[dataway]

I'm trying to decide which retaining clip to use.

Pin OD is 0.313" (5/16" is 0.3125)

I like type "C" ... of course it's the most expensive
Thinking SS would be best considering the location ?

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/pu...~inch/od~5-16/

Updated the pin to be about 5/8" tall above the mounting tab, total pin height 3/4" (not including the base. Reduced the pin-to-base fillet from 0.1" to 0.05"

[Greg Reid]

Size sounds right. As for style...wow, there's a bunch of them there that would work.

[Greg Reid]

One way occurred to me that would preserve your radiused juncture but hard to put into words...Raise a trapezoid shaped area in relief at four points on the pedestal 90° apart at the outside edge. On the same side of the pedestal as the pin...Those four 'feet' would be in contact with the flat grill surface and move the radiused joint clear of that surface.
If you can picture that.

[Greg Reid]

Or maybe simpler to just countersink the shoulder in the same thickness pedestal you're using now?
Just brainstorming.

[dataway]

Yep, the last suggestion sounds doable .. I can adjust the base to countersink the pin and radius ... think a very flat donut surrounding the pin where it leaves the base.

I haven't test printed a solid pin yet ... could be I'm worrying about something that won't be a problem.

[Greg Reid]

You got this. Good job dataway.

[dataway]

Did a bunch of tests ... turns out the key was the settings on the printer.

Basically ... printed them hotter so the layers would bond better ... they are passing my very accurate "I can't break them by hand" test.

Used your "recessed shoulder" modification to good effect.

So I posted the files to: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6416225
Doubt anyone here will use them ... but there they are

Included the file for the top mounted screw on type also, with details on what printer settings to use etc.

Ordered some push on retaining clips to try on them.

I have a feeling this will be another thing that kind of disappears into the either until the next generation of Pontiac fans comes along that is a bit more accepting of new technology and methods and a bit more proficient at finding solutions on the internet

PS. Greg, is it ok if I use a couple of your photos in the description/instructions for the pins?

[Greg Reid]

Absolutely Johnny. Use them as you wish. I think we all appreciate your efforts here!

[dataway]

Here is a photo of the pin with an 8mm push nut installed. Goes on pretty hard, just like it should. Would require the old socket/channel lock process. Next I'll drill an appropriate hole in something and test how secure it is.

[Greg Reid]

That looks very good and will no doubt be a permanent fix. Well done sir.

[Shiny]

You did good.

As you note, others may not have your skills and a 3D printer but I for one get motivation to solve my own part problems from your solutions.

The market for these particular parts is likely too small to motivate a major supplier to tool up for injection-molding, kitting, printing directions, etc., but I suspect an online catalog pointing to you as a supplier would get some traffic.

Having gone through 3 sets of Ebay-sourced grills for my LeMans to find a usable set, I would have gladly spent a LOT more than the cost of your parts for a mounting tab repair solution.

I admire you for sharing your hard work and skills so freely but you might be able to buy a new printer if you also supplied an online store with a few kits a month...

But I also understand why you wouldn't !!

Do any of your "maker" sites cater to classic auto parts? I honestly don't have a clue what's online beyond the retailers like Ames.

Mike

[Shiny]

Our local library system has a 3D printer in every branch (Link to Prusa i3 mk3s+).

They will print for you or, after you are trained, let you rent time on their machine at no cost.

So if I had a need, I could simply submit a print request and get one of your pins made.

Point being, anyone that wants to use your design does not necessarily need their own printer.

What material did you use?

[dataway]

Typically my main goal is to come up with a working CAD file. In this case it's called an STL file (Stereo Lithography) ... with that file most anyone can have the part produced from numerous sources.

You are correct that most people would need to have them printed ... I did a quick look around and uploaded the STL file to a few online 3d printing services ... looks like about $15-20 to have eight of them printed.

I used PETG, a reasonably priced, fairly easy to print material suitable for fairly hostile environments. Should be good for about 200 F before it starts losing it's shape.

This particular part would be very simple to print, nothing about the design requires any fancy settings.

When I was racing vintage motorcycle I ended up designing and producing a lot of parts in my little machine shop. I loved doing it, but never found it worthwhile from a financial standpoint ... I did it primarily help keep the type of bike I was racing on tracks around the country. Maybe 200 people in the whole country were racing that bike (Honda 175 twin) and I wanted someone to race against

If not for shipping costs/time I'd print up a large batch of them and give them away (which I would certainly do for anyone on this forum anyway) My total cost for printing up 20 of them and getting the push nuts is about $11 90% of the cost was the $10 for the push nuts.

Updated the "Thingiverse" listing with some pictures.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6416225

Far as I know there is no dedicated repository for vintage automotive STL files. There are some parts out there, but they are pretty few and far between .... quite a lot of stuff for modern vehicles .... need center caps for most wheels, cup holders, phone holders, coin holders ...etc. Lots of that out there.

My disappointment arises from the fact that most people that need these pins will never find the files, or realize how they can have them printed.

I try to focus on solutions for fairly expensive, or commonly broken parts or a combination. The tabs for the defroster duct ... not an expensive part, but I bet 50% of them out there have tabs broken off.

Forum participation in the testing has been excellent ... in most cases I found some much more PITA solution when I was building my car .. or the part is used in some location that requires to the car to be in an early stage of restoration so I can't do the testing here.

Like most people I make the mistake of thinking if I'm really interested in something that everyone is So I just assume everyone and their brother have a 3d printer

[Greg Reid]

I don't know anything about laser printing but I can sure think of a lot of things I could use it for. Like propellers for some of my park flyers that I can no longer purchase.

[dataway]

I know drone props are a thing that is often printed. They have lightweight fiber, or carbon fiber reinforced ASA/ABS type filaments that are very strong and light.

The consumer 3d printing technology is advancing at an incredible rate. Same with the filaments, everytime a new filament comes out it expands the potential for what can be printed. Think of all the plastic parts on a modern vehicle, it won't be long now before that level of quality is available to the average Joe.

At this very moment I'm printing a vacuum adapter to attach my shopvac to my 25 year old Makita belt sander on one machine, and on the other machine I'm printing shims to straighten out some wonky door trim on my den door.

Recently I printed some new lock levers for my 30 year old Anderson windows that have broken ... printed a few extras to leave for the new owners (we are selling in a few months). I'm still trying to learn to think "3d print" first .. to solve a problem, or fix something broken ... hard to keep the capability in mind after decades of doing things the old way .... not that the old way isn't sometimes the best way.

[Shiny]

Thanks dataway

Like Greg, if I ever get back into RC sailplanes, a 3D printer would rule the bench!

We have discussed my design skill barrier in the past. For me, I'd have to invest in software and learn to use it. The "basic" 3D design software is getting better, but nowhere near the engineering CAD tool you use and I would want. Some day I may actually try to learn the "open source" CAD tools but I just haven't stepped up to it. Maybe access to the library printers will drive this?

One big motivator for me would be shipping costs. As we all experience, paying $15 to ship a $1 part makes no sense. Printing the $1 part makes good sense.

My nephew works for an aerospace company. He told me additive manufacturing has become the norm for a lot of exotic alloy metal parts used in their rockets. This is a different world than home polymer printers but a perfect match for the technology.

Thanks again for posting this stuff.

Mike

[dataway]

Solid Works, one of the best CAD/CAM packages out there is now offering a "Student" version for $49 a year ... unbelievably cheap for a package that costs thousands a year for the full version. From my experience the student versions do anything a "pro-sumer" could ever want. I'm seriously thinking about it even though all my other packages are AutoDesk products, my past experience with Solidworks is that it's considerably more intuitive than AutoDesk products.

Unfortunately things like propellers is what I would consider an advanced design project. I haven't ever attempted one ... but you can be sure someone out there has an STL file for any prop you could want.

Hopefully someday metal 3d printers will come down to $20-30,000 ... might consider one. Sounds crazy ... but a decent new manual BP style knee mill bare bones will cost you $17,000 (Europe, US or Taiwanese built)

https://www.solidworks.com/product/students

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by dataway

Unfortunately things like propellers is what I would consider an advanced design project. I haven't ever attempted one ... but you can be sure someone out there has an STL file for any prop you could want.

I still belong to one of the largest R/C forums around even though I've been inactive for years... I wouldn't be surprised if they have their own 'dataway' making things like props and other hard to source items.

[dataway]

R/C and Drone communities are a major driver of consumer 3d printing, they are constantly pushing the limits for lighter and better performing materials and designs.

They typically have some people way beyond the "dataway" stage