Modular Water Jug

I have been quite interested in making a modular watering jug, so I decided to make this little thing. By default, it is quite small. It only holds a few cups of water. The design is still in flux, since there are a few things that still need testing, and modifying. I am not 100% sure whether the connector is leak proof.

I accidentally broke off part of the connector, so it currently leaks. I will update this as I do more testing. It just may have been compromised in my excitement.

Also, I should mention that the connector will need to be worked slowly, particularly the part that forms a seal against the jug. It will work hard at first, and can break if you are not careful.

Even so, I was just really interested in sharing the design, it is just a really fun little design that I have been working on for a few weeks. I hope you enjoy it! :-)

I have included the STEP file for the spout attachment, so you can make your own attachable spout. Please have fun with designing some spouts, if you don't mind being an alpha tester. :-)

See below for updates.

Print Settings

Printer:

Folgertech FT5 R2

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

0.2-0.3

Infill:

50-70%

Notes:

Ok, so, I designed the model to be 4 layers thick all around. It needs to be water tight, so, it would be good to let the print run a little hotter, so the layers melt together. I printed this usinf PETG, on a printer with no part cooling fan, so adjust for your own printer. I have not tested this with PLA.
I used supports from the bed, for the spout, it may not hurt to do the same for the jug, since it has some pretty steep curves. Whatever you do, don't use internal supports on the jug, you will not be able ot get them out. It already has support for the top part. It all seems water tight, so tis good.

I set the print to 5 layers, so that the thicker parts, and handle were really strong. The walls of the jug will be 4 layers thick, reguardless. That seems to be enough to keep it water tight. I will update this as things change.

I printed it with 70% infill, since I wasn't sure how the handle would handle things. I think this was overkill. Something like 25-50% would probabally be perfectly fine. You "might" be able to get away with 10%, since there are some pretty thick perameters.

The Jug is a 10 hour print, and it uses a fair amount of filament. I think this can be improved.

Updates

6/21/2018

Well, apparently the connector leaks, even if it prints perfectly. It may need to be printed flat, instead of at an angle, that may be part of the problem. I think I will look into some sort of gasket to put inside. Maybe that can salvage this version of the watering jug. If not, I can try the threads again, but I wasn't sure if that would play nice.

I added a shorter spout, that works pretty nicely. A side note, I left a flat surface under the holes to provide support for bridging. A neat trick I learned from watching Maker's Muse. You will have to poke through the thin layer or two of filament to open up the holes.

This is definitly not the final design.