right for summer backyard fun.

Assembly is straightforward: the wand is split into two parts to allow full-size printing on smaller machines. Included in the files is a small test-fit piece for the handle joint—print this first to check tolerances. If the fit is too tight or loose, scale the handle in X and Y accordingly before printing the full part. Once satisfied, glue the handle in place with a little superglue.

The model was tested in Bambu’s Silk PLA+, which has a bit of flexibility and strength. Regular silk PLA (the more brittle kind) is not recommended, as the thinner wand parts may snap under pressure. Standard PLA or PETG should work fine.

If you’re using an A1 mini, you’ll need to use the full bed size, so make sure your build plate is clean and your first layer is dialed in.  I printed on a SuperTack plate. The dish is printed in vase mode, assuming a 0.4 nozzle using a big thick 0.7 mm wide single line.  This should leave 1-2 mm of clearance between the wand and the printed dish, which is a slightly tight fit, but should work.  On larger printers I recommend printing the larger scaled dish portion (scaled up to 105% in XY with 2 walls instead ) to get more space to fit the wand into the dish.  This option is included as a separate print profile for larger printers.

3MF, STEP, and Bambu Studio slicer files included.  I recommend using lots of walls and infill and Arachne wall mode here to keep the model strong and accurate.  My slicer preset has this setup for you for a PLA print.  Note that if you leave a PLA version of this outside it will potentially warp over time in the hot sun just because of the handle weighing on it.. so PETG might be a better choice in that case.

Whether you’re chasing bubbles with kids or just blowing off steam on a summer day, this wand is easy to print, quick to assemble, and a solid performer.  I recommend waving the wand as blowing into it may not work as well.  Also make sure you're using a good bubble solution.. bad bubble solutions lead to sub-par results!

Good bubble solutions do matter, here's a decent recipe that outperforms many commercial store-bought options.  For more info, see the soap bubble wiki recipes.

Quick and Dirty Big Bubble Solution:

It is important to use Dawn Professional Pot and Pan or Dawn Platinum soap here, other soaps may or may not work as well.. but soap type is known to matter!  Here I list the brands of what I used for the soap and polymer additive to make a gallon of bubble juice.  Adapted from the bubble gods at the links above.

1 Gallon Recipe  (20:1)

Soap:   Dawn Platinum Dishwashing Liquid

Polymer :  MB Herbals Guar gum

Amounts:

• 5.25g guar Gum
• 10 g baking powder (not soda) - pH Buffer
• 175 g of Dawn soap
• 3550 g water.

Instructions

Weigh out the water to be used in destination container.

Weigh guar gum into paper/plastic cup.  Tare scale and begin adding Dawn, slurrying as you go, upto the total amount of soap.  Pour slurry into destination container, pouring some water back into cup and then back into container to rinse the cup several times.  The solution will likely foam a bit from this.    When done, invert container gently several times to mix (avoid shaking because of foam). Let any foam die down and things to settle for a little while before adding baking soda to a calm solution.  Mix again.  There may be residual clumps of corn starch from the baking soda, this is fine.