[BETA] Airless Basketball for Kids - Size 5 Training Ball

Hey Makers! Just a heads-up, this design is currently in BETA. I've spent the last 12 months getting the structure to my liking, but I currently don't have a printer that can handle it or the PEBA filament needed for the final physical tests. I'm looking for Beta-Testers (more info at the bottom!). If you're up for a challenge, keep reading!

Ever since I saw the video of the famous Wilkinson airless basketball, I've been hooked on the concept. But since the original is super expensive and printing a 1:1 scale version is pretty tricky, I decided to start my own design journey. After a ton of trial and error, I'm finally ready to share my personal take on it.

The perfect size for kids

• This design is all about learning. Watching my son during his first basketball practices, I realized that learning the fundamentals (dribbling, ball handling, layups, and, most importantly, having fun) could easily be done with an airless basketball while addressing some of the biggest drawbacks of the original design.

Scaling it down to a Size 5 (210 mm diameter) has two major perks:

• It's the perfect size for kids at beginning stage.

• It fits on most standard 3D printers (220x220mm beds and up), which seriously cuts down on both print time and material costs compared to a full-size ball.

The technical secret: Truncated Dodecahedron

• One of the biggest headaches with these spheres is printing the inside without it collapsing, while keeping supports to an absolute minimum. To fix this, I swapped out the standard inner sphere geometry for a truncated dodecahedron. This internal structure is way more 3D-printing friendly and guarantees stability right from the core.

Pros and things to keep in mind

Why you'll love it (Pros):

• Consistent bounce: It doesn't depend on air pressure, so the bounce is always exactly the same. No more arguing before practice over who gets the ball that bounces best!

• Quieter play: It makes way less noise than a standard air-filled ball. This is great for indoor practice, and it means coaches don't have to yell over the sound of bouncing basketballs.

• Awesome aesthetics: The design is an instant eye-catcher and super customizable depending on your filament color—you could even integrate a player's name. I'm a big fan of hexagons, and I know I'm not the only one in this community! :)

Things to keep in mind:

• Aerodynamics: Since air passes straight through the mesh holes, the ball does slow down a bit mid-flight. It's not great for long-distance shooting, but it's absolutely perfect for ball handling and short shots.

• Technical materials: It requires specific filaments (PEBA) and takes quite a while to print compared to just buying a regular basketball.

Recommended Print Settings (Based on the Kimya PEBA profile in PrusaSlicer)

• Exclusive Material PEBA only
• Supports Yes (I recommend modeling a support enforcer just for the base)
• Perimeters (Walls) 3
• Infill 0%
• Solid Layers Top: 4 / Bottom: 4
• Perimeter Generator Classic (Heads up: Avoid Arachne, as it generates floating parts during slicing)

Looking for Beta-Testers (I need you!)

Like I mentioned earlier, I don't have the hardware to physically test this right now, so I've decided to release the design to the community.

If you have experience printing with PEBA and want to give it a shot, I'd love to work hand-in-hand with you to tweak the design based on your feedback after each test.

If this project sounds cool and you want to be the first to bounce this ball, shoot me a DM! I'd be absolutely thrilled to collaborate with you.

Special Thanks

Thank you, Make It Lab! Even though you don't know it, your videos and material testing played a big role in this project and helped me choose PEBA for the final design.

Check out his channel --> https://www.youtube.com/@makeitlabchannel/videos