THE KINETIC ACROBAT

This funny guy is a true artist with acrobatic skills. He spins and twirls around... with a stick, a sword or an umbrella in his hand as the axis of rotation. The spins can last up to 1 ½ minutes. The idea to design it for 3D printing came to me after I saw something similar made from wooden sticks on Facebook.

A fun toy that is quick to print and assembled in less then 5 minutes!

Dimensions: H 18 cm Ø 20 cm

I hope you enjoyed the video and feel inspired to recreate the little acrobat!

For this project you'll need

1. a 3D printer
2. filaments
3. superglue (only if necessary)
4. silicone felt-tip pens (optional)

Print settings:

1. printer brand: BambuLab
2. printer: X1 Carbon
3. supports: No
4. resolution: 0,2
5. infill: 15%
6. filament brand: BambuLab
7. filament color: Scarlet Red, Sunflower Yellow, Bamboo green, Black
8. filament material: PLA

Remark 1: Since this is an object where balance plays a crucial role, it is essential to adhere to the “infill” and “resolution” values when printing! Of course, the results may vary from printer to printer, but these issues must be resolved individually. If this happens, the easiest way to adjust the weight is via the feet (Kinetic Acrobat_feet.stl) or the head (Kinetic Acrobat_head.stl), depending on where the overweight is ... either by scaling or changing "infill". I've already printed a few copies and haven't had any problems with the balance so far!

Remark 2: As all parts are designed to fit very precisely, it may happen that you have to rework one or the other part a bit with sandpaper and/or cutter due to different dimensional accuracy of the printers and the different behavior of the filaments

For this first step, you will need the parts of

1. Kinetic Acrobat_stand.stl

There are two parts, a base and a rod. The rod has a concave recess at one end, which must face upwards.

In my case, I was able to fit all the parts together without using glue.

Next the parts of

1. Kinetic Acrobat_body.stl

The assembly is shown in the pictures.

Now you have to decide how you want to color the head and feet.

1. Kinetic Acrobat_head.stl
2. Kinetic Acrobat_feet.stl

These parts can also be attached without glue..

Position the figure on a finger to see how balanced it is.

Small imbalances can be corrected by moving the arms up or down.

Now you can try out how it behaves on the corresponding stand.

Various swords, 2 sticks and an umbrella are available as equipment. These parts are found in:

1. Kinetic Acrobat_equipment.stl

Inserting these parts has little or no effect on the balance.

I used acrylic marker pens to paint the equipment.

Now the show can begin. I have printed several of them in the meantime. You can hold a competition to see who can spin it the longest. This requires a little skill to ensure that the acrobat does not fall off the pole when it is launched.

To keep the parts of the equipment from lying around, I designed a storage device that can be integrated into the stand. Here is the file:

1. Kinetic Acrobat_equipment_storage.stl

... and last but not least, a few color suggestions!