What cannot you do with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe? The ubiquitous blue PVC water pipe will be seen along most streets right here and appears to be one among Thailand's most abundant un-natural sources. A wide variety of different connectors are available and aside from carrying water it is also used as a cheap building material that can be utilized to make the whole lot from clothes dryers to Wheel chairs (PDF), Crutches, flagpoles and shop indicators. After all on the web you may also discover another very cool and artistic issues made from (non-blue) PVC pipe including: Halloween costumes like Ben Hallert's Matrix APU and Aliens Exo-skeleton Power Loader, another energy loader costume, single and Zap Zone multi-guitar Guitar Hero stands, a laptop stand, flutes, and even a shaving stand. Below you can find, in chronological order, Zap Zone Defender a few of my very own (mostly original) creations made from PVC water pipe including: - 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 Zap Zone Defender 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, - Push Up Bar/Handles, Fake Legs, - a Hilbert Cube, - a Mario Kart steering wheel, - a Guitar Stand, Hockey Sticks, - a Tank-recreation (BZFlag) controller, - a Train Whistle, and - a Trident.

This was the challenge that began my love affair with blue PVC pipe. I had seen the blueprints for this marshmallow shooter whereas I was in Australia but the fittings had been prohibitively costly (see the image proper). Fortunately they are very affordable right here in Thailand. 2 x T-Pieces and 6 x elbows. Cricket (not to be confused with Brockian Ultra-Cricket) is Australia's nationwide sport performed with a bat, a ball, and two wickets. 6 x T-items, and 12 x 45-degree elbows. The backboard is a non-regulation size piece of plywood that we found mendacity around and we used inexperienced duct tape for the markings. Although the ring isn't robust enough to grasp off, the side supports make it robust sufficient for normal play. Additionally they give it a really Star Trek feel and I think the ring seems to be not in contrast to the NCC-31911 Saratoga. This is perhaps 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 change that are linked to a pc via a hacked USB joystick.

You will discover more details about how I made the controller on this challenge page and i've also prolonged the identical concept to play GL-Tron utilizing real motorbikes. A university student who played with the PVC Water Pipe Tron Controller, described above, mentioned "That's Ok however I like to play driving games". It bought me thinking and over the subsequent week I spent my evenings constructing a PVC racing automobile controller - essentially a wheel-less, PVC go-kart body related to the computer by way of a hacked USB joystick. Some Thai university students who saw the first automotive wished to know how it all labored and 6 of them got here round one Saturday and we spent the entire day hacking joysticks and building a second automobile. By connecting them each to a laptop and an information projector we have been capable of play break up-display screen Daytona USA. You can find extra particulars about the design and Zone Defender building of the automobiles on this venture web page. The white office desk I used for the virtual pinball machine wasn't high sufficient to be played comfortably.

1 x T-piece, and 2 x elbows - partially to assist air move but mostly to hold my screen up because the spring in the hinge has broken. As straightforward as this stand seems, the "L"-shaped upright part is definitely part of an air-conditioner mount for an information projector that I made for one of the virtual pinball desk installations. The T-piece is not glued and so in a small approach (a very, very small method) I wish to assume that if the air-conditioning mount have been ever wanted once more then the elements might re-mix in a Voltron or Captain Planet and the Planeteers or Power Rangers MegaZord-like approach. Of course if that occurred my laptop computer display screen would fall down. I do not own a Nintendo Wii however I did manage to get my hands on a Wiimote in order that I may check out a few of Johnny Chung Lee's cool tasks. This can be a Wiimote mount I built utilizing a size of 35mm (1 and 1/4") pipe, some 18mm (1/2") pipe, 3 x T-items, and 4 x elbows.

The 35mm pipe has been reduce in order that it matches nicely into the ridges down the side of the Wiimote which holds it securely. This is screwed onto a T-Piece which has also had its high cut off. The joint between the 2 topmost elbows shouldn't be glued so the angle of the highest part might be adjusted. These sections are merely cable-tied onto the front of the motorbike handlebars and the gamers squeeze the buttons with their index fingers to turn left or proper. A mercury change can be mounted on the correct handlebar so the accelerator can be utilized to offer enhance inside the sport and up to 4 bikes might be connected to the pc by way of a single hacked USB joystick. The centerstands keep the bikes upright during play and Zap Zone Defender a half-round of bamboo is wedged beneath the again tires to cease them from rocking. This is a music stand made from three different sizes of pipe.