3D printed parts

Discussions about general body work and modifications
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Kingspeedy2
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Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:36 pm

3D printed parts

Post by Kingspeedy2 »

One of my very best friends ,A mechanical engineering who specializes in design is finally listening to me .
And that Custom and low production Restoration parts is a big market
Maybe cause Covid is giving him some free time
He also happens to have 6 - smaller 3d printers for one of his businesses ( its called a Printer farm ..who knew)
He is a master at solid works CAD/CAM but has also finally ordered a 3d laser scanner ..
I have also been pressuring him to buy and offered to help with a larger scale printer capable of printing the coveted 65 gauge bezel .
At this moment he is looking for one that has decent resolution .

In the mean time I was going to get him to print a couple Front turn signal housing for the 65 to see how they look.
I was going to have him make them 1 piece and have it so a common bulb holder will turn in .
I have a couple housings he can use as samples (currently packed away as I am moving 250 K away)
Eventually he will be able to make gauge bezels . stock ,modified with room smaller spedo and tach like the Mustangs bezels you can get
or whatever.
The Plastic is certainly paintable.
I am not sure about Chromability of the plastic yet ,
The turn signal housings are clear anodized Aluminum so they would have to be painted or I was thinking black
Also he can print in almost any colour including copper ,fluorescent green . Its pretty cool technology.

65 Trunk lock bezels are another hard to find part I was going to get him to look at (when I can dig mine out)

Please chime in with your thoughts ,ideas of parts .
I will update as I learn more and have some samples made .It will be a while As like I said I am in the middle of a move ,I also work away from home for 2 weeks at a time

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SASSY
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by SASSY »

Wow! Very exciting!
When you mentioned Mustang I thought, ( and maybe won't work) cluster that bolts into Comet and receives Mustang gauges. That would give you access to all the aftermarket has to offer in gauges.
In any event 3D printers are gonna save the day,,, in the right hands.
Fred
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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Joe Travers
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by Joe Travers »

I was into 3D CAD design for 18 years but never had the chance to use the model printer, only renderings. My son bought one and builds controllers for old game stations that are hard to find.

All the old tooling for classic automotive parts has long been worn slap out from use (Mexican & Chinese aftermarket poop). Hopefully the technology will eventually become cheap enough to reproduce obsolete parts from scans on a limited basis for better quality control. I don't see it for mass producing parts unless someone shells out the money to pull it off, but you never know.

Keep up the good work! :D

JT
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robib
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by robib »

Was talking to a friend the other day about the same idea. There are many parts that are not reproduced for various reasons, one being the limited market for some parts. My friend has a printer and had just made a devise for loading pistol magazines and he said it was easy. I think it is a great idea for limited runs and I also believe people would "pay" for a quality part that they cannot buy anywhere else.

lavron
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by lavron »

Wonder about stuff like rare taillight lenses for things like wagons, etc or some dash knobs but not sure on rarely of those the only other thing I can think might be handy is electrical plugs but usually you dont have one to go off of, I am thankful I have most of my under dash wiring with the correct plugs but then again I am far from stock under there and spent a lot of time in the junk yard cutting the correct plugs for my setup.
see Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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64boyyyyyyy
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by 64boyyyyyyy »

It's awesome to see more people discovering this technology! I have a 3D printer at home and am currently recreating a radio bezel for my 64 comet in Solidworks, if it comes out well I'll post the STL file here. it's nice that 3D printers are so affordable now, too. One thing I'll say is though unless you have a really nice printer there is a lot of post-processing work that goes into it, but it's still nice to have that option available to you. I also used the 3D printer to make a fix for my gauge cluster. I'll post some pics below. The gray parts are the parts I printed. I glued them into place and then used some bondo glazing putty to blend it all in.
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Deniro
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Re: 3D printed parts

Post by Deniro »

It has been great.

Congratulations.
Mercury Comet Sports Coupé del 69

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