In this lesson it will be important to know the size of the balloons available for this project.

As we create the connector, you will want to make sure you adjust sizes of your design to ensure the connector works with the balloons you will be using for your car.

The opening in the balloons I am using are 18mm, so I am making the connector stem 20mm with a 3mm lip to hold the balloon on the car. This will ensure the balloon must be stretched to fit over the connector and create a tight seal.

Let's jump in!

Instructions

Place a workplane on the flat area on the top of the body (near the back of the body).
Drag a Cylinder to the workplane.
Size it to 20mm in diameter and 10mm tall.
Place a second cylinder in the center of the previous cylider and size it to 23mm in diameter and 3mm tall.
Select both cylinders and align them vertically, then align them to the top.
With both cylinders selected group them into a single object.
Continue to the next step.

Step 1: Add and Angle Under the Lip

If we were to print the balloon connector part now, with out the purple shape shown in the image below, we would run into a problem with the 3D print.

Because of the overhang on the lip you will find that the plastic will droop or the print will fail unless you add support for the lip.

In order to help with 3D printing we will add a small angle (using an upside down cone) to the bottom side of the balloon connector lip.

This will allow the print to continue and slowly expand to the diameter of the lip.

Instructions

Place a cone shape on the workplane and size it to 23mm in diameter and 12mm tall.
Rotate the shape 180° so the flat surface is facing upwards.
Align the cone so it is touching the bottom of the lip and centered on it.
Select all the shape and group them into a single item.
Continue to the next lesson.