Research & Development for Wheelchair Costumes
Many times we go through various iterations of things before we agree they are good to share on the website. However, we have plenty of different things that we are always testing. New materials, new adhesives, new techniques, and especially new 3D printed joints. We wanted to create a place on our website where we can get feedback from many of our volunteers and builders who are willing to try out some of the things we've come up with. They can provide their feedback and help us fine tune the designs before we put them on our "approved" pages of our website. All of the following items, are currently in testing phase and may not represent the final design. You can also provide feedback if there are things you think we need to design that would help with building these wheelchair costumes.
(Don't forget to provide Feedback at the bottom of this page once you have printed and used the R&D Joint in your build. Thank you.)
Any Angle Joint:
These joints can go either inside 3/4" PVC pipes, or outside 3/4" PVC pipes (depending on which files you use). Then use a 1/4 20 bolt with a locking nut to connect the two parts. Move the connector to whatever angle you would like and then tighten down the nut to lock it in place. Note: Do not tighten too tight, or you can crush the 3D printed joint. |
Flat Attachment Point:
These types of pieces slide over a 3/4" PVC pipe but are not joints at all. These are used to provide a larger flat surface to attach costume parts. Great for attaching styrene, velcro, or just anyplace that you need more surface area. They are made in a single flat side, two flat sides, or four flat sides in case you need to attach two panels on the sides of PVC but want to keep the panels parallel. |
Saddle Tees:
These Saddle Tees are thicker to prevent them from cracking while attached to a PVP pipe or the wheelchair frame. These work best when printed in TPU filament so it can be slightly flexible to snap around pipes, especially the wheelchair frame. (NOTE: These work best printed in flexible TPU filament.) |
Saddle Latch Joints:
These joints are designed to be saddle joints with slightly different attachment techniques. These do not wrap completely around the pipes, but saddle around both pipes independently. (NOTE: These work best printed in flexible TPU filament.) |
PVC Stand:
This piece was created with the sole purpose to hold up a costume while working on it when it wasn't on the wheelchair. However, after using it, we realized it could be used for so much more. We added more screw holes to it and made it a versatile attachment piece. |
Tapered Anchor:
This joint was created when we found that some wheelchairs had the front bars going down to the front caster wheels, were at a 20 degree angle. So we created a joint that is made specifically for that angle. The saddle side of the joint zip ties to the front bars of the wheelchair, then the PVC costume can slide straight down to attach to the wheelchair. (NOTE: These work best printed in flexible TPU filament.) |