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Old 01-15-2015, 03:39 PM   #94 (permalink)
ldjessee00
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Bloomington, IN
Posts: 231

The Leaf - '17 Nissan Leaf SL

Outback - '16 Subaru Outback

Vaquero - '20 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero ABS
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Awesome 3D printing!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn D. View Post
2-7 are critical load-bearing items and would likely not withstand use for very long in the real world.

In particular, printed plastic wheel spacers would be dangerous -- they'd crush/squash, causing loss of lug torque, and subsequently a loose wheel. Unsprung/rotational weight reduction is a high priority all throughout racing circles, and even high-dollar vehicles do not use plastic wheel spacers, or even carbon fiber, much less printed plastic.
I would assume they would be made the same way he makes the insulators, 3D print the mold. Use the mold to make the critical part.

What I would really like to see is a combined unit of desktop 3D printer and 3D cadcam. That way you could make the part slightly larger, then mill the surface you want to very exacting specifications. Or maybe as a side by side, kind of like washer/dryer. Then have the 3D cadcam use dremel bits, so you can find cheap bits and are already being manufactured...

I am dreaming, but just a thought.
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