At the risk of stating the obvious, building big things can be difficult. Sure, parts that fit on the bed of a 3D printer are easy to make, if not particularly fast, and scaling up from there is possible. But if you need a long beam or structural element, printing makes little sense; better to buy than build in that case. The trouble then becomes, how do you attach such parts together?
Enter Makerpipe. This South Carolina company, recently out of a crowdfunding campaign, makes a range of structural connectors and fittings for electrical mechanical tubing, or EMT, the galvanized steel conduit used in the electrical trades. EMT is widely available in multiple sizes and is relatively cheap, although we have noticed that the price here has ticked up quite a bit over the last couple of years. It also has the advantage of being available off-the-shelf at any big-box home improvement store, meaning you have instant access to a fantastic building material. ductile gray iron casing part for pump
Makerpipe’s bolt-together couplings let you turn pieces of EMT, easily cut with a hacksaw or pipe cutter, into structures without the need for welding. Yes, you can do the same with extruded aluminum, but even if you’re lucky enough to live near a supply house that carries extrusions and the necessary fittings and is open on Saturday afternoon, you’ll probably pay through the nose for it.
Makerpipe isn’t giving their stuff away, and while we normally don’t like to feature strictly commercial products, something that makes building large structures easier and faster seems worth sharing with our community. We’ve done our share of fabricobbling together EMT structures after all, and would have killed for fittings like these.
MakerPipe is not as new as you think. They go back a few years now. 2019 first post on the MakerPipe blog. If you look at the Maker Pipe YT channel, the first videos are 8 years ago
I’ve buckled conduit so many times messing around with making tents and shelves out of it. Wood is nice, you can hold it together with screws. I think it’s $15 for a box of 100 wood screws.
The fittings look pretty cool though. Remind me of some of the old bike frame fittings you could get if you were into brazing together your own frame. (not from galvanized, but just mild steel tube)
yeah i was thinking the same thing — i’d want to see a proper breakdown of the mechanical properties of EMT before i’d use it for anything other than conduit. my intuition is that it wants to buckle. i suspect even sch40 PVC is probably a better bet for structural work than EMT.
speaking of, i wish i had some better PVC brackets than the 90 / 45 / tee that they sell at the hardware store…oh wow! i just googled for it, and it exists! “sch 40 plus sign fitting”
Aren’t you two a couple of spoiled sports.
Darwin frowns at your shenanigans.
This article is just a little chlorine for hackaday’s genepool. I approve.
In fact I encourage you all to build a Baja racecar out of conduit.
Also: NHRA safety guys are gullible newbies who haven’t seen anything. You can fake a roll cage out of conduit. Even if they find it, they will just laugh with you. Say: ‘No harm, no foul’…let you take a pass anyhow.
I haven’t actually used this stuff, but it’s been sitting in my bookmarks for a long while: http://www.formufit.com – allegedly “furniture grade” PVC fittings.
I’ve wondered how much the strength and rigidity of conduit could be improved by filling it with concrete.
This looks very much like the FlowTube Steel system that is on the market for decades. https://flowstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FlowTube-Design-and-Assembly-Guide.pdf
yep we have all sorts of light duty racks and stuff made out of that stuff
Yeah, I was going to pipe [sic] up too. I remember seeing this stuff in the 1970s. People built awnings, sheds and similar things with it, using corrugated fiberglass or iron sheet. Cheap, but structurally pretty iffy, as I recall.
It’s exactly like it. In fact, I even purchased a knock-off version of the FlowTube system about 10 years ago. And, generic cast EMT pipe fittings for building canopy-type structures have been a thing for a very, very long time. I feel like the cast fittings are probably better than FlowTube/MakerPipe, structurally-speaking because they don’t depend on a screw to keep the to halves together.
Here’s a wayback from a store I’ve purchased these things from, back in 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080627183310/http://www.ysbw.com/Canopy-Fittings-3-4-Inch-s/6.htm
I’m so confused as to why Hackaday is advertising for these guys, and is acting like this is a “new thing” especially when a (IMO) superior generic product has existed for decades.
You must be new here.
HackADay regularly posts ‘hacks’ that are thinly disguised ads or links to obvious youtube clickbait.
This is just a repost off Hacker News, so if there’s something untoward it’s probably just that MakerPipe’s PR agency got it to the front page.
MakerPipe’s PR agency? Do PR agencies do anything not untoward?
Also: ‘Untoward’…I didn’t say anything bad about HaD paying it’s bills.
Just accepting the fact. Bandwidth ain’t free. We are the product. Derp.
I have 2 concerns, 1. EMT isn’t very strong, in that it isn’t made to be structural. 2. Terminating the EMT without physical contact with the other pipe seems to lose the weight bearing capacity of the joint.
If you filled the tube with a cement-soaked rope, or just packed sand, it would be considerably more resistant to buckling.
The main problem with systems like this is that inexperienced builders are likely to underestimate the need for bracing and overestimate the length of unsupported span you can get away with. They probably have good documentation, but even if people read it, they’ll assume it’s a con to sell more hardware.
If everyone using this read up on truss design first, I’m sure it would make for easy, cheap, durable structures. That’s a big “if” though.
I have it on good authority that the span between skyscrapers can be spanned with boards laid flat and nailed together.
Strong enough to nail boards to end while standing on same.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/framing/slip-on-framing-and-fittings/ https://www.mcmaster.com/products/framing/clamp-on-framing-and-fittings/
Kee Klamp, if you want the real stuff that has been around for decades.
McMaster can be annoying as they don’t tell you the manufacturer of the products they selling you.
Doesn’t McMaster let you download shape files…
If so, 3d print. Then use in safety critical application. What can go wrong?
I made a snow blower cart using those fittings and pipes from my from my neighbor’s old carton added wheels and there we go. I did have one problem though my neighbors ended up calling the bylaw on me because it was too close to the fence but once the by-law came over and saw that it was a cart it was laugh laugh at my neighbors. Can’t say what I really think of them. I’m going to try to add the picture of my snow blower cart. Sorry I tried I give up
I just built an extrusion-based setup last winter, and I was already thinking of a smaller setup and this is perfect. Thank you for sharing Hackaday!
If you are looking for a more rugged solution, check this link. The tubing and fittings can be used for much more than just a desk. The Gator tubing and aluminum fittings are a bit pricy. Most big box stores have steel and/or aluminum tubing and similar fittings.
https://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/kits/pipe-desk-frames
Just got a bunch of these that appear to be much sturdier in order to build a structure for my solar panels… 1″ steel pipe with 9 panels on each 21’x17′ grid and they’re able to withstand Nevada winds…
https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-structural-pipe-fitting-four-socket-cross-cast-iron-1-in-pipe-size-50000-lb-tensile-strength-30lx36/i/ G9089665/ https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-structural-pipe-fitting-single-socket-tee-cast-iron-1-in-pipe-size-50000-lb-tensile-strength-4nxp5/i/ G3014584/ https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-structural-pipe-fitting-single-swivel-socket-cast-iron-1-in-pipe-size-50000-lb-tensile-strength-4nxt1/i/ G2645291/ https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-structural-pipe-fitting-side-outlet-elbow-cast-iron-1-in-pipe-size-50000-lb-tensile-strength-4nxp9/i/ G0722321/ https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-structural-pipe-fitting-three-socket-tee-cast-iron-1-in-pipe-size-50000-lb-tensile-strength-4nxr2/i/ G1729585/
Is one Nevada wind more or less than a Louisiana wind?
I don’t understand many of the negative comments. OK it is not a completely new idea and yes, there are much heavier duty alternatives, but this appears to be a product with a niche. Consider some of the alternatives mentioned:
FlowTube (or any 80/20-like system): is based on relatively expensive aluminum extrusions. Shipping costs add up. Galvanized/black pipe: joints are less expensive and the pipe is usually readily available locally. The pipe can allow some relatively heavy duty construction, but the the pipe itself isn’t that cheap. KeeKlamp joints are pretty expensive (but are really good). Unistrut: OK, I don’t think anyone has mentioned that yet, but its great for just about anything as long as your joints are right angles. My favorite use was building a bed frame for a friend who had mobility problems. I was able to put together a frame with multiple handholds and an overhead trapeze-bar type handle. The frame was strong enough that I could climb on it and I was over 300lbs at the time. About as expensive per foot as galvanized pipe, but simple connections can be less expensive than pipe.
By comparison, EMT conduit is dirt cheap per foot. The MakerPipe connectors are exactly cheap, but considering the lower cost of the conduit there are some definite possibilities.
The only thing cheaper that I can think of is 2x4s and screws.
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