I'm making custom car parts with a 3d printer
 

http://tercelreference.com/downloads/3dprinter01.jpg

Darin mentioned you guys would be interested in this, so I figured I'd put it up and share some of the fun I've been having. For the past couple of weeks, I've been messing around with a 3d printer that I am borrowing from BenNelson. He was lucky enough to win it in an instructables contest for his DIY EV motorcycle write up. While you can make all sorts of 3d things (so much junk out there), I am using it to make custom car parts.



http://tercelreference.com/project_d...nsulator_1.jpg

http://tercelreference.com/project_d...rototype_1.jpg




The first project I've been working on is reviving a product line that I had quite a few years back. I used to make phenolic intake manifold insulators as a performance product for Tercels and Paseos.

The insulator goes between the (aluminum) intake manifold and the head. It keeps the manifold cool and thus keeps the intake air charge cooler for a boost in horsepower that I had measured at just over 4%. Combine that with a smaller throttle body insulator and the gains came just about to 5%. Not bad for a simple bolt on part.

However, these insulators were a big pain to make. The intake manifold insulators took nearly 2 hours to hand carve, and the throttle body insulators took an hour or so. Time became more valuable than money and I stopped making them about 6 years ago.

I've had enough guys bug me over the years to know there is still some interest, and I like to play around. So, I looked into alternative methods of making these insulators. What I found was actually a better material, urethane. It holds up to engine temps and insulates twice as good as the phenolic material I was using. However, it was a two part liquid material, so I would need a mold. I considered using a router to create a mold out of wood or plastic, but nothing ever came of it.

Now, enter the 3d printer. This should allow me to just print a mold! I am a mechanical designer by profession, so I work with 3d software all day long. Drawing up a mold is no big deal. So, I've been learning the 3d printing side of things.



http://tercelreference.com/downloads...atormold01.jpg

Here is the first mold I made off the printer. It is a throttle body insulator mold.



http://tercelreference.com/downloads...atormold06.jpg

It didn't work out so great. I don't think I sprayed enough mold release on the little pegs and it bonded to the urethane. I got it out as you can see, but the mold was shot.




http://tercelreference.com/downloads...atormold09.jpg

The next version I just printed out a few days ago and tried for the first time last night. I sprayed it down good with mold release and also increased the draft angle on the pegs to make it come out easier. That did the trick, and I got a good part.


I do eventually plan on getting around to some eco-minded mods with the printer.

I think this is too cool.

Also, I moved this thread from the Lounge to EM Central because I know you have plans to eventually make eco-related parts with it.

"3D printing: It's not just for gas-wasting anymore!"

3d printing has to be a way for people to make small, affordable runs of parts for popular ecomodder cars. Like... smallish grille blocks or mirror delete plates or foglight hole fillers, or ???

I cant wait to see what you make!

I have a few ideas of things I'd like to make. First off was a nice mount for a kill switch on my shifter instead of the current zip tied thing that was just slapped on.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418243547



That idea quickly evolved into just printing a whole new shift knob with a more integrated switch. I still don't have a good model of one though. This is where I left off. I think I need to find a smaller switch. :)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418243547

Vortex generators! :)

Ooh, this could be great...

Another idea: could probably whip up a reusable widget for attaching wheel discs to steelies that is more practical than the zip-tied coroplast bundles I made:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410186304
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1410186304
If you could come up with a universal or near-universal widget, I bet people would go for them.

Wow, those look nice. I was looking at a 3d printer the other day, but it looked like it squirted out toothpaste and the item looked rather tacky and needed lots of sanding.

With your manifold insulators, any mpg gains? Did you also limit or block the heater water flowing to the tb?

Cool stuff. Time to be creative!

Cool! What is the maximum size of the parts you can make?

Love the shift knob idea! Where do the switch wires run ?

How about a mount / enclosure for a small and/or convex mirror

^ Oh, yes! Good idea.

I've heard anyone with a CAD file can have parts printed for nominal cost. Perhaps the vendors can be found online.

Would love a grill block lol.

Is ABS itself not heat tolerant enough for a throttle body spacer? I bought a 3D printer not too long ago and have been wondering about things like this. Printing a mold to cast urethane parts in sounds like it would be perfect for making bushings.

Nope, ABS starts to soften around 176F according to wikipedia.

Lots of good ideas. :)

There would be a passage in the part along the shifter shaft to allow wires to run down along side it.

Ooooh. You could sell those shift handles- a "universal fit" would make mounting it the modder's job.

I would def buy one of these from you! I'd want a flush-mounted red momentary button to fit nice and snug on it, like I used for my MPGuino buttons. :thumbup:

The targeted add on this page was for a $999 Dremel 3D printer on Amazon.

You've got to love progress.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Ideally modular or otherwise designed to fit on a wide variety of the conventional, triangular-shaped-base, door-mounted mirrors.

If DAOX gets to back logged printing stuff you can also print stuff in 3D at most UPS stores. :thumbup:

That's the coolest thing ever! You could make all kinds of neat parts. How about ducting from a grille block to radiator? That's a difficult part to make. At least, it is in my head right now, maybe it's not that hard...

Customized mpguino enclosures to fit seamlessly to the cars interior.

Yeah, the mpguino enclosure is definitely on the list.

I would like a streamlined drivers side mirror!

Or, you could be an idiot like me and spend 12 hours making one yourself. :D

Mr Doax:

I'll take a dozen of these wheel skirt / wheel arch lip attachment doohickeys in plastic, please:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1214175313

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1214175313

Will drill & supply my own stainless hardware.

From: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...metro-103.html

^You could probably do that with plastic sheet and a heat gun.

Or Google "plastic u nut." It'd probably be worth getting a box of these:

http://jnsaustralia.com.au/speed_nuts/655.jpg
And seeing how easily they can be modified with heat and/or epoxy before deciding to 3D print hardware.

You know what they say, when your only tool is a 3D printer, everything looks printable :p

Thank you sir for the LOL.

Here is the latest tinkering around. I just finished modeling it up over lunch. Its a shift knob with an integrated kill switch. The part coloring is for identification only. The wires will be run out the bottom. It uses one of those little tactile switches, nothing else is small enough to embed into the knob itself it seems.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418842897

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418842897

Count me in for the shifter Daox!

I need three switches integrated into mine.
One for the brake regen button, one for the kill switch, and a third for . . . . . maybe a low-mounted gatlin gun off the front, or possibly a spike strip deployment button for tailgaters, I haven't decided yet!

Pretty cool stuff!

Oil slick is better!

Tbh though, one for brake regen, one for clutch and another for injector kill would be nice.

If I was gonna go to the trouble of an oil slick button, I'd have to add a fog machine along with it!

Hate to waste the oil, though

http://www.hurst-shifters.com/produc...ow/1530011.jpg


http://www.hurst-shifters.com/produc...ow/1536210.jpg

Changing the design from round would give more possible locations to mount switches.

Yes, a VW Golf upper grille block would be lovely :D

http://pafirefighter11.smugmug.com/A...9_171145-L.jpg

Thanks guys. I may play around with different shapes. However, a round shift knob really is my favorite shape for a shift knob.

I started printing a few of the parts tonight. The shift knob halves still need some tweaking though. The parts look a bit rough, and they are. That can be cleaned up with some sand paper or acetone (which melts it).

Here is the button.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418860123



The switch mounting plate.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418860123



And I found some tactile switches kicking around so I stuck one in there. It works real nice.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1418860123