[HO LEMANS]

So since I've had some trouble finding a good part to replace my broken one I decided to draw one up in Creo and 3d print me a new one

[Greg Reid]

Wow, that's awesome.

[dataway]

Extremely nice ... we've got some other 3d printing projects going here and there. You should join the conversation. Huge potential here in my opinion.

Was taking a nap today thinking of all the TPU 3d prints I could make for seals, bumpers, cushions, body gaskets. Was even thinking I'd add some non-stock items to quiet things down and give the old car that modern car feel and quietness.

Hey .. post it up to Thingiverse ... we should start a "group" there to store Pontiac specific items.

What did you print that with .. PETG? What printer did you use ... the curious want to know.

[HO LEMANS]

Thank you Greg the one I have is "useable" but I want this car to be as close to perfect as I can make it and I understand that will still fall short of some of the cars you guys on this forum have but I'm going to try anyway...

Dataway I did this test run with PLA+ (what I had on hand at the moment) and am planning on the final product being PETG.... I wanted to verify it fit as it should and I was a little impatient in giving it a try after I finished the model so PLA+ it is
My printer is a Prusa MK3S+

[Shiny]

That's excellent, thanks for posting. All these threads about 3D printed parts are fascinating. The CAD skills alone are impressive.

[HO LEMANS]

Thanks Shiny I am far from an expert on the CAD stuff but I get by and the 3d printing stuff is a blast... this was just one of those parts that's too hard to get to in the salvage yards to maybe find a good one so I thought why not model it up and print it and I'll always have the file so if someone else would happen to need one it is available.

[dataway]

Nice printer ... pretty much the standard by which all consumer printers are judged. Been playing with the idea of getting a Prusa for my next machine. Love the open source aspect, very easy to mod and maintain.

[HO LEMANS]

Dataway thank you I have had it for a couple years now and made 100's of prints, only twice have I had an issue and both times it was filament related .... a friend of mine has the Prusa Mini and it also is a very nice machine that puts out some super nice prints

[tom s]

Would be great to where we could 3D print in metal to do really low volume items.I waited 12 years to find a 63 Lemans fuel door.Im sure there are tons of small item that could be a special order projects.Tom

[HO LEMANS]

[QUOTE=tom s;6410740]Would be great to where we could 3D print in metal

Tom there are places that do 3d printing in metal a couple years ago at the trade show in (I think it was) Chicago they had a 3d printer set up printing a small car so I think some investigating may get you what you need. no clue what that would cost

[Mark Simiele]

Very impressive. I am sure there are many parts than can be duplicated.

[HO LEMANS]

Thank you Mark, I would have to agree with you on that ..... I did this one mainly out of need and I guess a bit of laziness (these are too hard to get to just to maybe find a good one)

[dataway]

I was very worried that part would crack when I was reassembling mine. Definitely an asset to have that print file available. Looks like an outstand print. Hey ... put a radius on those lower corners when you do the final print .

For anyone that doesn't realize it, it's no inconsequential amount of hours required to measure up a part like that and put into a CAD modeling program and print the necessary test pieces. But ... once it's done, it's done. One of the things I love about 3d printing.

[Verdoro 68]

Looks awesome. Love all the next level DIY efforts going on around here lately.

[dataway]

Really wish they would give us a "Makers" topic so we could keep it all in one place. Get's confusing trying to remember what project is for what cars etc.

I'm working on a "tool" to maybe help solve a problem I saw on another topic. If we could perfect all our stuff in one place, then post the final results in the appropriate forum it would be great ... but then help is often needed from the experts on particular cars and years, so you have to go to those areas to get the answers.

[3X24SPD]

Originally Posted by tom s

Would be great to where we could 3D print in metal to do really low volume items.I waited 12 years to find a 63 Lemans fuel door.Im sure there are tons of small item that could be a special order projects.Tom

Hi Tom,

We can already print in metal. Pretty much any metal at that.

We can do Stainless Steel, Tool Steel, Aluminum, Titanium, Cobalt Chrome, and Inconel just to name a few.

Two problems:
1) It's very expensive.
2) The post-processing required.

Here's an example.
This 1911 is entirely 3D Printed in SS (with polymer hand grips).
It's fully functional, and accurate.

Unfortunately, for what it cost to make- you could buy 10 real ones.

[dataway]

The cheapest metal printing systems I've seen run about $150K ... but then 3d printers were 20-30K 15 years ago.

The bright side is that 3d prints can be used to make easy accurate models for casting in metal. Not as easy as 3d printing metal .. but easier than starting from scratch.

[HO LEMANS]

[ Hey ... put a radius on those lower corners when you do the final print .

Dataway I did change the model after I printed that one and have reprinted it since then but one of the holes is off so I need to address that and print again...

[dataway]

Iterations .... I'm learning to hate that word

I'm also in the habit of forgetting things and hitting the stop button ten minutes into a print and reslicing, or changing the design.

How many things have I printed that I got the design perfect the first time ... or even the second time .... zero.