Atozone Tonine Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Hey if I send you a 3DS file of some lettering would you be able to get it printed? Would just have to let me know how much. You can send it to a 3D printing service directly. If you need to submit as an .stl file, I can probably convert it for you. Try Shapeways or Sculpteo, although I have never dealt with them before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Hey, Yeah ABS isn't too tough to work with, it just requires a higher temperature. I would NOT print anything automotive in PLA. since PLA is water soluable it will not last on the exterior of a car. ABS is not very UV resistant, so you'd have to paint whatever you printed. Not really a big deal. I can print out most anything you send me the files for. I have a Prusa I2 and a Hybrid I3. Shapeways is pretty nice for their sintered prints. I want to print some in stainless and see how it looks, but the cost is up there. Let me know. I'm cheap comparatively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atozone Tonine Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Cool. how much do you charge per cubic cm? what is the layer height? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 FYI I have a couple of printers and have been running off small parts for people. I made these for a '70 challenger convertible top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Really it depends on the time to print. If I'm charging $10/hour to print then it is how long not how much. It's better to go by the part though since some parts have overhangs which can be a pain to get to print right if the model isn't well oriented. I can print layers as small as .1mm Most automotive parts don't need that resolution, but it is possible. Really it depends on that the customer wants. Reproductions are pretty easy, Custom parts are harder since we have to make multiple renditions to make sure what I'm modeling is what they're wanting. Zero, Your print looks pretty good. What printers do you have? it looks like those parts were off a mendel of sorts. What do you design in? Scad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 (edited) I've got a makerbot Replicator dual and a Relicator 2x, designing using Inventor Edited October 17, 2013 by zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I've always noticed that any emblem that says "turbo" on a Nissan seems to either be smaller or different font than the rest of the emblems. Would love to have "Nissan" on one side of the trunk lid and "turbo" on the other side in the same dimensions and font. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atozone Tonine Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 I've got a makerbot Replicator dual and a Relicator 2x, designing using Inventor Awesome setup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Pretty nifty, What's build Area on the Replicator 2x? I've been wanting to reproduce the A pillar covers for the 280Z. They're few and far between though I do have a set of bad warped ones I can take measurments from. Issue is that they're ~ 20" long making it difficult to print myself. I can send it to shapeways, but that sizing may get costly. One thing I Really do want shapeways to print in Stainless Steel; I want to make a pair of headlight cover moulds for moulding S30 Pyrex headlight lenses. Has to be stainless to hold up to the heat. The main issue is making sure they're smooth enough and thick enough that there will be no warping when the glass is slumped between the moulds. I may have to braise them and polish prior to slumping. Pyrex is superstrong so hopefully I can also make mounting tabs in the glass, or at least a groove to fill with adhesive like modern lenses circa 300ZX era. I may have to try to get a crowdfunding setup for the cost since these moulds may run $1000 bucks to print. How to you like inventor? I've got it, but have never used it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Pretty nifty, What's build Area on the Replicator 2x? I've been wanting to reproduce the A pillar covers for the 280Z. They're few and far between though I do have a set of bad warped ones I can take measurments from. Issue is that they're ~ 20" long making it difficult to print myself. I can send it to shapeways, but that sizing may get costly. One thing I Really do want shapeways to print in Stainless Steel; I want to make a pair of headlight cover moulds for moulding S30 Pyrex headlight lenses. Has to be stainless to hold up to the heat. The main issue is making sure they're smooth enough and thick enough that there will be no warping when the glass is slumped between the moulds. I may have to braise them and polish prior to slumping. Pyrex is superstrong so hopefully I can also make mounting tabs in the glass, or at least a groove to fill with adhesive like modern lenses circa 300ZX era. I may have to try to get a crowdfunding setup for the cost since these moulds may run $1000 bucks to print. How to you like inventor? I've got it, but have never used it the build area is about 11x6x6. Honestly what I would do (and have been doing) for the larger parts is to print multi-piece molds and make the actual part out of CF or fiberglass. I've also had good luck with gluing ABS together to make a single part. Shapeways is a great service, but you certainly pay for what you get. What temps are you looking at with the pyrex? I like inventor, took a while to get used to it because I come from a Pro-E background, but it's pretty powerful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevman Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 These all look great. To overcome the structural concerns with some of the printed designs; has anyone thought about 3D printing a mold to inject some kind of plastic? I dont know much about 3D printing material but 3D printing a mold rather than the individual pieces might be cheaper and quicker as well as leave more options to use more robust plastics. I dont know if there is any 3D printing material strong enough to support hot plastics or catalyzed resins but its a though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Lots of people have used 3d printers to make moulds for plastics, but that's not really the issue. Most of it is Volume. The higher volume printers are much more expensive. Smaller machines can make smaller parts, but then we're limited in materials. For the Pyrex glass slumping, We need Stainless because the glass needs to heat to between 1200 deg and 1700 deg. The metal will heat evenly and should not warp while the glass fills in the shape. The Stainless then has to cool over several hours with the glass to allow for it to cool and not shatter. it's a fun way of doing it. If I had the $ I'd have a commercial company make them, but I'd still have to buy the moulds which are usually 3d Milled in stainless, we're talking major $$$$. 3d sintered moulds would be much cheaper. Sadly I'd need a left and a right both two parts, Top and bottom Plates. Quite some volume to Sinter. So I better go buy a lottery ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techno550 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Is this project still alive? I have experience printing ABS and HDPE, and have scanning and design capabilities in house as well. Would love to help if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Yeah, there's still some of us here. I've been talking about making parts in the s30 forum since there's much more traffic there. Techno550, What equipment do you have? I've got a Prusa i2 and an i3. The pyrex lenses are likely pie in the sky since the startup costs are so high. I need to talk to a local glass blowing club and see what ideas they have. glass is cheap, but getting setup for it is not. I've also started working on a design for HID headlights, that could be 3D printed to plug into the round sugarscoops on an S30. I'm looking at various styles but the idea is to use the Sugar scoops and seal them with a plastic lens and seal around the outside with black ABS goop, for a watertight headlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Phar, with the speed at which lighting is progressing would you consider LED vs. HID in your project? Saw a round headlight jeep the other day decked out in new LED headlights, nice pattern and cutoff. They're a bit pricey though so i'm waiting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 LED lighting is nice, but on a per light basis, the HID lights still outperform. We're talking actual lumins. Both get hot too. I've played with some large LED arrays and yet they're really bright, but the light doesn't go so far as you'd expect. We did this to try to upgrade an old projector. with a 3"x3" LED panel we could barely see the projected image at 30 ft, where the original projector bulb looked great at that distance. though both the original and the 3x3 were both rated in the 3K lumins range. the big difference we suspect is that the LED's are diffused light. The original bulb used a reflector to help direct all the light through the lens. the LED, we think was wasting a lot shining off to the sides. it's hard to say. The new automotive LED's like on the new Cherokee might be a possibility, but I'm not holding my breath. It's also a matter of cost. On Ebay I can get HID bulbs and Ballast kits for really cheap. So then it's just printing up a workable housing and getting the lenses for it. It might be easiest to take the lenses from another car and integrate them. I'm thinking if we can print up a nice looking light, that handles both high and low beams w/o melting it might be pretty awesome. We'd still have to get a plastic/glass cover to keep the weather out. When I get further on it I'll start a thread. Right now it's a kicking around the design stage idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChickenCoupe Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hello, I have a Solidoodle printer at home and a Uprint by Stratysis at my school that I use with our FRC team. The Uprint will print overhangs and the Solidoodle I have not used a lot other than printing a Fairlady badge. I CAD all in the student licensed Inventor. I really like those badges though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjdubois Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Have you figured what you'd need to get for these I'd love a hybrid Z set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helghast7 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Is anyone still making custom emblems? I might have something I want made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austenp405 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I did my own for a couple different cars: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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