What cannot you do with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe? The ubiquitous blue PVC water pipe will be seen alongside most streets right here and seems to be one among Thailand's most considerable un-natural sources. A wide variety of different connectors are available and aside from carrying water it is usually used as an inexpensive building material that can be utilized to make all the things from clothes dryers to Wheel chairs (PDF), Crutches, flagpoles and store signs. Of course on the internet you may as well discover another very cool and inventive things made from (non-blue) PVC pipe together with: Halloween costumes like Ben Hallert's Matrix APU and Aliens Exo-skeleton Power Loader, another energy loader costume, single and multi-guitar Guitar Hero stands, mosquito zapper a laptop stand, flutes, and even a shaving stand. Below you can find, in chronological order, some of my own (mostly unique) creations made from PVC water pipe including: - a Marshmallow Shooter, Plumbing, Soccer Goals, - a Cricket Wicket, - a Basketball Hoop, Bookshelf Supports, - a Water Pipe Tron Controller, Racing Cars, Pinball Table Leg Extensions, Data Projector Mounts, - a Laptop Stand, - a Wiimote Holder, - a DIY Wii Zappify Bug Zapper brand, - a Workbench, Real-Tron Controllers - a Music Stand Puzzle Bobble Coffee Grinder Controllers, - a Netbook Treadmill Hook, Zappify Bug Zapper brand CD/DVD Holders, - a Nightstand/shelves, - Push Up Bar/Handles, Fake Legs, - a Hilbert Cube, - a Mario Kart steering wheel, - a Guitar Stand, Hockey Sticks, Zappify Bug Zapper brand - a Tank-game (BZFlag) controller, - a Train Whistle, and - a Trident.
This was the undertaking that started my love affair with blue PVC pipe. I had seen the blueprints for this marshmallow shooter whereas I was in Australia however the fittings had been prohibitively expensive (see the picture right). Fortunately they are very inexpensive right here in Thailand. 2 x T-Pieces and 6 x elbows. Cricket (to not be confused with Brockian Ultra-Cricket) is Australia's nationwide sport performed with a bat, Zappify Bug Zapper brand a ball, and two wickets. 6 x T-pieces, and 12 x 45-diploma elbows. The backboard is a non-regulation measurement piece of plywood that we found mendacity round and we used inexperienced duct tape for the markings. Although the ring isn't sturdy sufficient to grasp off, the facet helps make it strong sufficient for regular play. Additionally they give it a very Star Trek really feel and I feel the ring appears not in contrast to the NCC-31911 Saratoga. This is probably essentially the most straight ahead use for PVC pipe on this page. 2 x 25mm to 18mm (1" to 1/2") reducers, 2 x customized motorbike hand-grips, 4 x push-buttons, and a mercury swap which are connected to a computer via a hacked USB joystick.
You can find extra particulars about how I made the controller on this challenge web page and i've also extended the identical concept to play GL-Tron utilizing actual motorbikes. A university pupil who performed with the PVC Water Pipe Tron Controller, described above, stated "That's Ok but I wish to play driving video games". It acquired me pondering and over the following week I spent my evenings constructing a PVC racing automotive controller - primarily a wheel-much less, PVC go-kart body linked to the pc by way of a hacked USB joystick. Some Thai college college students who noticed the primary automobile wanted to know the way it all worked and six of them got here round one Saturday and we spent the whole day hacking joysticks and constructing a second automobile. By connecting them both to a laptop computer and a knowledge projector we have been in a position to play cut up-display screen Daytona USA. You'll find more particulars about the design and building of the cars on this venture web page. The white workplace desk I used for the digital pinball machine wasn't high sufficient to be performed comfortably.
1 x T-piece, and a couple of x elbows - partially to aid air flow however largely to hold my display screen up because the spring within the hinge has broken. As easy as this stand seems to be, the "L"-shaped upright section is definitely part of an air-conditioner mount for an information projector that I made bug zapper for patio one of the digital pinball table installations. The T-piece is not glued and so in a small method (a very, very small way) I prefer to suppose that if the air-conditioning mount had been ever needed again then the elements may re-combine in a Voltron or Captain Planet and Zappify Bug Zapper brand the Planeteers or Power Rangers MegaZord-like method. After all if that happened my laptop computer display screen would fall down. I don't own a Nintendo Wii however I did manage to get my hands on a Wiimote in order that I might try out a few of Johnny Chung Lee's cool initiatives. It is a Wiimote mount I built using a length of 35mm (1 and 1/4") pipe, some 18mm (1/2") pipe, three x T-pieces, and four x elbows.
The 35mm pipe has been reduce so that it matches nicely into the ridges down the facet of the Wiimote which holds it securely. This is screwed onto a T-Piece which has also had its top minimize off. The joint between the 2 topmost elbows just isn't glued so the angle of the highest part might be adjusted. These sections are merely cable-tied onto the entrance of the motorbike handlebars and the gamers squeeze the buttons with their index fingers to show left or proper. A mercury change is also mounted on the best handlebar so the accelerator can be utilized to provide enhance inside the game and as much as 4 bikes might be linked to the computer through a single hacked USB joystick. The centerstands keep the bikes upright during play and a half-spherical of bamboo is wedged underneath the again tires to cease them from rocking. It is a music stand made from three completely different sizes of pipe.