3D printed car parts!

[krazykuda]

Is there a broad selection of material for 3D printers and is it durable. Ie. will the dash vent stand up to the beating sun? Can you print items that need to be strong and tuff like poly bushings?

Hopefully in the future, they will be able to develop better materials for 3D printing, but I doubt that it will be close to handling tough applications, like crank bearings, or pistons, etc...

There are some materials out now, but I don't think that they are strong enough for the parts with high stress....

 

[69_340_GTS]

Hopefully in the future, they will be able to develop better materials for 3D printing, but I doubt that it will be close to handling tough applications, like crank bearings, or pistons, etc...

There are some materials out now, but I don't think that they are strong enough for the parts with high stress....

While your statement is correct, regarding the home hobbiest printer, advanced plastic and even metal, and composite materials are being developed. There are 3-D printers being used today that print metal powders. In DMLS, the powders are laser sintered into solid metal parts. Of course, tolerances are not the same as machinred parts, and some featurtes of these metal parts usually require finish grinding or honing. GE is using this technology to produce some jet engine parts that wouuld be too costly, or impossible to manufacrure any other way. Stratasys is the world leader in this type of machine.
Check it out here: https://www.stratasysdirect.com/promos/direct-metal-laser-sintering-dmls.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw6OOoBRDP9uG4oqzUv7kBEiQA0sRYBN8OKNmMkXhYL39XQbYWFfUcKCzJd9XwwUcGtl2AY9IaAu6O8P8HAQ

 

[rkite]

Why not use the printed piece to make a mold that can be used over and over. Seems that would be cheaper than repeatedly printing the same piece.

 

[jedindl]

Looks good. I was just thinking about this very thing for my station wagon. The interior pillar mouldings are always broken in the wagons. The only problem is, coming up with good ones to copy. What kind of time and material costs are involved in making the defrost vents?

I am with Commando66 on this. I would think that the parts will require 3-D scanning and then re-engineering to correct the integrity issues. I have been hoping that someone with the skills might have an interest in helping out all us wagon owners.

The parts we need are these:

(Picture stolen from these boards)

 

[69_340_GTS]

Why not use the printed piece to make a mold that can be used over and over. Seems that would be cheaper than repeatedly printing the same piece.

Skip the 3D printing altogether. Make a rubber mold of the existing part you need and cast it in urethane resin. I think there are also other resins you can use that may be stronger, like epoxies. People into model cars, airplanes, trains do this type of casting all the time. It would certainly work on larger parts.

 

[krazykuda]

The problem with designing a part from another part, is you don't know the original dimensions. You can measure the part, but if it was made to the top or bottom of the tolerance, that becomes the new nominal for the repro. Then the upper tolerance brings it closer to the original design, but parts made on the low side of tolerance get further and further out of the original design tolerance and do not fit right....

It's best to use the original dimensions from the original part prints. Or at least measure enough parts to get a good idea of where they are. Maybe also lay out the mating part to get a feel for the matching/mating feature/pattern tolerances....

 

[low_kota]

I am with Commando66 on this. I would think that the parts will require 3-D scanning and then re-engineering to correct the integrity issues. I have been hoping that someone with the skills might have an interest in helping out all us wagon owners.

The parts we need are these:

(Picture stolen from these boards)

For parts that big and with that much geometry it would take an SLS printer, which is out of the average persons budget. This kind of printer starts with a powder and uses a laser to cure it layer by layer. The printer I have uses much cheaper technology.

 

[low_kota]

Is there a broad selection of material for 3D printers and is it durable. Ie. will the dash vent stand up to the beating sun? Can you print items that need to be strong and tuff like poly bushings?

They are coming out with new printing materials all the time. I made the dash vent using ABS and I don't think there would be any problem using it in a daily driver. The only potential issue I would see is the strength of the mounting tabs, they might be too weak to thread the nut onto like the factory vents. When I print the set for my car I think I'll use the tabs for alignment only and attach the vents to the dash using double sided 3M tape.

I don't know if I would use a printed part for a bushing, but they do make PETG, Nylon and TPE materials that are very strong.

 

[low_kota]

Want to make small plastic part that many can use ? Look at the lever glides in 68 through 72 climate controllers. 2 req'd per non a/c , 1 req'd for factory a/c.
These parts require no second operation or finishing.
Owners who have laid out big money for restored or reproduction bezels have found the loose motion in these levers is damaging the bezel. I'll take the first 4 off please

Not sure what they look like and I have a 74. Shoot me a PM if you have any pics or part I could borrow to copy and I'll see if I can do anything with it.

 

[low_kota]

What 3D software are you using to model with?

I use a bunch of different programs... At work I use Creo parametric 2.0 and at school we used Inventor. My favorite free program that I use at home is PTC Creo Direct Modeling Express 6.0, but it's nothing compared to Creo or Inventor...

 

[jedindl]

For parts that big and with that much geometry it would take an SLS printer, which is out of the average persons budget. This kind of printer starts with a powder and uses a laser to cure it layer by layer. The printer I have uses much cheaper technology.

Understandable low_kota. I never thought the printing would be too difficult because you can ship a file out to bigger shops for printing. The challenging part of reproduction is the 3D scanning and re engineering of the parts in order to create the print file. Need to have someone with proper equipment (3 D scanner) and proper software (CAD/Modeling) and mad skills!!

 

[crj1968]

low kota- that is way cool - nice job !

 

[low_kota]

Here is my latest project. I have over 100 hours of printing in this thing!

 

[69_340_GTS]

I work at Pratt & Whitney. They are also making jet engine parts using 3D printing. Article today:
April 01, 2015


Pratt & Whitney to Deliver First Entry Into Service Engine Parts Using Additive Manufacturing
Press Release | Pratt & Whitney





EAST HARTFORD, Conn., April 1, 2015 – When Pratt & Whitney delivers its first production PurePower® PW1500G engines to Bombardier this year, these engines will be the first ever to feature entry-into-service jet engine parts produced using additive manufacturing. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. company (NYSE: UTX).


While Pratt & Whitney has produced more than 100,000 prototype parts using additive manufacturing over the past 25 years – and hundreds more to support the PurePower Geared Turbofan™ engine family’s development – the company will be the first to use additive manufacturing technology to produce compressor stators and synch ring brackets for the production engines. Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engines exclusively power the Bombardier CSeries* aircraft family.


Additive manufacturing, also called three-dimensional (3D) printing, builds parts and products one layer at a time by printers. In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source.


“Pratt & Whitney has been working with additive manufacturing since the 1980s, and we are looking forward to our upcoming milestone, when the first production PurePower PW1500G engines with parts produced through additive manufacturing will be delivered,” said Tom Prete, Pratt & Whitney’s Engineering vice president. “We are a vertically integrated additive manufacturing producer with our own metal powder source and the printers necessary to create parts using this innovative technology. As a technology leader, we are intrigued by the potential of additive manufacturing to support our suite of technologies and benefits to customers and the global aerospace industry.”


“Additive manufacturing offers significant benefits to the production of jet engines,” said Lynn Gambill, chief engineer, Manufacturing Engineering and Global Services at Pratt & Whitney. “We have engine tested components produced through additive manufacturing in the PW1500G.”

In production tests, Pratt & Whitney has realized up to 15 months lead-time savings compared to conventional manufacturing processes and up to 50 percent weight reduction in a single part. The PurePower engine family parts will be the first product produced using 3D printing powder bed additive manufacturing.


Related manufacturing technologies that will be used in the PurePower engine production include Metal Injection Molding, Electron Beam Melt and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (including Direct Metal Laser Sintering).


Pratt & Whitney and the University of Connecticut are also collaborating to advance additive manufacturing research and development. The Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center is the first of its kind in the Northeast region to work with metal powder bed technologies. With more than $4.5 million invested, the center will further advance Pratt & Whitney’s additive manufacturing capabilities, while providing educational opportunities for the next generation of manufacturing engineers.


Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, provides high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit its website at www.utc.com, or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.


This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel, and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.


*Trademark of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.