Drip Tape Barb Quick Connect

2026-10-15 Released "Improved" version after a year of intensive testing. Easier to insert, reliable grip, better seal, stronger barbs. Pretty much comparable with injection molded designs, but cheaper to produce.

2024-04-23 Made a few minor improvements to the design.

If you've ever done small scale ag work, chances are you've used these. This is essentially a solid design that prints reliably (without supports) and performs well (tested up to 50 PSI). It leaks a little of course, which is to be expected as even the mass-produced injection molded ones do too. The ‘barb’ is approximately ¼" and the tape end fits standard drip tape.

The threaded quick-connect side lets you attach it in seconds without tools and holds the tape very tight. You will of course need a hole punch for the ¼" side. There is a vortex inducer inside too. Takes 40 minutes to print and uses 9 grams of filament. My tests were conducted with PLA default bambu lab profile.

BTW I do not recommend printing the standard file in large batches as the core part can detach from the print bed over long print durations. So I added each part as an individual file. I've printed 12 ‘cores’ at a time without trouble. The nuts do not seem to suffer from poor bed adhesion.