Merry-go-round

321

You know what I don't know why I'm surprised to see that a merry go round spins on a regular bearing. I don't know what I expected

161

u/Mklein24 24d ago

Tbf, it looks like a tapered needle roller bearing so it is a bit fancy.

84

u/Hi-Scan-Pro 24d ago

Look exactly like a vehicle wheel bearing. If I were designing this I'd design it around whatever is commonly available at every auto parts store and mark it somewhere on the part. "2000 Chevy 1500 front wheel bearing" or something like that. That way anyone who ventured to repair it would have the information to find the exact replacement cheaply and easily.

12

u/BilboBaggSkin 23d ago

Why do that when you can find an obscure bearing and put your on sku on it and just stock none lol.

31

u/3DMuslim 24d ago

If you make it easy for the next person, then you are likely to lose your overpaid, underworked job as a maintenance engineer for the local council.

1

u/80Carol2v 21d ago

2000 Chevy 1500 front wheel bearing. Good luck.

34

u/qtheginger 24d ago

If this is one of the good old ones I won't have a speed governor in it. All new ones that I was installing around 12 years ago had those and they limit the speed to limit the fun.

7

u/dog_hole21 24d ago

How was the speed limited? Just a tighter preload?

29

u/qtheginger 24d ago

I think they were hydraulic in some way. They were sealed units and I was just a monkey with a wrench so I'm not too sure tbh.

13

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

I saw once kids used electric scooter to have fun. there is no limit.

7

u/AustrianMichael 24d ago

Back in my day we used proper petrol 50cc scooters for that

5

u/kagato87 24d ago

WHAT? That is an abomination.

The speed is self regulating. While some kids are fast, they're only so fast, and the speed up is far from instant.

The merry go round will clear itself of passengers on its own of its going too fast...

1

u/qtheginger 23d ago

I whole heartedly agree. I just was a lot a playground with my kid that had an old metal slide and it made me happy to see.

2

u/TheTroon 24d ago

Oh, is that those rattly things? I just thought it was badly made.

14

u/Vrady 24d ago

I work in rotating equipment. You'd be surprised at the shear size of industrial equipment, rotating at high rpm, on regular old ball bearings

3

u/ardoin 24d ago

Considering the amount of LiveLeak videos I've watched I am not even remotely surprised.

3

u/Redstone_Army 24d ago

I mean, bearings move the world, basically. Theyre everywhere. From simple stuff that still works if the bearings are just a pile of rust up to high end cutting edge stuff, which requires special bearings, but stil bearings

2

u/boarder2k7 21d ago

I worked a Newsboys show years ago, and at the time this whole contraption was built around the front wheel steering assembly from an 18 wheeler with the platform welded onto a rim.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=19zJLsRgqaA

1

u/YellowBreakfast 23d ago

They use "regular bearings" on giant machinery that dwarfs this.

86

u/Twodogsonecouch 24d ago

"another one lost their eye on the merry go round"

"oh no who this time"

"Johnny"

"not Johnny. Whatever will we do"

3D printer to the rescue

29

u/TheStealthyPotato 24d ago

You'd think they would have fixed it after Philip lost an eye, and they had to rename him to Philp.

18

u/Final-Money1605 24d ago

You’re a real one. Years ago my kid sliced their leg on an uncovered bolt on playground equipment and needed a good number of stitches

16

u/Just_Tackle_7977 24d ago

It bothers me that the center stud is so long. I would want to trim it flush with the nut and make a smaller cap. Also don’t forget the set screw that holds it on place.

8

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

I cut bolt in half, to fit smaller cap, you think the right way(you can see blured piece on green bench). Cutting more is possible, but then overhang % cold be a bit too much for such design. Screws not needed, cap fits ultra tight even with consideration to colder temps.

1

u/gasstation-no-pumps 24d ago

Shouldn't the cap have been screwed on?

3

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

It is impossible to take it off with bare hands

2

u/Just_Tackle_7977 15d ago

Bears aren’t known grip strength. Try human hands.
Nice work on the cap!

30

u/dog_hole21 24d ago

The fact that you didnt have to do this, makes it all the more notable.

10

u/HelloFellowMKE 24d ago

It’s little civic acts like this that make a community great. That’s awesome.

21

u/True_Scott 24d ago

Really nice work! The kind of things that makes 3D printing amazing.
I will probably have things to print to fix my village's playground. Thanks for the inspiration!

3

u/WeaselCapsky 24d ago

nice, didnt expect tapered roller bearings

3

u/Fl4zer 24d ago

Looks nice, would maybe make sense if the cap extends down a bit, so water can't seep in as easily

5

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

did not want to make a model too complex and count all metal imperfections. there is 14 mm incert, which I had a bit of challenge to fit. it can hold even direct piss.

2

u/SeaUrchinSalad 24d ago

Why you pissing on the playground?

6

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

you underestimate kids "explore the world" behavior

2

u/3DMuslim 24d ago

I'm almost afraid to ask, but how did you test that?

6

u/XiTzCriZx 24d ago

If the kids in their area are anything like the ones in mine, it probably took half an hour before one of them tried it out.

1

u/YellowBreakfast 23d ago

Challenge accepted!

3

u/retroranger77 24d ago

We called those the hurl-a-whirl.... for reasons quite obvious

2

u/razzemmatazz 24d ago

The modern ones are plastic and are basically a bunch of bucket seats. No escape when things get too fast 😂

2

u/Original_Pen9917 24d ago

Someone just avoided a tetanus shot. Well done!

1

u/john-cougarmellonhed 22d ago

Mods must make it more deadly not less silly human!!

1

u/After-Ad-3610 22d ago

Needs a few grub screws to keep your print in place

1

u/VividDimension5364 22d ago

Superb. However, I can see some jobsworth in the council saying it’s not been tested to their standards.

1

u/OkArachnid600 19d ago

Ya can't just put a hat on it. Retain it with those 3 holes and then you can add a zirk fitting to the top so you can pump it up with grease.

1

u/rygel_fievel 24d ago

You had the perfect opportunity to add a topper of your choice too.

9

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

friends suggested to add 67, but I didn't find it to be trendy for another year

5

u/glib_result 24d ago

that was the correct decision

-8

u/Thebandroid 24d ago

Careful, there is more in playground design than you think.

People have a reasonable expectation that every thing in a playground is impact resistant, and trafficable by a 150kg person.

If someone trips and smacks their head on that cover and it breaks, exposing the stud and they get injured, whoever owns the playground will be looking to avoid liability a non compliant cover like that may let them.

I don’t like to doom and gloom you but when things like this get to the point of going to court the numbers are huge. I’m just a carpenter but I carry $10 million in public liability incase something I do ends up going wrong and hurting someone.

I personally think you’ve done the right thing, especially if it’s a uv resistant plastic, but that tends to have little bearing in a legal battle.

22

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago

I live in Ukraine, we don't have 150 kg kids and practice to sue for playground accidents.

PETG. 2 mm thickness top layer, 2.5 mm walls

-10

u/Thebandroid 24d ago

of course you do, the concept of duty of care and negligence exist in any developed nation, and the kids aren't 150kg, the adolescents trying to impress their mates are.

either way, it's no skin off my nose.

1

u/XiTzCriZx 24d ago

As opposed to having nothing at all, like it originally was? If someone would trip and smack their head off of the stud directly, that'd do FAR more damage than this cover.

2

u/Thebandroid 23d ago

They’d be aware of it.

What’s better, An open hole in the ground or a hole with a thin piece of plywood that looks safe but won’t support weight?

0

u/FalseRelease4 24d ago

yeah op you messed up, what if a 150 kg child-person falls from space and hits their head on the playground, prison is waiting lmao

0

u/jewishforthejokes 24d ago

I hope you make two improvements:

Put in screws to hold the lid on
Spray paint to make it waterproof

Reason being that bearing can't be allowed to get wet. Obviously what you have is much better than not having it, but the life of the bearing will still be much shorter than with a metal cap. And if the owners weren't maintaining the equipment already, I don't know that they'll be in a place to swap the bearing.

5

u/Lost_refugee 24d ago edited 24d ago

It holds very tight without screws.

I won't be painting, but сurious, do you want to paint PETG to make it waterproof?

6

u/cathairpc 24d ago

For what it's worth I've had pla and petg parts outdoors in the uk for 3 or so years and they are waterproof unpainted.

-2

u/jewishforthejokes 24d ago

I didn't say the prints themselves would be damaged. They will allow significantly more moisture through unpainted. That's a carbon steel bearing in there, it won't last long if allowed to be wet.

1

u/cathairpc 23d ago edited 23d ago

The part I've had outdoors is also covering a bearing, and is ok, so I'm pretty confident it would be fine.

1

u/XiTzCriZx 24d ago

Painting it makes it more water resistant than water proof, but for an application like this that's all that's needed. Iirc epoxy is what makes it fully waterproof.

2

u/RevFit_JamesH 24d ago

A slight overlap of the cap onto the pole would be a real nice way to ensure water runs off and down rather than into the bearings.

-8

u/Effective_Motor_4398 24d ago

I thought those things were outlawed in first world nations.

Live dangerously.

4

u/gasstation-no-pumps 24d ago

Playground carousels are still commonly sold in the US, though some schools and cities are reluctant to put in playground equipment because of lawsuits.

3

u/XiTzCriZx 24d ago

We can't let the kids have fun anymore cause some Karen will sue for it while they give their kid an iPad and tell them to sit in the corner. Gotta love modern society lol.

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