20mm conduit cross connector for garden frost cover or net frames

thingiverse

DO NOT USE THIS FOR ELECTRICAL PURPOSES, THE HOLES WILL DRILL THROUGH THE WIRING, THIS IS FOR GARDENING! I use a lot of 20mm electrical conduit in my garden to build frames that support frost covers, netting, the occasional trellis, etc. The problem is that electrical 20mm conduit, while flexible and strong, and seemingly endlessly adaptable... runs into problems with the commercially available connectors. In short, the electrical connectors are NOT up to the task of structural connections.. that's ok for electrical stuff, but terrible for gardening purposes. Many people make hoop houses with the stuff, and anchoring the ends with saddle clamps, or stakes and tie it with string or wire. Some even lash the conduit with string, rope and tape to make more complex structures, but they all allow a degree of sliding around.. which can be problematic in windy environments, especially when the covers get big and have larger sail areas. So here's my massively over-engineered "Cross connector". By the way, if you're looking for a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10-way connector, have a look here: 1- Way "Stake styled" Anchor found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6228095 1-Way "Screw down" anchor found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6228135 2-Way "Straight" Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6187349 2-Way "Right-Angle" Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6188056 3-Way "Y" Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181085 3-Way "T" Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6163480 4-Way Cross Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6163584 5-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181104 6-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6181111 7-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6187567 8-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6167506 Half 8-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6195584 Quarter 8-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6196723 9-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6190630 10-Way Connector: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6182651 This flat design principle has three things going for it: 1. It can be easily printed without ANY supports whatsoever. 2. It is FAR stronger, and takes advantage of "laid flat" orientation to minimise the weaknesses involved in layered FDM printing) and if that isn't enough... 3. I included M4 bolt holes so you can simultaneously: a) Lock the conduit into the connector using the bolt, or 4mm "plug spaghetti". (Drill a hole through the conduit first, obviously) b) If you do use bolts, the M4 bolt will ensure the layers of the connector are held together, even under significant strain. NOTES: Do NOT use supports... it doesn't need them, and it'll create work with little to no benefit... While I don't recommend PLA for this purpose, (It's exposed to UV and water after all, and PLA is likely to degrade in such conditions) for indoor purposes it would be fine. I chose to use PETG for the water resistance, and then decided to protect the conduit from UV rays by wrapping it in duct tape. It's working well so far, but we'll see how it's going after a couple of seasons.