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3D printing

18K views 87 replies 25 participants last post by  mutantcolors 
#1 ·
Raj brought up the subject about 7 yrs ago: http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/showthread.php?21631-3D-printing

...the technology is now here. I have have access to Dalhousie's university 3D printer, especially now while school is out of session.

[video]http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/02/15/ns-3d-printer-dalhousie.html[/video]

The printer in the video is last year's model, they now have a larger format 3D printer. If any CAD guru's are up to vector designing a set of whiskers in AutoCAD or Rhino3D, we can print them.

Note: the CAD file ought to be exported to STL (stereolithographic file format). If your program does not allow export, you can convert using MeshLab freeware.

I'm not trying to make any money from the project, I just think this would be an interesting prototype.
 
#29 ·
I have a FlashForge Creator Pro, with dual extruders, and have a GlowForge Desktop Laser cutter ordered on Kickstarter. I'm still modelling the A Pillar Sail Panels (that cover the inside of the mirror) but I'll post up a thread when I get around to making more progress. I'm currently working on finishing the 7M-GTE swap, I'm 99% done with the mechanicals and will be moving on to the MS3X wiring in the next week or so.
 
#30 ·
I'm still modelling the A Pillar Sail Panels (that cover the inside of the mirror)
That's the perfect part to start with as its a relatively simple geometric structure and fits in virtually any of the consumer 3d printers build space. What software are you modeling in?

I keep finding more uses. While washing the Jag last weekend the mitt caught a piece of brittle plastic trim and snapped it right off and of course Jaguar doesn't stock it any longer and junkyard parts are all similarly toasted.
 
#32 ·
So, Has anyone made progress with this idea? Several years of progress now offers 3D printers that can produce strong, smooth parts in various materials. I assume the process of scanning a part has also improved by at least an order of magnitude. If I still had a whisker to start with, I could take it to a local "maker" shop for them to prototype. Unfortunately the Florida sun turned mine into dust years ago.
 
#33 ·
I don't think anything has really changed other than there are gazillions of cheap Chinese knockoffs printers out there. There have been some neat stuff on the industrial end of things, but unless you want to spend $50-100k on a machine, you're still dependent on using a 3d print service. All the home 3d scanners are basically a joke. I've paid for getting 3d scans done of Mk2 parts but its not cheap either.
 
#38 ·
I am 100% serious. I've been eyeing a 3D printer for a while now and I've selected the one I'm going to buy that will make end-user grade parts, not just hobbyist and trinket quality.
I have the 3D modeling skills and software.

I'll probably set up a new vendor profile. But for now, let's talk about which parts should get done first :)
We all know whiskers and vents. I'm thinking the moving parts that break inside of the electronic side mirrors are a good candidate. I will have high strength/high temp capability as well.
Battery tie downs are another.
 
#40 ·
Hey mutant,

I have a Creality CR-10 printer. I've made all kinds of cool crap with it. My next big project will be an all LCD display instrument cluster. I love the look of some of these new instrument clusters like the 2020 Kia Xceed. I have the programming skills and graphic design skills as well. However, I don't have access to my instrument cluster at the moment as I put her to rest for the winter. I decided to make this over the winter so I can slap it in this spring. Just gotta get some measurements of the instrument cluster first. My printer prints PLA like a champ but not ABS very well. I can get small ABS parts to print if I can get a good adhesion to the bed.
 
#41 ·
I went with a Sigmax R19, it'll run any filament I want. If I decide to move away from FDM for production parts, I can use printed replicas for casting molds.

Long weekend of room prep, setup and calibration. Test prints came out great. This machine is no toy, but it's damn fun.
 
#42 ·
Sunroof cable attachment thingies? (my technical term) Rear shock tower caps? Side mirror triangles (with tweeter pods), clip that go over the seat rail bolts...
 
#43 ·
I'm making a list, I'm checking it twice...:)

Your suggestions are all very doable. I haven't opened my sunroof (inoperable) so don't know what that part actually looks like but it can't be our of reach for me. I can do entire freakin' side mirrors.

Keep in mind I can also do similar to that Land Cruiser dude, and model up mods to parts for, say, different tweeter housings, boost gauges, etc etc. We'll get to that later.
 
#44 ·
I'll be anxious to see what you come up with. I've toyed with the idea of getting one of these things too as I think there is a lot of potential to recreate many obsolete car parts. I bought a Smithy 3-in-1 machine years ago and I'm frequently "making" some kind of simple part like a bushing or some special tool. The only thing that really keeps me from buying a 3-d printer is that I don't have the computer drafting skills. I'd really be starting from scratch to learn. Part of me just says hold off till I retire and have seven days a week to tinker with it and by then, the technology will be that much better and simpler. I just hope I still have enough brain cells left by then to even load a spool of filament. ;)
 
#45 ·
I do architecture for a living. Can't say I'm licensed - that's my boss - but I work directly under a licensed architect. Drafting and 3D modeling are already a big part of my bread and butter.

I hit some snags on the weekend of setup, had to chase electrical demons out of the room I'm using. My house is 1963 original so it has it's quirks which, per Murphy's Law, only show up when you are least prepared for them. I got it sorted out and only got shocked once. Never tasted a 9V battery without sticking my tongue on one before :)

I acquired an 86 4runner that's gonna join in the fun as well. Between that, my beloved 89 pickup and the Supra, I'm gonna be a busy dude.
 
#46 ·
I took today off work for personal reasons but managed to get the scanner up and running. Initial test scans of an 82 5MGE AFM look promising, while admittedly unnecessary since I could literally measure by hand or model over a scaled photo in less time. But, it's a handy test subject for my 5MGE-to-22RE AFM adapter plate I'm making.

It's definitely going to be a huge aid when I get into detailed and curving interior bits. The rework in the model ought to be fairly minimal once I get this machine singing.
 
#47 ·
First prototype run of my AFM adapter. Made a couple design mods after test fitting, tweaked a couple printer settings for higher speed and more material.
This is a whole lot of fun. The production level parts will have a much nicer finish than this.


Heading on a ski trip over the holidays. Have fun out there y'all, I'll be back next weekend and I've got Supra parts in my sights.
 
#51 ·
I swear the turn of the year brings inevitable disaster to my part of the world.
Spent the weekend (since Thursday evening really) dealing with my now-dead furnace.

I'm gonna put in something like an air-water intercooler plus VVT-i in my house, only in reverse, so it's kinda car related in the end.
 
#53 ·
You have to have a full 3D model, which can start as a scan. This can be made with a number of modeling programs. Then you generate gcode from the model with another piece of software called a slicer which interprets the model into parameters that control all the relevant print settings such as extruder temperature, wall thickness, filament type and the tool path itself.

It is certainly not the magic process that some folks think, you need to be a good designer and technician to produce end user quality parts.
 
#61 ·
It is certainly not the magic process that some folks think, you need to be a good designer and technician to produce end user quality parts.
Agreed, the technology has come a long way in the past decade or so, but still has its limitations. Expensive equipment, time in R&D, overhead... kinda turned the scales for me when I went back to the drawing board with vacuum moulding. Benefits of 3DP come once you've worked out the bugs, just feed the machine and press the button. I'd like to see the whiskers in TPU :cool:
 
#54 ·
Having been in design and CAD work for the past 20 years, I know what you're saying. I haven't done any 3D printing stuff, but I've gotten pretty good at designing parts for laser cutting. Seems like another good thing to learn though. Pretty sure I can convince boss-man to get a nice 3D printer since we've already got a separate copy/print shop. Business expense!
 
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