3D Printed Templates for Locating Spots on Uneekor Balls

[stevnkrn]

A number of people have asked for the 3D printed ball marking templates I designed that are mentioned in the Unicorn vs. Stickers thread. Instead of selling them I've decided to open source the .stl 3D print files so people can make their own. The files for both the upper and lower template shells are posted on Thingiverse.com under "Uneekor Dalmatian Ball Spot Template". Personally I use the templates to trace each spot using an ultra fine tip Sharpie and then color them in with black cyanoacrylate adhesive. So far that is working for me. However, the templates can also be used to mark centers for stick on dots or milling if those are the methods you prefer. I hope those of you that want add the Uneekor spot pattern to their own chosen brand of balls will find these templates useful.

[jdang307]

Thinking of making the jump to QED. Do these spots mark the screen at all when hitting into one?

[shwag33]

Just buy the unicorn balls. Not worth the hassle of anything else. I use the cheapo bridgestones over 175 yards, then the urethanes underr.

[Jtangm04]

You are awesome. All the times my wife shakes her head at my golf simulator and 3d printer, now I can combine them in one glorious project!

[stevnkrn]

Thanks. I get the same looks from my wife. Although she did just let me upgrade from GSA to a Uneekor so maybe there is hope that our marriage will last.

[wbond]

stevnkrn I'm guessing that was probably one heck of an upgrade.

[stevnkrn]

Yes it was, but I have to admit I really liked my GSA system. Not many GSA owners will admit that, mostly because the guy that runs the company has screwed most of the users at some point. That was ultimately what made me upgrade. Up until a few weeks ago I used my GSA system almost daily every winter since 2011. I had an older system than those being promoted now called a PX5 and I had it dialing in to match my game pretty well. For the cost I'm glad I got it. That being said, my new Uneekor QED is vastly superior. Having measured spin is a real game changer. GSA did a usable job estimating spin, but it was not accurate enough. Short shots around the greens are quite a bit better on Uneekor than my GSA. Plus, the Ignite, and particularly the Refine software are both great learning tools. GSA was fine for playing golf (I used TGC and later TGC 2019 for the last few years) but Uneekor is going to help me play better outside, which is really what matters to me. So far I've used the short game area in Refine way more that playing actual rounds. I know my short game is weak point and I know Uneekor will help me improve that aspect of my game.

[stevnkrn]

In my case I have not noticed transfer onto the screen or the clubs yet. Please keep in mind I am a senior player so my swing speed is not what it used to be. All I can say is try the black cyanoacrylate at your own risk. I use them daily and so far so good.

[leibin]

Thanks stevnkrn! My wife shakes her head when I'm trying various paints on my urethane balls, too

[968Cab]

Anybody have a 3D printer and want to manufacture these for us Luddites/cavemen?

[TheDon07]

I would be interested in this as well. I have high tech golf stuff, but not a 3D printer haha!

[myrison]

FYI, Once you have the templates above you can get them printed online for very cheap. I’ve used this place a couple of times with good results:

https://www.treatstock.com/

[GarageDasein]

shwag33 commented
12-09-2020, 05:49 PM
Just buy the unicorn balls. Not worth the hassle of anything else. I use the cheapo bridgestones over 175 yards, then the urethanes underr.

Note: I'm still waiting on my order of Unicorn balls that where supposed to have shipped in November.

[leibin]

Anybody have a 3D printer and want to manufacture these for us Luddites/cavemen?

This thread prompted me to put a 3D printer on my x-mas list It just arrived, but can't open it until next week. Once it's up and running, I'd be all for printing some up and mailing them out...just cover shipping I'm going to use this template to more precisely mark my desired balls for milling and / or to paint. I found that acrylic urethane and hardener (car paint) works quite well. I have yet to hit the couple of balls I painted with it as my back decided to go on the fritz a few days ago, but will know for sure soon.

[968Cab]

Let me know after Santa drops it off!! I’ll cover shipping and kick in a few bucks for ground-up humans or whatever that black magic prints stuff with. 😂

[leibin]

Hahahaha You got it buddy LOL

[Azurelimits]

I am glad to see a couple of my hobbies coming together. I am not even going to hit into a screen but will probably customize these into ball marking templates for the course.

[leibin]

A number of people have asked for the 3D printed ball marking templates I designed that are mentioned in the Unicorn vs. Stickers thread. Instead of selling them I've decided to open source the .stl 3D print files so people can make their own. The files for both the upper and lower template shells are posted on Thingiverse.com under "Uneekor Dalmatian Ball Spot Template". Personally I use the templates to trace each spot using an ultra fine tip Sharpie and then color them in with black cyanoacrylate adhesive. So far that is working for me. However, the templates can also be used to mark centers for stick on dots or milling if those are the methods you prefer. I hope those of you that want add the Uneekor spot pattern to their own chosen brand of balls will find these templates useful.

I would like to thank you for sharing that STL - I printed it and it was spot on. Really made it easy to mark the balls to mill them. Also, that black super glue adhesive is the bomb! I have tried car paint and nothing beats what you mentioned! I milled the balls and then used that in the holes - made a hell of a mess, but acetone was my friend there and I was able to fill the milled holes with it perfectly. Thanks again, and Happy New Year!

[leibin]

968Cab Santa arrived but I already goofed the printer lol - fresh part should be here this weekend and I’ll print you one out. PM me and we’ll work out shipping. Happy New Year!

[stevnkrn]

I'm glad you like the ball marking templates leibin. Can you post a photo of your templates and balls you made with them?

Using the black cyanoacrylate can be messy as you stated. I put a couple of drops down on a scrap piece of paper and then used a toothpick as a paint brush to color in the spots on my golf balls. A thin coat works the best. It takes a little time but it's worth the effort in my opinion. Being able to use premium golf balls on my QED makes me feel even better about not spending the extra $4000 to get the EYEXO.

[leibin]

Couldn’t agree more on that 4k to use your preferred ball ; sure thing on the pic - attached below. The print is a little sloppy but was in a hurry to get to the milling machine 😁. I filled them with that adhesive and then used a rag / paper towels soaked in acetone to level that with the ball and clean the left over mess. I have fairly high swing speeds (120mph with a driver when I get in my groove) and I’ve cracked a few milled balls. I’m hoping that having that adhesive filling the holes helps structurally at least a little . Thanks again!

[leibin]

Yeah, I had the same question on the milling. It's basically a suped up drill press for machining - metals, generally. The bits are extremely sharp and you can clamp the ball in place on each hole. Depth depends on the ball. The thinnest urethane layer I've seen so far is the Taylor Made TP5x. On the mill, I think it was about .3mm thick before you hit the next layer. By far the thickest I've milled is the Srixion Z-Star XV. It's in the neighborhood of 4mm thick. Those were the first ones I cracked as the first few I did were milled all the way through that layer to the rubber core. Iowacat is a user here that started milling TP5x's. The older versions of that ball have a black rubber layer under the skin, so no black markings were needed. As I was trying the paint route, I decided it didn't matter which ball I mill, I can paint in the hole and never have transfer to the screen. I milled a bunch of the Srixions this past weekend, but only milled down about .8mm so that the entire outer layer of the ball is basically still intact.

I was trying various enamel paints at first. Didn't notice until it was too late, but yeah...marked the screen up. It wasn't because the paint didn't cure, it was the friction on the screen with the backspin on the ball. The paint that spun against the screen would powder off into the screen and I couldn't get it out.

I've since reversed the screen so it looks as good as new again and removed all of the painted balls - unless it's milled. You can paint in the holes that are created, but the black flexible adhesive is the best thus far. I'd be surprised if that adhesive got on the screen even if you painted the ball without milling it (I know stevnkrn goes that route without issue).

Everything else stevnkrn said in the comment above is accurate with cracking and balls getting rough The QED update for club data seems to be working ok although I haven't been able to hit much over the past few weeks due to some injuries. The EYE XO would be tough for me, not just the increase in price but I have a bunch of hackers around here that sky balls right where that would be mounted on the roof. And, I think the only measurement it does that I'd be interested in that the QED doesn't do is AOA - the QED does the rest quite well and it's out of the danger zone

Whichever you go for, I think you'll be pretty happy with it. The video of the club through impact is the best feature, IMO as when you think some of the numbers (side spin, ect) are misread or incorrectly calculated, the video generally backs up the numbers really well (like hitting of the toe or heel).

[14MPH]

Thanks stevnkrn and leibin - just so happened to visit a mate’s house yesterday where he was showing off his man cave that he’s created as his sanctuary with beer fridge, sports screen and projector etc...and as luck would have it, he’s got a 3-D printer and is into his model-building hobby!! So that’s sorted the mould printing as he’s familiar with stl files and Thingiverse! It’s not a resin printer as he said those are expensive but uses some sort of flex/plastic material. I am presuming that should have no bearing on printing out this template.

I don’t have access (yet 😉) to a drill press but could you not dab through the template with a cotton/ear bud? Then again that would end up leaving adhesive on the template itself so may be not a good idea after all!

Do the spots have to be perfect circles or enough of a mark for the monitor to pick up the pattern? Though I don’t know if that would yield a thin or thick deposit of the adhesive on the ball.

Anyway, there is more hope brewing down the QED path at this rate! Thanks once again for sharing your expertise and experiences.

[leibin]

I think that stevnkrn just marks the ball with a thin sharpie using the template, then removes it and dabs the adhesive over those marks....that's probably how I would do it if I didn't have access to a milling machine. I think it would last as long as the bridgestone balls do (the black spots on those slowly get eaten away, too). As far as the material to print with, I use TPU as it's a flexible plastic and it's easy to get the ball into the mold as well as removing it. But, yeah...probably any plastic would work ok.

I think the dots should be as close to 'stock' as possible. The dots do have to be close to the size of the circles on both the template and the balls that the unit ships with and IMO the spacing of the dots (~.5") is important, too. IowaCat89 and I have made holes / marks smaller than those circles and the QED doesn't pick them up as well. He has had luck not making the marks (drill areas) on every side of the ball and/or not exactly following the pattern, as well.

Happy New Year to you and everyone else here!

[Diceberg]

What kind of 3D printers do you all have?

[stevnkrn]

I have a CEL Robox. I can't say I would recommend it to others, but I have had it for so long I've kind of gotten used to its idiosyncrasies.

[leibin]

Just got (and already broke LOL) an Artillery Sidewinder x1....upgrading the heat break, nozzle, ect on it over the weekend and learning as I go

[stevnkrn]

Guys, I saw my first significant evidence of black cyanoacrylate on one of my wedges yesterday from the spotted balls I made myself. I got a new Vokey wedge earlier in the week and after hitting some shots with it on my sim I noticed some of adhesive debris on the clubface. It was like a thin powder and it easily wiped away, but it was definitely there. Frankly it shook me up a bit so I am writing this to warn others that the adhesive method I mentioned above may not be as good as I once thought. If you try that method proceed with caution.

[leibin]

Good to know....this is why I'm rolling with the milled method, then the cynoacrylate in the hole Was anything on the impact screen?

[14MPH]

Have either of you tried slightly burning the spots with a blowtorch (will need a hole template of different material), to singe the ball enough so that the adhesive can be applied on top of this? Yup, my head is in overdrive now!

[IowaCat89]

As for heat, I turned an aluminum piece that attached to my soldering Iron. I experimented with melting the jacket and the core. My thought was that I could mechanically bond a black piece of plastic into the bottom of a milled hole. It really didn't show much promise in my opinion. Both materials melt at a pretty low temp and controlling the flow of material was difficult. I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but I think scorching the jacket would be really tough to control. Maybe the black glue could be "stirred into the jacket" with a sharp soldering iron? Might be time for a sanity check?