3D printing and beyond
 

Quick Disclaimer: Use these models at your own risk. I'm not offering any goods or services.

Here's the collection in Thingiverse where i'll be saving all my designs and any other people's designs I find: http://www.thingiverse.com/Books/collections/fr-s

Instead of adding onto my regular car journal, I think that 3D printing stuff for the 86 deserved it's own topic.

Intro:
I am not claiming to be good nor a professional. I'm just a guy with a 3D printer and some curiousity. I have an engineering background but zero modelling experience.

My goal is to tinker and share with everyone what I've come up with and to get some ideas and feedback. And also to help those who want to give 3D printing a try :D

My Printer:
I have a Solidoodle 2 that I bought last year. It has served me well so far and I have a multitude of colors I can print in (one color at a time). My max print size is 6x6x6 inches and I print with ABS Plastic. I can print with a layer height of 0.3mm to 0.1mm.

In terms of strength, the printed object is strong but it's no super material. It WILL break if you force it between the layers. It's also VERY dependent on shape, size, and fill (hollow or partially filled interior), little parts that stick out, etc. There are ways to make them stronger though. For example, if you printed a small 1 inch cube, it can't survive a hammer but will survive a rubber mallet (i've tried).

My main focus in this thread are on the designs and not on 3D printing itself. There are already a vast number of articles [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing"]3D printing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame], so sorry in advance.

My other tools:
-Google Sketchup: This is what I currently model but any CAD software like Maya or Blender also work.
-Thingiverse: This is the flickr/imgur/photobucket of 3D printing models. I will be sharing my models via this website.

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I just moved my printer to a new spot in the house (more stable, doesn't annoy everyone in the house anymore). It needs to be re-calibrated but I whipped this up and did a test print. So here's a quick preview of my first model:

(Preview) Interior Fuse Box Cover:
This is going to be a template that will be modified. I recently installed a new BlackVue dashcam with the parking mode accessory, which requires tapping into the fuse box (via this DIY). Since the cover doesn't fit anymore, I need to make an extra large cover that will protect the fuses from my wet shoes.

http://i.imgur.com/fPyOGz8.jpg

Future projects: Phone holder, Tow Hook cover with hole (for license plate relocation kits), cover for the useless cubby next to USB port (FR-S only), new logo(?), and any other useless crap I can come up with.



EDIT: Some more pics: (Again, uncalibrated)

http://i.imgur.com/aJxyG8H.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PVz2nY8.jpg

i want in on one of those covers for the same reason if you ever decide to make more.

Nice work. I'm currently using a Makerbot Replicator 2 and Rhino CAD.

I want to make an alternative bezel for the brz stereo... If I made up a part in inventor would you be willing to print and testing for me?

You'd probably be pushing the size limitations most consumer/prosumer 3Dprinters, but if you can turn out a good model I'd probably be willing to give it a shot. Keep in mind the ABS and even more so PLA plastics used may experience dimensional stability issues inside a hot car.

I just want one to get involved in DefCad like stuff to be perfectly honest. So cool though. ;)

A quick update:

In the original, the holes were a bit off. I made the holes a bit wider (better tolerances) and also made the cover bigger in order to fit the add-a-circuit stuff using guestimations based off the pics in the DIY. Though I am lazy to update the original...

The modified cover is currently being printed and i'm hoping it fits :D

I've also uploaded it here in Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:88529

Here's a pic of it being printed:
http://i.imgur.com/sgxx9Px.jpg

I'll post another update sometime tomorrow. I'm going to bed and let it finish printing (1.5 hours, quite a short print)

Awesome!

Are you looking to replace the whole thing? Or like a cover? But like neutron256 said, the more detail the the harder it is to get a good print.

Every time someone hears I have a 3D printer the first thing they bring up are these idiots. I can't wait until somebody trying to use one of their designs blows their fingers off.

There is a reason guns aren't made of plastic, and if you wanted to make make a plastic gun for some some nefarious purpose there are better was to go about it.

Oh dear, I have to cut my print short... the layers are coming apart.

Cold + Layer adhesion issues + thin walls will do the trick. I think the new place for my printer (My basement) is way too cold . I'll have to wrap it up and keep it warm somehow. I'll figure it out tomorrow. Bed time.

http://i.imgur.com/lZeW2Xf.jpg?1

It's a real shame too, that first layer came out really nice:

http://i.imgur.com/qCsnvPH.jpg

Hahaha fair enough. I just think it's interesting. Perhaps taking it a bit too far, but the concept changes things. It brings up the point that govt no matter how hard it tries, will never keep up with the consumers... Bad people will always find a way. Anyhow, not trying to thread jack or start anything. Just think it's neat. as long as they stick with magazines and lowers no one will get hurt.

Can you explain the adhesion and cold layer issues? Just from the plastic cooling before it settles or hows tha work?

As the plastic filament cools it shrinks slightly causing it to contract. This can cause the curving and layer separation you see above. It tends to be especially bad with long straight sections that end in a sharp corner. There are lots of ways to help prevent this, but as the OP already suggest the best way is to create a build chamber where an even tempeature can be maintained. There are also techniques like adding pads at the corners so it will adheared better to the build platform.

I'm in the process of enclosing my Replicator 2 and adding a heating element to create a heated build chamber to further prevent this sort of warping.

I also need one of this huge covers to fit add a circuit module. THANKS for your work on this!!

sooooo can you build an 86?

Pretty much what neutron256 said. It's a balance of not too hot and not too cold. Too hot and things start melting and never solidify fast enough. Too cold and things start warping and contracting (solidifying too fast).

Nice! I already have a heated platform on mine. No cover though, never really needed it until now. I'm thinking about wrapping it in a blanket for now :lol:

I also saw your 86 logo and added it to my collection (if you don't mind)

Thanks, just need to get a good print so I can test do a test fit :w00t:

Not quite :lol: I can print a miniature though

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Here's a quick pic of something I printed recently:

http://i.imgur.com/SKviYrH.jpg

thats what i ment. like a 1:16 scale

hey i think i saw your video on youtube of time lapse yoda.
the fuse taps for my dash cam i use come out ait under a centimeter so that cover looks abit small to fit it (assuming you used the same kind of taps)

Sorry, wasn't me lol. Yoda is quite a popular print :thumbup:

In my model I put 2cm of headroom and sticks out 1cm based on guestimations from this pic in the DIY

the first pic looks like the ones i use. i think the second picture is of the regular fuse set up. Oh! and dont forget to add a hole or slot on the side so the wires feed through

A word of caution. We had a high of 99F here in Minneapolis today, and a 3D printed part I had did not hold up well. It was a little deformed after sitting inside a hot car for most of the day.

Today I had a high of 57 :cry:

Going for try #2 right now. This is what I could find at the moment, i'm going to try to get some acrylic panels over the weekend if I have the time.

Notice the high precision leveling magazine.

http://i.imgur.com/hosv4Ad.jpg

Another quick update:

Partial success... My makeshift heatbox didn't quite do the trick. It's better but I still have pretty bad layer adhesion. I'm still getting wisps of plastic around the corners but I'm not going to change my extruder settings until i'm sure that it's not related to the heat issue.

Even though the print failed, I think it's good enough to do a test fit. It also looks like the walls are bit too thin and flimsy to me. I'm going to beef up the walls by another millimeter.

Anyways, hang tight guys! My next update will hopefully be next week after I get these issues resolved. As a last resort, I can always move my printer back up to the old spot.

http://i.imgur.com/ZGztsTI.jpg

Weekend update:

Couldn't find any acrylic but found some steel sheets instead! After some electrical tape, I call this good enough. The official cover costs $100 and comes with an acrylic door so it's really nice. This cost me about $20 so i'm quite happy.

http://i.imgur.com/vLFZIlA.jpg

I thickened up the walls and the print came out pretty good. It fixed the wisping but the layers still look like they're barely holding on. Otherwise, it came out really clean.

The top portion of the hole on the left didn't print correctly
http://i.imgur.com/zESD5ll.jpg

These holes came out really nice
http://i.imgur.com/m1pF94c.jpg

Fitament:

Had some time today so I went out and did a test fit. Turns out the add-a-circuit sticks out a couple mm more than I had anticipated... so close but easy fix. The walls were thicker on this one so I wasn't able to bend it. What sucks is that I have to take the whole lower panel off to fit it on, oh well.

I took fuses out just to see a fit and it was perfect fit. It fit quite snug and actually 'snapped' in place. (Forgot to take a pic) So what's left is to push the wall just a few mm out and it should be done.

I was able to use my first (bad) print and bend it in, looks great (sorta)
http://i.imgur.com/aUKI1kY.jpg

Here's a back view.
http://i.imgur.com/tem9sDr.jpg

No more time to tinker today. I'll make the changes in the next few days and give another update. It should be a perfect fit this next time.

Another update:

So I think i'm going consider this the final version :happyanim:

Interior Fuse Cover Mode

Fitament looks near perfect and somewhat snaps right in. I'm still having some heat issues and getting wisps and so-so layer adhesion because of that. However the prints are still pretty good and i'm going to call this piece done.

So in this version I've extended the front a bit to fit the add-a-curcuit and covered the hole to help with prints. I also thinned out the walls by a millimeter, as I had overreacted.

Here's some crappy phone pics (accidentally with flash):

You can see that V3 is just a bit longer than V2 to fit the add-a-circuit. You can see a crack in a layer (which was my fault)
http://i.imgur.com/ezC56Okh.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ZR8uJJLh.jpg

Here's some fitament pictures:

Fits pretty well!
http://i.imgur.com/kKpcwiwh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HLenPy3h.jpg

There's some room between the Magic Pro and the extended case
http://i.imgur.com/QAjuWWIh.jpg

The back is a bit cracked, but that's due to my layer issues. A normal print should just bend so it should snap right in.
http://i.imgur.com/eSLodKP.jpg

You can clearly see the wisps, but it's not a big deal. YOu can see the add-a-circuit has enough room. And there's room for other additions to the rear of the fuse.
http://i.imgur.com/7gqVihzh.jpg

Time for another project :)

I might make a slim version because I don't plan on adding any more circuits to my fuse box, should be simple since it fits now. Another route (instead of this big cover) was to just make holes in the normal cover. I was worried about water getting in so I didn't.

Next up probably a front tow hook cover. Development time should pick up one I figure out this heat issue... but slow down when the weather gets nicer out :burnrubber:

@Books Ready to sell yet? :) Still interested in one

Im trying to hunt down the engine fuse box cover too for an idea i have. Is this plastic resistant enough to go in the engine bay?

Sorry dude, hate to be a debbie downer but i'm not really interested in selling physical parts. I'm more on the designing parts and just sharing my models so others can print their own parts. I'm not a shop or vendor, just one guy with a printer lol

However, there is a site called Shapeways that will print models for you. I've uploaded it here: http://www.shapeways.com/model/11319...use-cover.html (Expensive, imo!) If you do end up ordering from there, I'm definitely interested in seeing how it ended up!

And as always, the 3D model is up for download on thingiverse and anyone with a 3d printer can use that file to print one up.

And for the engine bay, I'm not sure. The material is just regular ABS plastic. After some quick googling, the material has a melting point of 221°F (105°C). And engine bay temps go from 100 to 200 for other cars. You'd have to do some measurements to be sure.

Awww bummer

Nice, I really want to get into printing. I do metal fabrication for a living I think printing would really help check ideas before wasting money and time.

I do that all the time it's a great way to test fit parts and avoid wasted time and material.

I had similar layer adhesion issues with ABS. I've switched to PLA and had much better results on an Ultimaker.

http://i.imgur.com/aRPDnyv.jpg

Ha! Turns out i need your fuse box cover. Going to print it tonight after i fix an issue with the printer (fan duct is sagging). I've moved onto PET from PLA and i'm extremely happy. Much more durable.

Anyhow - thanks for sharing the fuse box cover design. :)

Alright just finished printing the cover in PET and it works fantastic. Fits nice and tight - awesome. Since we're replacing the fuse cover i figured we needed a replacement label. I went ahead and reproduced the original label in the PDF found here:

https://mega.co.nz/#!gNpkka5J!1TsEmT...llhAAhgOwSt2-g

I found that the label will print on a 2" x 4" sticker then can be trimmed down to exact size.

Preview:

http://i.imgur.com/eydnx6q.png

http://i.imgur.com/50MWJDa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/kjKgYPz.jpg

That is very cool!

I did eventually make the switch to PLA too but haven't printed much for my car. With my busy work schedule, all I can do is work on my quadcopter. PLA prints sooo nice (and smells wonderful!)

I also switched to an E3D Extruder. It's all aluminum and virtually no clogs (knock on wood)

http://i.imgur.com/wdHvIeN.jpg

(This was an earlier pic, I have a new mount now)
http://i.imgur.com/RcoDbuV.jpg

Print me a 86 Logo with the word 'Crow' Under!