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3D printing Vectrex controller part


Purity

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Hi guys,

I have a Vectrex controller with a broken black plastic joystick guide, and was wondering if anyone has 3D printed these before with success or would be willing to try and do one for me? There must be a market for them?

The part looks like this:

VectrexLever.jpg

Is it feasible it terms of strength via 3D printing?

 

Thanks

Ben

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they are plastic, there are a pair of them in each vectrex controller, but note that they are not the same (one is bigger than the other)

 

i could post you a pair of them richard if you like? please note though, that being used, they will have some wear on them, so on the bits which are worn down a little, for your 3d printing would you be able to compensate for that? here is a picture below to show you the wear i mean (i have circled in red where there is some wear to the plastic (it has become thinner, so less strong than when new), due to where the metal joystick shaft pushes against the plastic pieces in order for the joystick to move around 360 degrees)

 

jstickbits.jpg

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I am pretty heavily into 3d printing and I actually just recently did a fairly serious controller repair. So I know these parts and the process of printing well. The cradles are actually under a fair amount of pressure from the springs. Also if you opperate your vectrex with a heavy thumb they will take a beating. I believe they could be printed but it would have to be done in a very specific way. The cradles are very delicate. For a part that thin abs would be too flexible. Pla would have the rigidity needed but would be likely be too brittle for a decent lifespan. Now nylon would work well but it would be a somewhat tricky print. Proper orientation and support would be key for the needed strength and print quality for a proper fit. It would likely take some trial and error. I have an fdm printer so these are the problems and solutions I see. Ideally if there is an atariage member with a Formlabs or some type of stereo lithography printer, they would be the ones who could do the best work on a part like this. I realize this might not offer a ton of help but it is food for thought. I may take a stab at this I have alot of hobbies and it's nice when they overlap.

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  • 1 year later...

i was pretty sure the files to print these with any 3d printing services are out there. i dunno have a 3d printer so i don't know to much about it. i did take the files to print the Shell for the controller and it cost like $100 from the site i checked...

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