Decorative Desktop Water Fountain
Description
I made a decorative desktop water fountain to liven up my desk space! The fountain makes a pleasant water trickling noise and operates independently. I need top up the water reservoir every three days or so because of evaporation. **Required Materials:** - USB aquarium pump. The design fits this one: Gikfun 3.5-9V USB Mini Submersible Water Pump Replacement for Aquariums, Fish Tank EK1527. ASIN B08JPR51YS https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08JPR51YS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - 5/16" ID 7/16" OD vinyl tubing - Superglue - Liquid plastic welder for base cable plug (you might be able to get away with silicon) - Spray-on rubber sealant to coat inside of base. I used flex seal clear. - Decorations. I used simple river rocks wider than 10mm and false plants from Dollarama **Printing:** I printed using eSUN PLA+ on an Ender 3 V2. This material is not a petroleum plastic so it may degrade over time. My fountain has been operating for almost 4 weeks now with no signs of degradation. I expect it to remain functional for years, but your mileage may vary depending on your material. I recommend printing one part at a time. **Important Settings:** 0.16mm layer height 40% infill (the components are not bearing significant loads so feel free to change this) -0.1 horizontal expansion (all of the parts are modeled to fit exactly) 5 layers of walls (reduce chances of leaks) 210C nozzle and 60C base Supports where appropriate Please feel free to use settings appropriate for your printer and material Base - 1x Base Cable Plugs - 2x Grate - 1x Platform - 1x Spout - 1x Spout cover - 1x You can post-process prints by removing supports then wet sanding in stages. I did 120, 240, and 400 grit. You should not need to sand every surface, only the ones that come out rough. **Construction:** Apply rubber sealant to the inside of the base and set aside to fully cure. 1 layer should be sufficient. Superglue the pump onto the base, aligning the suction pads with the debossed features so that the cable is closest to the rear hole and the pump's outlet is centralized. Guide the USB cable through the rear hole and then glue down the two base cable plugs to the outside of the base's rear hole. This is to provide a seal so that water cannot escape through this cable hole. You may need to use some silicon or plastic welder to ensure no water leaks here. Affix the vinyl tubing to the pump. There is no need to use an adhesive here, the tubing should fit snugly. Glue the grate, platform, and spout together so that they are oriented correctly. Do not glue the grate to the base, as the grate should be removable for maintenance. Slide the assembly down the vinyl tubing until it seats nicely in the base. Cut the vinyl tubing leaving about 5 mm extra above the flush floor of the spout. If you need to get the assembly back onto the vinyl tubing, you will need a little bit of tubing to grab onto using pliers. If you cut the tubing flush, it will not seat correctly as the vinyl tubing flexes. Simply place the spout cover over the spout. You may choose to print a statue or decorative piece to rest on top of the spout cover. Feel free to decorate by placing river rocks over the grate. Ensure that you rinse any decorations with soap and water prior to using, as particulate and debris can dirty the fountain water or damage the pump. **Notes:** Try to use only distilled water. The minerals in straight tap water can build up over time in the fountain system. I am using filtered because that is all I had on hand. Ensure that the pump remains fully submerged at all times. I fill the water up to the grate feature and refill it every three days. The rate of evaporation varies with your environment so keep a close eye on it until you learn its behavior. I have ran the fountain overnight and continuously with no issues. Please test the fountain before using it in a safe environment that can get wet. The fountain is not perfect and can leak. Leaks can usually be fixed with plastic welder, rubber sealant, or glue, depending on the situation. Run the fountain for at least 2 hours before dismissing the chance of leaks. Thank you for checking out my project! Please let me know what you think or of any suggestions! Full print was approximately 250g in filament and fits within a 200 mm x 160 mm x 160 mm box.
Statistics
Likes
588
Downloads
0