White Cane Tip

This is a ball-tip for a white cane. I've designed this for a friend, since commercial ball-tips are very expensive. This is designed to be assembled with minimal tools and the cap (the bottom part of the tip) can be replaced as it wears down.

This is designed for white canes that use an M8 thread to attach the tips.

Non-printed parts:

• 1x 608 Ball Bearing, ideally a use a sealed bearing
• 1x M8x40 lens head bolt
• 1x 9mm O-ring seal (5mm inner diameter)

I recommend to print the cap piece in TPU, Nylon or something similar, with either 100% infill or at least a 5mm wall thickness. The point here isn't strength but having a thick wall. In use, the cap is going to wear away, so there needs to be enough wall thickness to make sure the infill isn't exposed.

The other parts should be printed in PETG with 4-5 perimeters, here the goal is strength to make the parts durable. Ideally these parts can be reused, while the cap is replaced when it wears out.

Assembly

Press the bearing into the top part. This is a tight press fit and might require some force. Then put the bolt through the bearing

Screw the flange piece onto the bolt. The fit is tight and might require some force. Screw it all the way down. Put the O-Ring onto the bolt

Screw in the screw part into the assembled piece. The hollowed part of the screw needs to go into the top part to give space for the bolt head. Use a screwdriver or some other piece of metal in the holes for leverage.

Finally screw on the cap piece

Notes

All the fits are quite tight on my printer to ensure the tip holds together well. I've provided the Fusion 360 file so that this model can be easily adjusted and remixed. Commercial white cane tips are quite expensive, so I hope this cheap tip can help a lot of people.