Thanks for this, they work great!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1709571176.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1709571176.jpg

As I know it, there are different plastics for 3d printing. Am curious... in general, what is the difference in the plastic options?

(I've not read every page so pardon me if this is a duplicate question.)

There are so many different materials now that it’s impossible to give a thorough breakdown. It’s best to identify the requirements for the piece and then work backwards; heat resistance, flexibility, rigidity, uv stability, etc…

I am just beginning my journey with some parts.

Here is my experience.

PLA is easy to print, cheap and is a great material for fast prototyping...I do everything first in PLA

ABS is a good tough material, but it is harder to print. I have had bed adhesion problems with corners of my console lifting and then the subsequent structural printing built in a warp.
You need to use some techniques in design and ways to hold the part to the bed plus the usual use of correct temperatures, heated bed and enclosure.

ASA is tougher but even harder to print. I have never gotten as good of a surface from ASA as I have from PLA or ABS, even with my textured bed. It seems to be best for internal parts which are not visible but need strength or parts where you will refinish it to make it pretty.

Pay attention to the print bed you use....if you want to replicate the textured look of many OEM plastic parts, then the textured plates do a pretty good job.
Smooth plates to just what they say, but the finish is usually not "great" but I see no issue with sanding and then a good coat of paint to make it pretty.

Note I have a Bambu Carbon X1 and it is about as fool proof as I can imagine, and it warns you pretty well if you have mismatch between plate and filament or some other problem.

It also manages the temperature of the bed and enclosure pretty well....interior runs typically in the 45c range with the bed around 100c.....which helps things like ABS.


Also, Youtube is your friend.....and I am very much still learning...

D.

If you are having bed adhesion problems I will recommend you try a coat of Aquanet hair spray in the purple can. I dont do any prints now without coating the bed with it first. It washes off with soap and water.

...good advice and I have only tried the glue sticks, not the hair spray yet. I will see if I can find it in my locale...hopefully.

D.

Glue stick and higher bed temp was the trick for me and my Bambu printer. Like significantly higher bed temp.

Textured plate also helps a lot.

That's a fine intro D. Thanks :)
.

I print a lot in ASA using PolyMaker ASA. (Link Below)

https://amzn.to/3V93Ytx

I have had really good luck with it using my Ender 3 that I have upgraded. I do not use an enclosure, but I have added an insulating pad to the bottom of the build plate heater. I run the bed at 110 deg C and use a PEI sheet for the bed. I run the first layer about 5 deg higher at the print head as well to promote a bit more adhesion and no fan. The material is tough! I have been selling a part that gets installed in the headliner of Hummers for a few years with no issues. Its out of the sun but gets very hot during sunny days. I also made a custom Guage holder that sits on the dash of my son's WRX in the hot South Florida Sun. Again over a year and it show no signs of fatigue and still looks great.

I also like the Polymer PLA as well and use it for prototyping and "Things" around the house and Garage. Below was my latest design to seal up my intake ports while working on my engine. I used brass thread inserts as well.

Bill

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1709914464.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1709914575.jpg

Nice caps Bill. Looks like you inserted metal threads.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

Very cool....I will be copying those shortly, but any guidance to us newbies on putting in brass inserts?

Any particular inserts you find work best....tricks of the trade or ??

Thanks!

D.

I used these brass inserts:

https://amzn.to/3wLC1xH

And I have this tool:

https://amzn.to/43e9eOj

However, the tool can be substituted with a soldering iron if you are careful. You just need to have a tip small enough to fit into the threads and slowly apply pressure until it is seated. You need to make sure you stay square. I like this design as the thumb nuts are easy to spin on and off. I prototypes with printed threads, but there is no comparison. For the cost it makes these covers a nice tool that will last forever. That is Yellow Polymaker PLA.


Oh, and some might wonder why I just did not print a pocket for a standard nut, well, over time I felt that the nut could become loose. That loose nut could fall into my engine when removing them defeating the very reason I made these. The brass insets are melted into the PLA.

...now THAT is useful information

I sense a purchase in my future.....

D.

I print almost exclusively in ASA since I'm more concerned with heat and UV resistance than surface finish.

My latest project worked great this last weekend. Good vent flow when open and nothing when closed:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1710252586.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1710252586.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1710252586.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1710252586.jpg

That's some fantastic design work David! What modeling software are you using? I use Fusion360 currently but have considered switching to Solidworks. If they ever stop approving my student version. of Fusion I would likely switch.

You can just switch to the F360 hobbyist version, its still free

This is so slick!
Am I interpreting the pictures correctly? Looks like heat goes to defrost and fresh air goes to the floor?
Also, what is the likelihood you'd share the file for this?

I like it a lot....and have been thinking of making some version like that, so whatever you feel comfortable sharing would be appreciated.

My intention is to find a way to combine the AC, outside air and heat flows into a single, smaller box with a real fan that actually can move some air versus the childbreath airflow the stock box has (even with my Honda fan motor in it, it still sucks.

I am getting better with ABS, biggest learning has been to not put long horizontal strands next to thin edges without something like mouse ears, higher bed temperature to keep things stuck to the bed until the whole structure is finished.

All good...love the work!

D.

I use Inventor, I also have access to Solidworks but I don't use it enough to be proficient. Both are really too expensive for hobby use.

The 3 ducts go to the center and side vents. I have the 2 heater ducts going to my windshield vents. The drain at the bottom is for rain water and is 1/2" tubing out the smuggler's box.

I hate to give files away that I have so much time in of course I'm not good at marketing either so I might as well.

I fully understand your point.....these things do take a lot of work, certainly from my point of view if it were for sale on one of the platforms I see no issue with paying for it.....not sure what the going rate would be....

D.

This is awesome. Curious, what did you use for the flapper? I am working on something very similar, but tied to a ClassicRetro A/C Unit.

The flapper/butterfly is 1/16" thick aluminum with a 5/16" aluminum rod machined flat for the butterfly. I had to make a few iterations of the actuator arm until it cleared everything. The final version is sort of banana shaped. Then I used a small heim joint on the end of a short 1/4 aluminum rod through the underside of the dash to the actuator arm. I reach under the ash tray to open and close it.

Apologies for the VW derail, but I find this thread fascinating and informative. I'm curious for insights about the gear and material necessary for creating this Eurovan speaker cover...

https://www.printables.com/model/538967-703035793c-front-speaker-cover-for-vw-t4-1996-2003

It seems like Eurovan parts are made from an even higher grade of unubtanium as old 911 parts. Anyhow, thanks in advance and, again, apologies for thread highjacking.

--Dan

I can only speak from short experience, but I would not hesitate to print that on my Bambu X1.....probably in ABS, ASA or PETG-CF, all of which the Bambu just handles.

I do not see any long runs that would give the print grief and if printed on a textured plate, it would look pretty stock.

D.

Not a thread hijack - that looks like a viable part for Porsche stuff too.

I've downloaded that file and taken a look. I think most any FDM printer with a large enough bed will print that. Better printers will get better results (to a point). I think some care needs to be taken to get the pattern on the bottom looking right.

If you want a "professional" part, there are some local companies/people in PDX who will print that for you if you don't have a printer. Half the fun is doing it yourself...

Wow awesome job Tom

Thanks for the helpful responses. A few issues I am grappling with... OEM VW grilles are about $100 bucks each, steep, but I know there are reasons. I don't have a printer, but have friends of friends who do and trying to help inform one of them maybe making them. In my initial look at 3D shops, it seemed like there wouldn't be much cost savings from buying the OEMs.

Thanks for listening, Dan

Look at someplace like 3D Hubs or Shapeways for outsourcing if you don’t have a printer. They offer dozens of materials and processes and are relatively cheap. I’d imagine those grilles would be $25-30 each.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Pdxdan, you should get your part quoted on a HP Multi Jet Fusion machine in dyed black nylon, it will look nicer than FDM printed part. If you have access to someone with modelling skills get them to add the dome for a more original OEM look to the speaker cover. HP MJF process does not require supports. As Julian suggested Hubs is a good company, I have bought from them in the past, nice parts, good delivery. But over an 11 month period they had a 50% price increase, made my commercial part unviable. I now use JLCPCB.com. Pricing a tiny bit better than my original order with Hubs. From order to delivery was 9 days.

Thanks, Tom. Having poked around the JLCPCB ordering site, your advice is extremely helpful.

And, thanks to all for your indulgence.

--Dan

Did you happen to make a tool for the front crankshaft seal as well?

Hi guys, been awfully busy with the car and quite a lot of the work is 3D printing including finishing the centre console and making some rear speaker boxes to handle the slightly larger speakers I am using.

Anyway, one fun one was replacing the hose from the auxiliary footwell blowers to the side vents. This is the state of my current ones and the size is not easily obtainable aftermarket and Porsche shows them as NLA.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1712013883.jpg

The ends were badly frayed and really they were too short at best.

Anyway, printed these in TPU, took a bit of fiddling to figure out how to make the hose actually bend, easy once you think about it, but then the trick was to print it.

Bambu did very well although it prints vertically with no supports and the top gets pretty wiggly. The end printed last shows some stringing but it seals and is plenty strong.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1712013883.jpg

...and here it is in position

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1712013883.jpg

I think the TPU will be fine temperature wise, it is rated to 85c, but worst case I just go back to the drawing board and either try a more heat resistant plastic (not that likely) or hit up the aircraft guys for the closest size I can get and live with it.

D.

Thats pretty cool.

The other option to consider is just getting a different sized hosed and printing adapters for each end.

Very true, but to be honest, I looked at is as a practice with TPU as I have other soft parts I want to print and wanted to see what the printer could actually make.

My experience so far with TPU in the Bambu is that I can make pretty well any custom grommet or plug with zero issues, its not quite as soft as some of the rubber grommets used, but plenty flexible enough and you can tune the sizes to fit as needed.

The hose was just fun to do...and cleans up a nasty looking part for "free".

D.

That hose is readily available. Search SCAT/SCEET air duct.

-Todd

I did, but my sources did not have the correct diameter....I think closest was about 5 mm too large, and if this does not work out then that would be the plan.

In any event, it was a whole lot cheaper and more fun to print them out....and we shall see how well they work.

D.

I haven't seen it mentioned... Have you tried printing any parts out of polycarbonate? It was the strongest/most heat resistant filament when I was playing with 3dprinting years ago.

So far I have only printed PLA, PETG-CF, TPU, ABS and ASA.

To be honest, the PETG-CF is the only one I noticed a difference in apparent strength, but both the ABS and ASA did well....they just stink up the house where as the PETG-CF is not that much of a problem.

ABS and ASA do seem a little more flexible in a good way than PETG-CF and all are perfectly acceptable for what I need it for.

The only times I have had problems with printing any of them on the Bambu is when I forget to put on the glue stick and/or design issues where the structure is wrong and ends up printing in a weird way...aka plastic mess.

D.

DIY 3D Printing Tools and Parts Thread
 

I’ve been printing in polycarbonate and with the Bambu it’s stupid simple. The parts are incredibly strong and temperature resistant. I’ve printed in PLA-carbon fiber and that’s really nice too but not as strong or heat resistant.

The PC does require a ton more heat, a textured plate and a lot of glue and sometimes leaves spider web strands but those rub off easily. The finish is stellar and with the extra fine setting, they look machined.

The only other catch is that you have to remove the supports when the print is still warm otherwise they’re absurdly hard to remove.

I also have ASA on deck to try too but it’s gray and I want to use up my PC first.

Ok,that stuff is now on my list....and ditto on removing supports while still warm.

I let some PETG-CF rest over night and removing the supports was a pain on both ends of the spinal cord....and TPU is even worse, just hairs and strands that are hard to remove if you don't jump on it as soon as its finished.

D.