November 15, 2023
Description
Lost one of the front castors from an old American tourister hard-shell suitcase and couldn't find that style anywhere online, pretty much impossible to request from the manufacturer as it isn't on their website and they actually have a comment not to contact them about anything not shown. So last resort I ordered a thrust bearing matching as closely as I could to the one in the other wheel along with a set of 2x50mm castors and axles from Amazon and redesigned the missing leg from scratch. Turned out not too bad but is maybe about 1 or 2mm high compared to the original. I've included the freecad model I made it from if anyone wants to modify it.
I printed it in PLA on a Qiditech X-Plus 3 with 80% infill and 8 perimeters for additional strength. Part orientation wasn't in the best position for strength, but when I orientated it for strength and used the required supports it just didn't work properly on the suitcase. This was printed with the sloped edge of castor mounts on the bed which at least gives it some strength with the layer lines not being totally parallel to the ground and meant I could use minimal tree supports and just clean out the holes for the axles after printing. Can't upload the gcode since it uses Qidi specific commands which aren't recognised and get rejected.
Parts I bought to complete the project were:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F6WDDLH thrust bearing £5.49 for 2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BRD2WJP 40 x 18 mm luggage wheels with axles £10.45 for two.
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial
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