E3D Balloon Buggy

E3D Balloon Buggy in several sizes!

I've spent quite a bit of time sizing and remixing the E3D buggy to propel it with a balloon.

I have the original sized buggy, which can be propelled with a water balloon or with a full size balloon zip-tied to the tube. I must say though that this isn't an optimal solution! The water balloon size depletes too quickly and the full size balloon is uncontrolled!

For the small buggy, I've added wheels using filament as an axle - the hole in the buggy and the wheel is 2mm, which gives clearance on a 1.75mm filament - I cut a piece to length and mushroomed it over with the tip of my soldering iron.

Moving on, I created several other sizes and configurations, including a larger model with a split tube and roof. The larger size however is just a bit too heavy - it works okay, but needs a low friction surface and a new balloon. Sometimes it doesn't move too far. 

Here it is in action:

Following on from this, I created another couple of sizes, including on of 76mm in height (to the top of the tube). This buggy turned out to be the optimal size in my opinion, with a decent fast but controlled travel. It even works okay on short pile carpet!

For all of the models other than the smallest version, the wheels press onto a fixed axle.

Included in this pack:

76mm version, with wheels to suit - this is the optimal print
88mm version, with wheels to suit - a bit on the heavy side
88mm split version, with wheels to suit
65mm version, with wheels to suit - a bit on the small side, and uncontrolled
53mm version, with filament axle and wheel - original size, but not optimal

I've also included an original and large unpropelled size, with the modified wheels for anyone just wanting a wheeled version of the buggy.

Print:

I printed everything .2 layers with .6 nozzle. 10% infill to keep weight down.
Print without supports. On my print I had bridging on the roof failing in one place on the first bridge layer, but when I looked at it closely in the slicer I could see it was due to the way the tube was being printed. I added a small champher under the tube to stop this.

Post Print:

Only consideration post print is the fitment of the wheels - this should push on without any trouble, but if you have any elephant foot on the prints you may need to clear the inside of the hole on the wheel and the split on the axle. Once in place, the wheels turn with a loose fit, but won't come off.

For the smallest version, use a piece of filament as an axle and flatten it over by heating it (I used a soldering iron, but it needed just a touch, so it should be possible to do this by heating up something metal, like a spoon, and touching it on the end of the filament)