Applications for 3D printing

My dad has been looking for an endcap for some poles. They will be transporting kayaks on top of a car, so they need to be aerodynamic. He requested that I design and 3D print an endcap that perfectly fits. I agreed, eager to use LAMP’s 3D printer for something useful. The endcaps will prevent the hollow poles from whistling as they are transported and reduce drag on the car and so prevent excess fuel being used.

I used Tinkercad to add an aerodynamic shape to the endcap. I provided many options to choose from.

I discovered the print would take too long normally, so I went back to Tinkercad and hollowed them out. I managed to get them down to about 2hrs print time each. I printed one as a test and it fit perfectly! Unfortunately, dad wanted it to be a little bigger so it wouldn’t come loose. I enlarged the model by 0.1mm as instructed, so it should fit tighter now. 

Elliot