3D Printing
Bowling & Fowling Kits
While watching my kids wait for food at a restaurant, I remembered how my friend and I tried out Fowling (a hybrid of football and bowling).
I wondered if I could make a miniature game that would be portable and self-contained.
Bowling and Fowling Kits
The Fowling kit came first. Do you remember the paper footballs? I like using different prints to get the rich, vibrant colors
Self Contained
All of the pieces fit in the box. I'm a big fan of shadow foam for my tools. Even the bowling ramp and ball have homes of their own
Portable
The boxes have an easy to carry shape. Recesses ensure the lids stay snug. I've also made spare pin kits
Fowling
In fowling, one throws footballs to knock down pins.
Bowling
This is my friend's idea. She saw my fowling kit and her sister loves bowling. So, the idea was born
Movable Ramp
A groove in the lid (ie bowling floor) mates up with the ramp's hook so the player can move the bowling ramp.
Pin-stripe
This is how I made clean lines on the pins. By spinning, the pins, I could ensure the lines would be in the right spot.
The tricky parts were 1) getting the pin on axis so that it doesn't wobble and 2) getting the drill to clamp with enough force without marring the PLA plastic pin.
Inevitable Supports
In 3D Printing with filament deposition (most home 3D printers), supports are needed but undesirable. I removed most of the material, but still need to polish these down.
Polishing
Here is what I tried:
1) Sandpaper and Polishing Compound. This didn't work and took a lot of time. The manual sanding left more opportunity for getting a flat spot on the ball
2) These sanding attachments for rotary tools worked well. They come in different grits (120 to 600 grit) and the pack of 50 only cost $7. The attachments were more like foam buffing wheels than rigid sandpaper. And that made a world of difference. I got a smooth surface without using polishing compound, so I didn't lose any of the translucent red glow or gold shine
Smooth Bowling Balls
I was too aggressive with the gold ball and that dulled the surface and made flat spots. This gold PLA material melted at lower temperatures than the red translucent PETG material.
Other than that, I'd say the mini bowling balls came out pretty good.