Precise wind vane (balanced)

Use case

Shows the wind direction precisely, even if mounting pole is not perfectly upright. To achieve this, the vane and the counter weight are carefully balanced.

Printing

Print all parts in the uploaded orientation. To achieve a very good balance (to well below 1g) I recommend to use the following configurations. I am sure other combinations are also possible, feel free to experiment. Thanks to the precise calculations in PursaSlicer, there is no need to try this all out on your printer, you can play with the numbers in the software.

1. Counter weight: You need to print the half ball twice and glue the parts together. Print it with 100% infill to achieve the right weight.
2. Vane: Use standard settings (2 perimeters, 6 top, 4 bottom) and 20% infill to achieve the correct weight.
3. Carrier: Use 4 perimeters and 15% infill, all other settings are standard.

I have made all parts from PETG to make the whole design weather and UV resistant. I am fairly sure that PLA will also work. I have made good experiences with outside usage of PLA and PLA is much easier to glue. If you use PETG, make sure to use a glue that works with you type of PETG. I have found PETG from DasFilament.de easy to glue with YUKI Model superglue. Prusament PETG is a bit harder to glue but there is guide from Prusa for this as well.

Assembly

Simply glue the vane and the ball into the carrier. All you need in addition is a 5mm steel rod. To use a M5 threaded rod is not perfect but should also work well. The real trick is to add 5mm steel ball (like from a ball bearing) between the printed carrier and the steal rod. That will make sure that there is almost no friction at all against a rotation of the carrier.