DIENOW

So a friend of mine has access to a 3D printer and he asked me to send him something to make. Since i'm missing the end caps to my skirts...we made custom ones!

I sent him the measurements and sample image:




He sent me the 3D model:




...and Viola!




Not the greatest texture, but pretty good for a start!
I've yet to test fit it, but I think we're gonna actually go with an OEM end cap and reverse engineer it to see how close we can get to the real deal. From there we can just mirror the other side and have a matching set. And instead of being 3D printed, we're gonna go with mold injected plastic since it's more flexible and will probably hold up to bumps and scrapes a lot better...lol.

Anyway just thought I'd share, I'll update as i go along. This 3D printing stuff is the shizzzzzzzz


Here's a vid of the whole thAng:

3D Printed S14 Sideskirt Endcaps - YouTube

Felipe

Verrrrry interrsting....

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Late Night Crew #1

FRpilot

Since I've heard of 3d printing, I always wondered about its potential and future impact with custom fiberglass and carbon fiber parts.

Maybe it will be easier to think up something, do all the designing on the computer, and print out a mold for fiberglassing.

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DIENOW

Yup! As the tech gets more advanced and more and more people get a chance to think of crazy ideas....the parts are gonna get bigger, smoother and a whole lot faster. This cap alone took 3 hours!

In a couple years you'll all be printing out your aero...LOL!

TougeLove

3D printing will explode in 2014, thanks to the expiration of key patents – Quartz

if you didn't know.

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dudermagee

Time to start investing and/or looking into starting your own business.

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FRpilot

3d printing reminds me of cnc machines, except instead of milling something out of a block of aluminum it just spits out the product. I've been told that getting an engineer to program the code for the cnc machines for something like a custom bracket can take 30 hours x $100/hr = $3000.



At least that's what the guy who got the above custom bracket (ok maybe that bracket is not so simple) made for his rotrex suspercharger said. Will it be cheaper to program something for a 3d printer?

what material does 3d printers currently print out? I'm assuming the 3d printers that can spit out plastic urethane bumpers will not be cheap.

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Dolph_KYAS13

It looks like it was printed on an FDM machine which prints in an ABS like material. The printer we have at work prints with a liquid resin and is cured with UV light. Ive used it to create a few pieces for my interior and scale bomex/ tommykaira aero to match my skyline.







its not a simple as its made out to be and not as easy as pressing print. Just Like CNC, 3d printing requires lots of programming and the cost (at the moment) is pretty outrageous but its Pretty fun stuff to play with

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-Jordie Lewis
'93 Skyline Type M

LigouriRd

It depends how the design gets transferred to the cnc machine. If going straight from a drawing, it could take a while. $3k still sounds excessive just for programming. For the total part, including machining time that sounds reasonable. If the part is designed in cad and imported to a compatible cam program the programming is easy and could be done a few hours. At work when we have anything machined, we send out the cad file and the machine shop uses that to help develop the tool paths.

3d printers or fdm (specifically) can print out most any plastic that can be melted, ABS, polycarbonate, etc. What Dolph mentions is a stereo-lithography-type machine, and the material is somewhat epoxy like. There are some printers that output metal with a plastic binder which can be baked out to form a solid metal part. It will be like a casting and not as strong as a solid machined part. You can also 3d print a wax part and have it investment cast into a metal part. Check out some of the rapid prototype options here:Quickparts

I designed a hood vent for my car that I had printed in ABS, that fits above one of the openings in the lower framework of the hood. Once printed there are steps in the final parts that had to be sanded out before painting. I realize now that is probably a high pressure area of the hood and most likely does not work. After a track session I can see heat waves coming out of the vent so at least it is doing something.

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fyneyoungstunna

So what are the limitations of this printing?
Say I wanted to print a bodykit off a car, that is longer made.
Or some interior pieces such as a dash bezel with something integrated?

Carbonfiber perhaps?

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Can't Follow the Rules
STATEMENTS make me a Dumb-ass

59bhp

its limited by size and cost,

the size of machine you would need to print a bodykit would be insane (im not 100% they exist that big) and the time to do it means it would be a huge cost

interior pieces are possible though, you just have to have a cad model (usually surface modelling will best replicate complex shapes like interior pieces)

zerodameaon

Frys is going to start selling 3D printers for 800 bucks rather soon. They are not the most advanced of any of them but it is a decent starting point.

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imotion s14

traditional manufacturing/machining = subtractive process
3-D printing = additive process

Metal, plastic and biological cells... eventually matter like replicators in Star Trek.

The capital cost will be higher but over time it will go down. But it means lower priced parts regardless.

S14DB

How much did this cost(material) to print?

I swear I can get new OEM caps for $35.

I do like the interior parts. I really had not thought about car parts for this as I thought it wouldn't hold up. But it does open a lot of potential for OEM looking custom stuff.

Only issue for me the the max size for most of the consumer models is 12" square.

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codyace

Pretty neat work, the little boost controller part is slick as heck.

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hebert6760

Hey are you selling this
Cap ends?
Let me know im interested, please contact me

Felipe

Wheels for a 1/24 models!!!!

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Late Night Crew #1

ThatGuy

Hey look, somebody 3D printed a thread bump from two years ago!

Damnit Herbert.


Sent from an undisclosed location

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S14DB

To bad this 3d printing thing never took off...

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DIENOW

Yeah sorry dudes, the guy i was doing this with lost contact with me. If anyone else has a 3D printer though feel free to take on this idea!

KAT-PWR

Send me the .stl plz and i will print them

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MRP Manufacturing

vipergtsr1000hp

Those end caps would sell like hot cakes. Just saying. Hopefully it comes through.