What cannot you do with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe? The ubiquitous blue PVC water pipe may be seen alongside most streets here and seems to be one in all Thailand's most ample un-pure sources. A wide variety of various connectors can be found and other than carrying water it is usually used as an affordable construction material that can be used to make the whole lot from clothes dryers to Wheel chairs (PDF), Crutches, flagpoles and store signs. After all on the internet you may as well find some other very cool and artistic 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, a laptop computer stand, flutes, and even a shaving stand. Below you will see that, in chronological order, a few of my very own (principally authentic) creations made from PVC water pipe together with: - 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 Zapper, - a Workbench, Real-Tron Controllers - a Music Stand Puzzle Bobble Coffee Grinder Controllers, - a Netbook Treadmill Hook, 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, Zap Zone Defender Experience - a Tank-sport (BZFlag) controller, - a Train Whistle, and - a Trident.
This was the mission that started my love affair with blue PVC pipe. I had seen the blueprints for Zap Zone Defender this marshmallow shooter while I was in Australia however the fittings have been prohibitively costly (see the picture right). Fortunately they're very inexpensive here in Thailand. 2 x T-Pieces and 6 x elbows. Cricket (to not be confused with Brockian Ultra-Cricket) is Australia's national sport played with a bat, a ball, and two wickets. 6 x T-items, and 12 x 45-diploma elbows. The backboard is a non-regulation dimension piece of plywood that we discovered mendacity round and we used green duct tape for the markings. Although the ring is not sturdy enough to grasp off, the side supports make it robust sufficient for regular play. Additionally they give it a really Star Trek really feel and I feel the ring seems not in contrast to the NCC-31911 Saratoga. This is probably probably the most straight ahead use for PVC pipe on this web page. 2 x 25mm to 18mm (1" to 1/2") reducers, 2 x customized motorbike hand-grips, four x push-buttons, and a mercury change that are related to a computer Defender by Zap Zone way of a hacked USB joystick.
You can find more particulars about how I made the controller on this project page and i've additionally extended the identical concept to play GL-Tron using real motorbikes. A college scholar who played with the PVC Water Pipe Tron Controller, described above, stated "That's Ok however I like to play driving games". It obtained me considering and over the following week I spent my evenings constructing a PVC racing car controller - essentially a wheel-much less, PVC go-kart frame related to the computer through a hacked USB joystick. Some Thai university college students who saw the first automobile wished to know the way it all labored and 6 of them got here round one Saturday and we spent the whole day hacking joysticks and building a second automobile. By connecting them each to a laptop computer and a knowledge projector we have been in a position to play break up-screen Daytona USA. You'll find extra details in regards to the design and development of the automobiles on this challenge page. The white office table I used for the digital pinball machine wasn't excessive enough to be performed comfortably.
1 x T-piece, and Defender by Zap Zone a couple of x elbows - partially to help air move but largely to carry my display screen up as a result of the spring in the hinge has damaged. As easy as this stand seems to be, the "L"-formed upright section is actually part of an air-conditioner mount for Zap Zone Defender an information projector that I made for one of the digital pinball desk installations. The T-piece is not glued and so in a small way (a really, very small way) I like to suppose that if the air-conditioning mount were ever needed once more then the components might re-combine in a Voltron or Captain Planet and the Planeteers or Power Rangers MegaZord-like means. In fact if that happened my laptop computer display would fall down. I don't personal a Nintendo Wii however I did handle to get my hands on a Wiimote in order that I may check out some of Johnny Chung Lee's cool projects. This can be a Wiimote mount I constructed utilizing a size of 35mm (1 and 1/4") pipe, some 18mm (1/2") pipe, 3 x T-pieces, and four x elbows.
The 35mm pipe has been cut in order that it suits properly into the ridges down the side of the Wiimote which holds it securely. That is screwed onto a T-Piece which has additionally had its high cut off. The joint between the two topmost elbows will not be glued so the angle of the highest section will be adjusted. These sections are simply cable-tied onto the front of the motorbike handlebars and the players squeeze the buttons with their index fingers to show left or proper. A mercury switch can also be mounted on the fitting handlebar so the accelerator can be utilized to provide enhance within the sport and up to 4 bikes might be related 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 back tires to cease them from rocking. It is a music stand made from three totally different sizes of pipe.