PipTops!

Hey there, wonderful people!

Here we have a spinning top with a threaded handle that screws outwards after printing, simultaneously bringing the spinning point closer to the disc for stability!

Printing spinning tops is an interesting thing to explore.  The thing with tops is that ideally you want a handle that's just a little above the spinning disc, and a point that's just below it.  The obvious way to approach this is the assemble things that print separately, and that's where I started, too.  I had a handle and a point, and sandwiched between them was the disc, and it worked just fine.  It wasn't very interesting, though, so I contemplated how I could print a spinning top that didn't need that kind of multiple part assembly.  

I tried inset handles that were at the level of the disc, with a channel for fingers to fit, but that wasn't wonderful, and getting enough depth  for fingers meant that the spinning point was substantially lowered and things ended up rather cone shaped.

But then it occurred to me that the configuration at print time need not be static, and that we could have a handle with an adjustable position.  I tried hinges first, but a screw thread was vastly superior, especially since moving the spinning point as well provided a nice neat solution to giving the handle something to tighten against! 

Right- and Left-Handedness

You'll notice that the thread direction is such that the handle will remain tight when spun in a clockwise direction, which is conventional for right-handed people.  Should you want a version that works in the other direction you can simply mirror the model in the slicer.  Or you can just put some glue in the thread so it can't undo itself when spun the other way :)

Fancy Colours

The ring shapes are designed to work nicely with filament swapping, which is what's been done to get snazzy colours in these prints :)

Print Description

This is a multi-part print in which parts nest together during printing, so you'll want to make sure your first layer is nice and neat and that you don't have any print issues such as stringing or overextrusion that might bind moving parts together. 

Print Dimensions

PipTops are 67mm x 67mm on the print bed and 35mm tall.

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

You should be able to scale this to some degree!  At some point the thread will either be too loose or too tight, but there should be a reasonable degree of latitude before that happens.  The good thing about threads is that they are good at taking up the excess slack when scaling up (until the threads are so far apart they no longer touch each other...)

Print Orientation

PipTops print upside-down with the handle and disc flat on the bed, like so:

File Location

You'll find this one at at 591 PipTops

Link to dropbox post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31697592

Further Thoughts

I should probably include a picture of a single-colour print, too!  It definitely looks cooler with a filament swap or two :)

Happy spinning!

xoxo

Sven.