booch

Piling on the praise for Nate's fantastic work; not only a great product, but also a great transaction. Looking forward to getting it installed.

Hymodyne

Thread hijack: would a 3D printer be able to reproduce this piece:

GT6ixer

Thanks guys! It's a lot of fun to be able to come up with these kind of solutions for parts that are NLA or actually never available to begin with. 3D manufacturing is really in its infancy and I'm pretty excited with what's on the horizon.

GT6ixer

The short answer is yes. That is an easy geometry for a 3D printer. Also since it gets covered in vinyl or leather the surface finish would not have to be as smooth as something like the face of the temperature sensor housing.

The issue with a part like this is it's size and structure. Both of which would make the part cost high. Printing this in something like ABS plastic may not result in acceptable structural rigidity. There are 3D printers however that embed continuous fibers of fiberglass, carbon fiber or Kevlar in a nylon casing. The result would be a part stiffer and lighter than the original. The price however would be $$$. But that is today. In 3 to 5 years it will be very affordable.

So is this part not available either new or used?

77tony

Nate: "So is this part not available either new or used? "

Nate, Nice job on those temp bezel's Regarding the trim surrounds, pretty sure Doug_B from Canada still needs one and Alex mentioned he needs several. Have not seen a good trim surround for sale in years for the OB's either on it's own or in a parts car. What would $$$ be per unit if making lets say 10 of them ? T

GT6ixer

What is the rough dimension of this part? LxWxH? Also looking at your picture what is the surface material? is this a one material molded piece or is it a metal substructure that is wrapped or coated?

77tony

Pic above is from Mokka and she's up in CT. If nobody chimes in with dimensions, I'll get over to the shop later today and take measurements/pics of surround from Just Peachy (1979 interior). IIRC it's a foam type material wrapped in vinyl. Never took one apart so not sure of sub-structure. T

GT6ixer

So I just took a WAG at the dimensions based on the pics and assumptions of the part thickness. And if an ABS part could be designed to be strong enough and assuming any heat used to affix the vinyl isn't hot enough to deform it, then my guess is that a 3D printed part like this could be offered in the $100-$200 price range. Going to a fiberglass printed part would put it in the $300-$500 range.

Wisconsin Joe

Ok, I know absolutely zero about 3d printing, other than what I've seen on here (and a few other places).

So is it possible/feasible/reasonable to make a metal frame and then have the 3d printer lay a layer of material around it?

GT6ixer

People have and do embed objects during a 3D print. Thing such and metal nuts or magnets can be laid in while the print is paused and then have the print around it. However those objects need to be relativity flat otherwise the print head will run into it.

There are also printers that can mix materials. The Markforged line of printers can embed carbon fiber in nylon. The result is a part like I mentioned above that can be stronger than aluminum. So the need to try to 3D print material around metal is eliminated.

The state of the art high end 3D printers today are laser sintering metal powder to produce metal parts with material properties akin to cast metal. Koenigsegg 3D prints their One:1 tail pipe directly in titanium. However the printer they use is on the order one million dollars!

GT6ixer

I created a new thread here to discuss the center trim piece.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-interest.html

vanster

My bezel arrived today. Looks perfect
Thanks Nate

Chuck Z

Nate, awesome job!

I'd like to get one painted black, I'll install.

Thanks.

GT6ixer

Glad you like it Van.

GT6ixer

No problem Chuck. PM sent.