Creating Custom Castor Wheel Covers
by 3DPrintingEnthusiast in Workshop > 3D Printing
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Creating Custom Castor Wheel Covers
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My father recently noticed that the castor wheels on some of our chairs started creating scratches in the ground. The type of castor wheel was very exotic and was not a standard size. That's why I decided to make my own cover that would safely encapsulate the castor wheel.
I am a 7th Grade Student at the Maria von Linden Gymnasium in Germany
Supplies
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Supplies
- PLA/ABS/PETG Filament
- TPU Filament
- Hot Glue
Tools
- 3D Printer
- Fusion 360 CAD Software
- A Camera/Phone
- Hot Glue Gun
Taking Reference Photos
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- Firstly, take some reference photos of the chair you are creating caps for
- Take a photo from the bottom and the side
Inserting the Photos
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- Bring the bottom-view photo of the chair foot into Fusion on the xy plane using the "Insert Canvas" feature
- Scale the photo using the calibrate tool by right-clicking the photo in the left browser
- Select two points that you can easily measure with calipers on the photo
- Measure the distance between these points on the real chair foot and input the value
- Repeat for the other photo, but this time place it on the xz plane
Base Sketch
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- Next, create a sketch on the xy plane (the plane on which the first picture was imported)
- Trace the outline of the shape using lines, splines and circles
- Next apply an offset of 3mm to this enclosed shape
Extruding the Shape
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- Extrude the inner shape up to the flat base of the castor wheel on the photo
Cutout for the Wheel
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- Create a sketch on the xz plane
- Draw the outline for the wheels using a 3 point circle
- Extrude this outline in the surface environment of Fusion 360
- Use it as a cutting tool to split the body created in Step 4 into two pieces
- Delete the semi-circular cutout
Walls
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- Extrude the outer wall from the sketch from step 3 up until it covers most of the castor wheel
Rounding Off Edges
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- Round off all side edges using the fillet tool
- Round off the bottom face
- Round off the inner sharp edges on the wheel cutout
Sketching a Rubber Foot
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- Next, create a sketch on the bottom face of the cap
- Project the bottom face and offset it 2 mm
- Sketch a line right down the center of the face
- Create a small center rectangle on the line (this will act as an alignment tool)
- Offset the rectangle 0.2 mm (or the tolerance of you printer)
Creating the Rubber Foot
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- Cut a 2 mm deep hole into the cover using the larger rectangle (the one you offset)
- Extrude the smaller rectangle into the cavity 1.5 mm (a bit less than 2mm)
- Extrude the large shape for the rubber foot out 2 ∼ 3 mm and make sure it combines with the rectangle extruded in the previous step but NOT the main castor wheel cover
- Chamfer the rectangular alignment pin
Sketching the Top Cover
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- To create the top cover, start off by creating a sketch on the top face
- Project the outer contour of the top face
- Add two circles on either side and offset them 0.2 mm
- Create a line that just barely covers the area that encapsulates the wheel
Extruding the Top Cover
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- Extrude-cut the larger small circles down 3 mm
- Extrude the smaller circles down 2.5 mm
- Extrude the entire front portion of the sketch up 3 mm and make sure it joins with the 2 smaller circles but NOT the main castor wheel cover
- Fillet the edges on the top face
- Chamfer the edge of the small pins
Slicing and Printing
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Main castor Wheel
- Print as is
- Print in PLA/PETG/ABS
- Use 4 or more walls
Bottom Rubber Foot
- Print as is
- Print in TPU
Top Cover
- Print rotated so that the pins face up
- Print in PLA/PETG/ABS
Assembly
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- Use hot glue to glue on the the Rubber Foot to the Main Castor Wheel Cover
- Slide the Main Castor Wheel Cover onto the castor wheel
- Put a few drops of hot glue into the holes on the castor wheel top face
- Squeeze the top cover in place
Making Adjustments
If for some reason a part doesn't fit you can use the press pull feature in Fusion or adjust a sketch in the timeline
Done
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