Vectrex Joystick arcs

thingiverse

A fellow vectrex owner needed to repair the joystick in the controller. It turned out that one of the arcs had snapped and didn't work in one direction. We tried to glue it together again with a variety of glues and adhesives. The plastic that the original arcs are made of is slippery in itself, so not even slow setting industrial grade two component epoxy could stick to it for a prolonged period of time. Eventually it would just fall off and the fix would be unmade. "Welding" the broken arc with acetone did work, but it also weakened it at the same time, thus reducing the life span in the end. So making a new arc seemed like the best option then. This one may be small and easy to handle, but it is tricky to get to print right. I scrapped 2 out of every 4 printed. The "filled slot" versions were my plan B for not being able to print them on their side. The slot opening would collapse in the middle even with supports. So I filled the slot and later cut it open again with a dremel and a cut off wheel and an hobby knife. If you can print the regular version with good results, you don't need the filled slot version. If you make it, please press "I made one" and upload a photo. Don't be afraid to leave a comment or two either. I would like to hear what you think of them.