3D Printer parts

[zl0ca]

Has one printed any parts for these cars? I personally would love to see 3d printed tail light housings. If anyone has a model of it I have access to a printer to try.
Cheers

[redturbo911]

This would be interesting to follow and see the outcome.

[Raceboy]

There have been some parts made with 3D printer for these cars: Another 2.7 rebuild +ITB&EFI

Some photos both on page 3 and 4.

[Karter18]

My brother made a cup holder for his 911 and a Porsche badge. He makes parts on the 3D before making them on the cnc generally.

[zl0ca]

Unfortunately 3d modeling is not my thing. If anyone has a pcar file to test drive with I'm willing to give it a shot. Personally I would love to see some tail light housings .

[jpnovak]

I have made or mocked up many parts on my 3D printer. Here is a short list:

930 EFI injector blocks.
twin plug distributor adapters
crank trigger mounts
Hall effect mounts
Cylinder hold downs ( just like the link in above post)
Fuel injector adapters
fuel line adapters.

It really cuts the prototyping time to verify a CAD file before I spend money at a machine shop.

The problem with doing a complete tail light assembly is printer dimensions. Most of the non-commercial printers do not have a large enough print bed to complete a fully tail light assembly. I could send you a file if your printer is large enough. Is your printer filament based or resin based?

[zl0ca]

That's an impressive list! The printer is a commercial printer that I have access to at work. Unfortunately I don't know the model or what the base is. I can find that out on Tuesday. Thanks for the assistance

[3literpwr]

I'm a industrial designer by trade and 3D parts frequently. Based on the volume and size, I would anticipate a single light box to cost between $300-600. Also, many of the materials are not UV stable and often warp with heat.

[euro911sc]

Yeah the biggest issue with 3d printing anything for production is the materials and their capability to survive in a harsh environment like road and track. I have considered it many times as a possible home business, but I just can't get the right properties for the right price to be able to make parts cheaply. Great for prototyping, but not truly ready for production yet, IMHO.

[Dave Colangelo]

I have seen a good amount of 3D printed parts as my University had a printer and it sat in the shop so everyone could see what came out. I have also spoken to people who 3D printed stuff from thwir Formula SAE cars and basically the parts are not very strong. We has the kind that layered thin layers of plastic which did not create a very solid structure. Although you could make a part fast (and it was not even that fast for a sizable thing) it was brittle and plastic. The power of the 3D printer as I see it is for quick ways to make molds or templates for test fitting.

That being said the tech is coming up quickly but for what its worth you could CNC a mold for a big plastic piece in about the time the printer took to make a single one (assuming it was a relatively basic part).

Regards
Dave

[gtc]

I don't personally have a 3d printer, but I have used Shapeways to 3d print different height shift knobs for my Wevo shifter. I use their "strong & flexible" material, which is a laser sintered nylon.

[Ferrino]

I have just bought some wheels that do not have any center caps and no caps were produced because they are a race wheel. Do you think it would be reasonable to 3d print some caps from black ABS that would just press into the center-bore? There is no machining in the bore to retain the caps, so it would just be an interference fit. Worth a try?

[jpnovak]

Sure. That would be quite easy.

[island911]

I have a FFF 3D printer, and have made quite a few parts for various cars. --I print mostly in ABS.

I've printed some wheel center caps, but in general, those are tough. THat is, plastic is not so great as a spring. Notice that even injection molded center caps often have a steel hoop to keep the 'fingers' spread open. With printed parts, that situation is worse -anisotropic nature of fused layers, makes the part have a grain, like wood. (tough to get preferential grain direction, for those fingers)

As others have said, it's mostly a prototype tool. But, there are times where the 'grain' doesn't matter.

Among other things, I've made a 911 steering wheel bushing, and even these silly little (hard to find) fuel-line clips...

OE broken, on the lower right.



installed:


That was done with a .25mm tip.

I did model up a tail light housing, years ago. Clearly haven't done much with that. :-/

[island911]

This is what I'm talking about...

On the right is an OE (Cayenne) centercap - note the spring steel ring.

On the left is a 3D printed cap with electrical tape to act as a gasket/conformal material -keeps it in place.. (ghetto, I know. But that's for a VW Vanagon

[Sebscst]

So has anyone tried making the rear tail light housing? I have been looking for a light wieght alternative.

[zl0ca]

Sebscst. I'm hoping to try

[Turpin]

Hey guys,
I have a 3D modeling program so I can model any assembly with the right dimensions.
I own a 69 so I can measure the tail light assembly and put together a 3D rendering.
I do not believe that an FEA is required for this part.

Thanks,
Russ

[DougZ]

I work in R&D and my company has 2 large printers. We mainly use ABS and Polycarbonate materials. PC is stronger than ABS. We can print large parts. We use parts mostly to test fit parts and do some light function testing before final plastic injection tooling is released for production. FDM materials are not strong yet to replace actual plastic. Also it's not cheap to print large parts especially when they are tall. Part finish is very rough. I would only use these parts where they are not exposed to any type of stress.
I designed very nice custom cup holders that fit in the door pockets for driver and passenger. Had to do lot of sanding to get parts to look smooth so they can be painted.

[jpnovak]

Here is a clock delete that I made with integrated display for my EFI.

Lots of great uses for the 3D printer.

As Doug mentioned. These should be used in non-structural, non-critical parts.

Clock replacement Programmable LCD dash gauge for EFI