Water Feature #1, Flower Watering Fountain.

myminifactory

Flower Watering Fountain. My wonderful wife loves fountains AND flowers, so when I built her this, do I have to send flowers anymore? This is one of the 3D printed fountains I have designed and constructed using Sketchup 8 (free version), ReplicatorG and a Replicator 2 out of PLA (did I mention the wife loves fountains?). This fountain is animated in that it cycles on and off at around a 30% duty cycle (30% on, 70% off), simulating watering a "flower" causing it to "grow". A video of the prototype is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn2RyhlZhEE, and is included in the download (I'm not a "videographer", sorry for the poor quality). Builder Beware: This is a hydraulic/electrical/mechanical system printed with PLA and thus will be “finicky”. Some parts require as little friction as possible (e.g. the cup, cork and magnet frame), while others must not move (e.g. the latch strip, motor mount). Once “tuned”, parts that must not move may benefit from a small amount of cyanoacrylate and/or silicon glue. If not familiar with how reed switches operate, studying them on the internet may help. This project is not for the feint of heart. There are small parts that may require sanding, drilling and/or honing, as well as careful alignment and "tuning". We've found that parts printed in certain colors fit well, yet the identical part printed in a different color is too tight/loose. Be patient with these parts, and be ready to sand/drill/hone as necessary to make the parts fit. Also, as noted, this project is built with PLA. We have no means of printing an ABS version, and we assume many adjustments will be needed to do so. Study "Fountain_Assembly.skp" (hereinafter "Fountain Assembly") included in the download before and during construction. However, that being said, the prototype has run non-stop for over 200 hours now (using a bench top power supply), so collect your tools and supplies, purchase the fountain specific parts, and build your own Water Feature #1, Flower Watering Fountain. If you need me to upload the .skp files, let me know and I'll send them.