What can't you do with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe? The ubiquitous blue PVC water pipe might be seen along most streets right here and seems to be one in every of Thailand's most considerable un-natural resources. All kinds of various connectors are available and other than carrying water additionally it is used as a cheap construction materials that can be used to make all the pieces from clothes dryers to Wheel chairs (PDF), Crutches, flagpoles and shop indicators. Of course on the web you can even find another very cool and creative things made from (non-blue) PVC pipe including: Halloween costumes like Ben Hallert's Matrix APU and Aliens Exo-skeleton Power Loader, another power loader costume, single and insect elimination multi-guitar Guitar Hero stands, Zap Zone Defender Device a laptop computer stand, flutes, and even a shaving stand. Below you can see, in chronological order, some of my own (principally authentic) creations made from PVC water pipe together with: - a Marshmallow Shooter, Plumbing, Soccer Goals, - a Cricket Wicket, - a Basketball Hoop, Bookshelf Supports, - a Water Pipe Tron Controller, Racing Cars, Pinball Table Leg Extensions, Data Projector Mounts, - a Laptop Stand, - a Wiimote Holder, - a DIY Wii Zapper, - a Workbench, Real-Tron Controllers - a Music Stand Puzzle Bobble Coffee Grinder Controllers, - a Netbook Treadmill Hook, CD/DVD Holders, - a Nightstand/shelves, Zap Zone Defender - Push Up Bar/Handles, Fake Legs, - a Hilbert Cube, - a Mario Kart steering wheel, - a Guitar Stand, UV bug zapper Hockey Sticks, - a Tank-recreation (BZFlag) controller, - a Train Whistle, and - a Trident.

This was the project that started my love affair with blue PVC pipe. I had seen the blueprints for this marshmallow shooter whereas I was in Australia however the fittings have been prohibitively expensive (see the image proper). Fortunately they are very affordable here in Thailand. 2 x T-Pieces and 6 x elbows. Cricket (not to be confused with Brockian Ultra-Cricket) is Australia's national sport played with a bat, a ball, and two wickets. 6 x T-items, Zap Zone Defender and 12 x 45-diploma elbows. The backboard is a non-regulation dimension piece of plywood that we found lying round and we used green duct tape for the markings. Although the ring is not sturdy sufficient to cling off, the facet supports make it sturdy enough for regular play. They also give it a very Star Trek really feel and I believe the ring appears to be like not in contrast to the NCC-31911 Saratoga. This is maybe the most straight forward use for PVC pipe on this page. 2 x 25mm to 18mm (1" to 1/2") reducers, 2 x custom motorbike hand-grips, four x push-buttons, and a mercury swap that are related to a pc via a hacked USB joystick.

You'll find extra details about how I made the controller on this challenge web page and Zap Zone Defender Device that i've also prolonged the same idea to play GL-Tron using actual motorbikes. A university pupil who performed with the PVC Water Pipe Tron Controller, described above, stated "That's Ok however I prefer to play driving video games". It received me considering and Zap Zone Defender Device over the following week I spent my evenings constructing a PVC racing automotive controller - essentially a wheel-less, PVC go-kart frame related to the pc through a hacked USB joystick. Some Thai university students who saw the first automotive wished to know the way all of it worked and 6 of them came round one Saturday and we spent the entire day hacking joysticks and building a second automobile. By connecting them both to a laptop and an information projector we had been capable of play cut up-display screen Daytona USA. You will discover extra details about the design and development of the vehicles on this mission web page. The white workplace table I used for the digital pinball machine wasn't high sufficient to be performed comfortably.

1 x T-piece, and a pair of x elbows - partially to help air stream but largely to hold my display screen up because the spring within the hinge has damaged. As simple as this stand appears to be like, the "L"-shaped upright part is definitely a part of an air-conditioner mount for a knowledge projector that I made for one of the digital pinball table installations. The T-piece isn't glued and so in a small approach (a really, very small method) I prefer to suppose that if the air-conditioning mount had been ever needed again then the elements could re-combine in a Voltron or Captain Planet and the Planeteers or Power Rangers MegaZord-like way. Of course if that occurred my laptop computer display screen would fall down. I do not personal a Nintendo Wii however I did handle to get my fingers on a Wiimote in order that I might check out some of Johnny Chung Lee's cool tasks. It is a Wiimote mount I built utilizing a length of 35mm (1 and 1/4") pipe, some 18mm (1/2") pipe, three x T-pieces, and 4 x elbows.

The 35mm pipe has been cut so that it matches properly into the ridges down the aspect of the Wiimote which holds it securely. This is screwed onto a T-Piece which has also had its prime reduce off. The joint between the two topmost elbows is just not glued so the angle of the highest section might be adjusted. These sections are merely cable-tied onto the front of the motorbike handlebars and the players squeeze the buttons with their index fingers to show left or right. A mercury swap is also mounted on the suitable handlebar so the accelerator can be utilized to provide increase within the sport and as much as four bikes will be linked to the computer via a single hacked USB joystick. The centerstands keep the bikes upright during play and a half-round of bamboo is wedged underneath the back tires to cease them from rocking. This can be a music stand made from three completely different sizes of pipe.