1-Piece Rotating Connectors for Shop Vac

If you are always battling with your shop vac hose because it won't rotate or turn the way you want, want to join hoses with a flexible rotating connector, or want to exhaust the vac in a different direction, these parts are for you! 

The unique aspect to these connectors is that they all print as one piece, and all include fully captured, freely rotating joints that require no lubrication, and allow your vac hose to rotate 360°, preventing kinks and keeping you from dragging the shop vac all over the place to get the hose in the right spot to actually work!

The project includes three pieces:

• Straight inlet/outlet connector - 58.4 mm OD male (to vac) x 57.7 mm ID female (to hose)
• 90° inlet/outlet elbow - 58.4 mm OD male (to vac) x 57.7 mm ID female (to hose)
• Male to male hose connector - 53 mm OD to 53 mm OD

The parts are designed for standard shop vac and hoses with 58mm connectors and 53mm hose (mine is a Ridgid), but can be scaled up a bit to fit other models/sizes. Scaling down is not recommended due to the clearances around the rotating joints - you might get away with scaling down 1-2%, but not much more.

The project is designed to print using ABS or ASA - I would not recommend PLA or PETG due to the stresses these parts will endure in normal use. The print is set up for 8 walls, which is enough to make all every part completely solid - to guarantee adequate strength, do not scale this back. Seams are set to random, which effectively results in a slightly larger diameter and the friction adds more grip when the parts are inserted to the vac and hoses.

When done printing, let the parts cool on their own and don't remove from the printer until they are cool to the touch. It is unlikely that you will be able to rotate any of the joints by hand when done - this is normal.  To break the contact and loosen up the joints, lay the parts down on the floor or workbench and "lightly" tap on the joint with a hammer while rotating the part. It should only take a few light taps to fully break the joint free and once free, it should rotate very easily - to the point that no lubrication of any kind is required.