Ball and Socket Fit for Interchangeable Earnings

For this assignment, I explored different press-fit pieces to create interchangeable earrings. I decided to use the ball and socket fit because I wanted the earring to be able to move (dangle) freely to preserve the aesthetic of "normal" earrings.

1. Rhino 6
2. Cura slicer
3. Ender 3 3D printer
4. PLA filament
5. earing hooks
6. jewelry rings
7. crochet flowers
8. pliers

In order to use the ball and socket fit for earrings, I added a hole and a loop to the design to later attached them to the earring hook and the crochet piece.

Using the examples in Rhino provided in class, I experimented with different sizes of the ball and the two pieces combined. As well as best practices to print them. Due to the changes I made in the designs, I had to separate the two pieces in the slicer while the ones in the example could be printed together ( the ball inside of the socket).

The final design took about 15 minutes to print. The ball can easily be placed and removed from the socket. The ball and socket do allow the earring to dangle in a more natural way, however, the design still needs to be made smaller in to look more attractive for delicate earrings.