Ball and Socket Joint

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712-4982

Ball & socket joint, 5mm

I was actually hoping to manufacture it, not buy ..

So who would get the royalties and liabilities then? I give you credit for honesty but not much for a sound business sense.

If this is for a personal project and you just want to make it yourself, go for it. If you are making something to sell for profit you will be hard pressed to get your cost low enough to make a profit.

If you just want to make it, try welding or brazing a steel ball bearing onto a slightly smaller rod. For the socket, you can drill into the end of a larger rod then attempt to crimp the end of the drilled socket over your welded ball and rod.

Often the socket holds the ball in place with a C-clip, but that would be tough to make at home.

You might be able to do it using a large bolt or threaded rod for the socket then slipping a cap nut that has been partially cut away to hold the ball in the socket.

Good luck,

Drew

I did not think about the hobbyist perspective. I retract and apologize for my earlier comment.

Guest has used both production and manufacture in the context of "producing" the part.

These terms are not terms associated with one-off hobbyist parts.

Guest?????

I'm a student and i want to design the links of steering system of an off road vehicle!Pin joints would break. so wanted to put ball and socket ones. I'm not starting any business or anything!!

Its alright ! No worries!

@ Drew K :

Sir would the required strength be achieved by brazing a steel bearing? I'd thought of that but i was unsure. And what is the C clip you mentioned about? How would it hold the ball? I'm ready to get it fabricated from outside..And my college has a workshop too. So that's not an issue. I just want to make ball bearing joint of a good strength so that the links would not break.

Brazing or silver soldering is strong, but welding is stronger. I think the strongest I have thought of so far is the threaded rod with a hollowed out end then a cut away cap nut to retain the ball.

For an off road application I would have it expertly welded. You should be able to find a shop with a good tig welder who can get a solid weld even on such a small part.

Below is what I mean by a cap nut. If you thread this on the end of a small rod, you can grind off as much of the cap as you need so the threads will slip over the ball on the end but the cut away part wont. If the threads are not deep enough to cover the ball and catch the socket weld an extra nut to this one making the threads deeper.

All that being said you will be hard pressed to make a ball socket with as much strength or freedom of motion as you can buy at your local auto parts seller.

Drew

@ Drew,

Thank you sir. I would definitely try that.

I don't see why little ball and socket's can't be cheap, there's probably 1/2 a dozen in the throttle linkage in my Benz 240D. Simple enough, no unusual fit, material or precision. 3 or 4 in my animated crow for haloween, all chinesium.

I'll bite, why not a little U-Joint. Simple, can use just pinned joints for light loads.

Forget the B & S, get yourself (make) a miniature universal joint and you will get all the directional freedom and drive you can use.

Brian.

I may be thinking too far outside the ball with this idea, but there are many possibilities here. Lego "Bionicle" components are typically made from many ball and socket joints, typically 5-10mm in diameter. Many action figures use a different method to achieve the same result for the arms and legs; a pin joint to allow the arms to go from stretched sideways to forwards, and a rotating shaft to allow them to move in a chopping style. These would be in the size range you are looking for, and the second option should be quite simple to replicate.

Come and join us, we're nice people.

Another method is to join component A to component B with a urethane casting or silicon. This would probably give the movement you want.

If you upload a picture of the components, I can help you further.

Tony

"I'm a student and i want to design the links of steering system of an off road vehicle!Pin joints would break. so wanted to put ball and socket ones. I'm not starting any business or anything!!"

So design the suspension then. Go to an auto parts store, it's full of ball joints and tie rod ends you'll have too many to pick from. Design your suspension around affordable parts, plenty of work left.