Hi all !
I must confess my lack of knowledge/experience with ball joints for deltas:
for the 3DR deltas, the author mentions using these :
(can be found here :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160740546853 )
They are however , quite expensive (£3.25 for two !).
On the reprap forums, a few people mention having issues with limited movement range with other ball joints, so if you could advise some good alternative at lower prices with no issues,
please let me know!
Thanks in advance !
They’re expensive piecemeal like that…you want to find a bulk package…mine were about (handwavey money conversion) £20 for 12, but I then had to get longer screws.
3d printing is inexpensive…it’s not cheap!
What’s wrong with the regular TRAXXAS rod ends?
@Mike_Miller hmm that is almost the same price …still, for something that is going to wear out relatively fast, and will be replaced by magnetic couplings down the line, I hoped to go cheap 
(like these http://www.robotdigg.com/product/75/Tie-Rod-n-Ball-Joint-Pack-Set , which are close to , but not quite identical)
@Thomas_T_Sorensen nothing wrong with them I just have NO clue on which to choose (the people that talked about having limited movement range used traxxas rod ends).
I tried looking at what is used for other Deltas, but I am still clueless (I want to avoid re-printing 9 sets of effectors and “lifts”)
My understanding is that these types of joints have mostly gone out of style, in favor of either magnetic ball joints or universal joints. The best universal joints even have tiny bearings inside that make them super smooth and low-resistance.
@Whosa_whatsis that is strange, most of the recent delta builds I saw, and most of the various delta’s wikis still seem to use traxxas ends, and sometime magnetic balls.
Do you have pictures/links of the type of universal joints you mention ? Very curious to see those.
Frankly If I had the time , or if it was just for myself , I would very likely go with the magnetic joints (the advantages seem to outweight their issues by far).
@Whosa_whatsis very interesting, thanks ! never saw those type before !
(good read there as well )