3D Printed Parts

[gslender]

Gslender, send me some photos and a sketch with some dimensions and I can have a quick look for you.

This is what I'm going to have made and would be happy to have it printed (just for something different) but probably accept that flat sheet metal welded is likely to the best (accept for that odd end with the shapes removed).

viewtopic.php?p=812422#p812422

I also have to make a mounting panel with 4x 45mm ITB holes and 8x mount bolts offset etc.... all part of the box

[madjak]

Oh I didn't answer the material costs. Plastic in 1kg spools is around $30-50 in either PLA or ABS. Most parts are pretty light. The Velocity stack below is around 120g... so thats $6 or so, and that is pretty hefty!

Plohl, I'm starting to develop a 3D model of my car. I've purchased a fairly detailed 3D body, but as I work on parts I'm modelling the surroundings and adding detail. At this stage I'll be using 3D Studio MAX as I can develop parts in it a lot quicker, but I can translate it to other packages to do protyping if required. I'll keep the project open source, so if someone wishes to get a copy, give me a shout.

gslender, I'm working on modelling up the Jenvey ITBs at the moment. Once I have my 1.8l engine, I'll model the surrounding brake booster and clutch master so that I can build an airbox that will fit. If you go 3D printed, the airbox can be formed to any curved shape so you don't have to stick to the sheet metal forms you've mocked up. With the trumpets, I can pretty much make any curved length you might need. Printed out of ABS plastic, I'm pretty sure they would last for a few dyno runs depending on how hot the throttle bodies get. It certainly couldn't be run longer form though. If the trumpets work, then I could print a plug and they can be laid up out of carbon fiber.

here is a quick model. But I won't know how it will fit until I've spaced it all out.

ITBs_sm.jpg

here is a print halfway through. you can see the honeycomb infill inside.

20140917_153523.jpg

And the finished product... 2.5" ID Velocity stack. this will fit a K&N filter over the outer diameter.

20140918_092921.jpg

[speed]

This is cool!

[madjak]

Here is the 3D model of my 10AN Ring Spanner. It has slightly curved faces on the ring to that hopefully it engages on the flat of the face rather than on the edges of the nut.

10AN_Ring_Spanner.jpg

Printing now in ABS as a test... I need a webcam set up on the printer!

[gslender]

This is the backing plate needed for the airbox to mount to the ITBs in a MX5 using the Jenvey ITB kit.



I could model up the entire airbox but if you can design do a box that has those holes on the back side, then I could use some compatible CAD package to complete the work to accommodate for the shape of the booster and clutch lines.

G

[madjak]

Here is the spanner in ABS. Print quality is a bit rough but the material is certainly stronger than PLA.

20140918_130502.jpg

In terms of you ITB cover here is what I'd do:

ITB_Intake2_sm.jpg

ITB_Intake_sm.jpg

sorry about the res... I really need to figure out a better way to upload images!

Sizing and angle would depend on doing some flow calcs and the height of the 'plenum' would also depend on the trumpet size. I figure if I could extrude a 50mm airflow volume out of each trumpet and towards the inlet. If I make these so they don't overlap, that would be the best airflow form of the outer housing.

The actual taper would need to be adjusted. I could also make the intake much more smoothed into the main body for really organic flow into the space. Also I have the intake coming in dead center, but this could be angled, or possitioned on the upper or lower side to suit the throttle body alignment. It would need to be all measured in the engine bay. Airflow science is a bit of a black art, but I figure a smoothed form like this has got to flow better than the sheet metal boxed plenums.

Something like this would be fairly easy to print, however you'd need to do it in 6 or so slices and glue them together. It might be better to print a plug and then lay it up in fiberglass / carbon because then you can sand and smooth it out.

Rick

[Guran]

To answer the question about ABS, yes it is a thermoplastic which has a reasonably high glass transition temperature (105°C). It's reasonably stable between -20 and 80°C. ABS is a TLA for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. It has good impact resistance and toughness, which explains it's use for Lego bricks.

[plohl]

...which explains it's use for Lego bricks.

So when you step on them your foot brakes...

Some pretty cool stuff Rick! Prety mad that you get to play around with this sort of stuff for work

[madjak]

Some pretty cool stuff Rick! Prety mad that you get to play around with this sort of stuff for work

Yeah it probably sounds more glamorous than it actually is. Lots of hard work, for projects with not enough budget and unrealistic deadlines. But at least it's always interesting!

here is a link to some of our work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HECQKUxJeKg&list=PL51268CCBC0DE59BC&index=22

I really need to get an Architecture showreel together... too busy playing with the printer!

[gslender]

In terms of you ITB cover here is what I'd do:

Hi Rick,

I probably should have been more clear - the ITB box I'm planning to build/make needs to include the backing plate with the 4 ITB holes 45mm each and the 8 bolt holes. The image / diagram was to show the dimensions of the ITB intake holes and how they would need to be put onto the box. The box with 4 holes (and yes curves sides) would be th e starting position for any 3D drawing. I'm wondering if I can print the 3D shape as a complete airbox to bolt up to the ITBs, or would you avoid doing that?

Just to be clear, there is no backing plate with holes - I would need to make that and I'm not keen on the shape with 3 tabs etc... that was just Jenvey's template for a backing plate they make, which I don't have or want.

G

[madjak]

I think any air box over the ITBs will need a separate base plate and a cover, otherwise it will be hard to mount and take on and off. Easiest way is to have the base plate waterjet cut out of aluminum. The 3D formed cover would then sit over the ITBs and interface with the base plate in some way so that it is easy to remove. Given the main area area of interest is on the outside face of the trumpets, having a flat base plate won't effect the airflow much. The baseplate can be more complex and made to a curve of some sort. I still think it needs to be in two halves though.

Rick

[gslender]

Rick,

You'd be right the airbox needs to be in two halves, but it can't have a separate backing plate like your design in the cad images. You can't separate the air box from the ITBs that way, there isn't enough space. The only way I can see it working is a box with a lid on tops, as my balsa template is.

How would that work then? Maybe 3D printing isn't the way?

[gslender]

Rick,

You'd be right the airbox needs to be in two halves, but it can't have a separate backing plate like your design in the cad images. You can't separate the air box from the ITBs that way, there isn't enough space. The only way I can see it working is a box with a lid on tops, as my balsa template is.

How would that work then? Maybe 3D printing isn't the way?

[madjak]

Ok here is my curved design hacked up a bit to give top access. It all depends on the engine space but you could make something like this. It certainly wouldn't be that easy!

ITB_Intake_V03_sm.jpg

It probably needs a redesign from scratch now that I'm getting what you are saying. It needs to be accessible so you can bolt the trumpets in but thats basically it. I think it's probably easier to have the throttle body on the bottom half rather than the removable top section.

It could be printed, just in a few chunks

[gslender]

Yeah, that's it! Cool. Wish I could whip up models like this in 3D