15 replies to this topic

[speedster]

I reckon this would be a great and cheap way of making custom parts like inlet manifolds and clam modifications. As far as I can see the technology is there. Somebody must be doing it.... thoughts?

[pete-r]

Light units would be good for all of those with broken lugs etc. Also there are some parts which corrode in metal and in plastic would be lighter and durable like fog light brackets.

Edited by pete-r, 02 May 2015 - 10:30 PM.

[Acidpopstar]

I think pretty much everything. Someone with brains needs to get busy

[fezzasus]

Firstly, most 3D printers work with a very limited type of material, this is because he has to be cheap and have a low melting point to start with. The resulting part also tends to have a fairly rough and open surface texture due to the way the material is built up. Better (effectively higher resolution) printers reduce this effect, but cost more. Size is also significant, most 3D printers are relatively small (20 cm cubic) so this naturally limits the size of the part. In short, I wouldn't want to use a part generated from one as a permanent solution. The best use of it would be to create a fibreglass mould to then produce fibreglass parts from, however this would need a lot of surface finishing and a polyester coating before you can use it. Btw. I am currently playing with a 3D printed headlight cluster. It certainly isn't durable enough to be fitting to a car long term

[Jezza123]

Their doing it all the time in F1 and we've used it for bespoke robotic parts, but the strong stuff is hideosuly expensive to manufacture.

[GiGo]

3d printers are great for making moulds if you body work it afterwards. Got a mate who does loads.  

[dylan390]

We used in f1 yes, but don't forget it only needs to last one race and considerations like water absorb etc are irrelevant. For any engine related parts the way to go would be to send your file to China and get them to manuf. Prob still prohibitively expensive.

[slindborg]

Shape ways

[DaveyC]

It is still VERY expensive and only really viable if there is no alternative altogether. I doubt you could produce anything as large as a headlight cluster for anywhere near the cost of a genuine part. I did use it in the past for very small parts that would otherwise be cast or machined from aluminium. But if we're talking brackets, it's got to be cheaper to just get on to a sheet metal factory and get them to cut and bend something for you then give it a decent electrocoat. One of the bits I used it for was to create a circular guide for a throttle cable. It's small enough that it only cost me £10 for shapeways to produce in their stainless steel material, strong enough for the job and I currently sell them through their marketplace at £20 each. Considering it's only useful to one specific car that's being supercharged in a specific way, I was surprised to see I've sold about 30 over the course of 2 years. In the case the alternative is a lovely bit of turned aluminium that looks a hell of a lot nicer, but costs the buyer about £100. It's a really useful tool, but I think the key here is keeping the parts tiny to keep the cost down. I estimate an inlet manifold through shapeways would run you thousands of pounds (if they can even print it). I got a quote for a supercharger pulley printed and it came out at about £500. I know a lot of the big stuff we have done at work costs a fortune even in basic materials like ABS with crude detail levels. If you have something in mind that is relatively small I.e. The size of a pack of cards then I'd be happy to put a design together for you and get a quote.

[pete-r]

If the products were strong and durable, and money wasn't an option, you could make all the interior metal bits in plastic. Your only saving TINY amounts of weight but if you were looking to fiddle... Window winders and mecs Gear stick Heart controls Thinner dash top panel Gauge pods Foot rests and divider Clip in dash panels which don't look cheap and stuck on And more ambitious how about a 1 or multi-piece diffuser, undertray (though prob best using CF sheet), oh and a proper gurney flap that works.

[speedster]

Interesting reading and cool to read some are already doing bits for the vx Koengisegg 3D printed their one:1 variable turbo in titanium (not a mould) so parts that work in the extremes are now doable. So the price is still high but this should decrease over time. Maybe someday we can group buy our own 3D printer and run of some custom turbos, itbs, wishbones etc. Certainly would add some additional excitement to projects and great flexibility in the parts catalogue.

[techieboy]

By the time metal printers with a large enough print bed become available at a vaguely approachable price, you'll be needing to print a new tub.

[speedster]

By the time metal printers with a large enough print bed become available at a vaguely approachable price, you'll be needing to print a new tub.

Best stay na then Lots hapoening in the 3D print space. I can remember when laser printers cost thousands just for b&w.

[Claws]

Make the caps for the seatbelt top mounts, folk will go mad for those!

[rueda]

I've done a velocity stack for the intake of my turbo. The one which is in the airbox. Works really well !

It was a test with a really low thickness (0.8mm on some walls). It is really the limit, but it works well.

 

The shape of the stack is really complex with an elliptical outline, something really expensive to make with traditional ways.

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[speedster]

nice work looks like we're well on the way to using the tech.