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This was my first attempt at making a smoother piece. The latch portion didn't adhere to the raft well and ruined the piece. While the piece failed, it did give me some insight as to printer settings. These are the smoothest pieces I can get on my printer. The side with the support material will always look rough unless manually finished. While smoother, I had to print 100% (all plastic inside and no hollow space) to keep the warping under control.
Personally, I like the smoother quality finish, even though no one really sees it. That will likely be the versions I will send out from now on. The real downside is that it takes 5 hours to print instead of 1. I think that is fine considering I'm not really making a ton of these.
If anyone wants one, a PM is likely the best way to go. I'm super busy at work for the rest of the month but I will do my best to answer all inquiries. Droppinng off packages at the post office during business hours is the real hassle. Perhaps I can get my wife to do it. I'll be travelling to Mobile, AL next week between 19th and 22nd so I wouldn't be able to send out any parts during that time. If anyone has any specific colors they would like to see, if you can find 1.75mm ABS filament in the color, let me know and I can get some ordered. Thanks for following along in the journey.
For those wondering, I do have other 3D printed plastic replacement parts in mind such as the floor track covers. I don't think those are terribly expensive last I checked but they are incredibly fragile in my opinion. If anyone wants to offer up some other typical plastic parts that commonly fails I'm all ears.
This was my first attempt at making a smoother piece. The latch portion didn't adhere to the raft well and ruined the piece.
While the piece failed, it did give me some insight as to printer settings.
These are the smoothest pieces I can get on my printer. The side with the support material will always look rough unless manually finished.
While smoother, I had to print 100% (all plastic inside and no hollow space) to keep the warping under control.
Personally, I like the smoother quality finish, even though no one really sees it. That will likely be the versions I will send out from now on. The real downside is that it takes 5 hours to print instead of 1. I think that is fine considering I'm not really making a ton of these.
If anyone wants one, a PM is likely the best way to go. I'm super busy at work for the rest of the month but I will do my best to answer all inquiries. Droppinng off packages at the post office during business hours is the real hassle. Perhaps I can get my wife to do it. I'll be travelling to Mobile, AL next week between 19th and 22nd so I wouldn't be able to send out any parts during that time. If anyone has any specific colors they would like to see, if you can find 1.75mm ABS filament in the color, let me know and I can get some ordered. Thanks for following along in the journey.
For those wondering, I do have other 3D printed plastic replacement parts in mind such as the floor track covers. I don't think those are terribly expensive last I checked but they are incredibly fragile in my opinion. If anyone wants to offer up some other typical plastic parts that commonly fails I'm all ears.
Thanks so much for this bud! I sent a PM your way to order another one. I'd like to at least support this and buy one from you after you were generous enough to provide me two prototypes.
Originally Posted by 5knives
Very kind of you. I'll take it. Let me know how much shipping is to 07034 and I'll cover it.
It's on its way sir!
Last edited by Frankie15; Sep 13, 2018 at 08:26 AM.
Thank for the update and for sharing the process, with it's ups and downs. You've done a great job with this piece, your persistence and dedication are commendable, but most of all,
thank you for sharing your work with us.
If you check with the USPS web site; they have a way you can print lables with postage and also arrange for a pick up at your house. The pick up is free for Priority mail
and you even get a discount for printing your own lables.
I've been asked about the difference in the smoother one versus the previous prints. You only ever see the bottom when the console lid is up and the edge when it is down. The other materials are mostly hidden behind the cover or not in direct line of sight. One of the pieces below also show a bit of warpage on one of the pieces. You don't really see it when installed, and it doesn't affect the function, but highlights some of the difficulties in printing ABS reliably.
Last edited by PCMusicGuy; Sep 13, 2018 at 12:56 PM.
Just wanted to give another update. The latch I've been printing was modeled after the original dimensions. I've since modified the model to extend the "hook" portion out by 1.5mm and 3mm to accommodate thicker (leather wrapped) console lids. I've sent a couple out for testing and will make whatever modifications are necessary to have it work. It might be tough for a one size fits all solution as there are varying degrees of thickness on leather and how it is wrapped, but I may get lucky and find a dimension that works for most. Below is the standard, +1.5mm, and +3mm versions, although it is a bit tough to visualize thanks to my poor phone photography skills.
PCMusicGuy, thank you very much for sharing your product and being such a gentleman. A short story for our readers, PCMusicGuy sent me a unit, that unfortunately was abused in shipment and was chipped, today I received not one but two replacements, that where carefully wrapped to withstand abuse. My thanks for you dedication and your sharing.
PCMusicGuy, thank you very much for sharing your product and being such a gentleman. A short story for our readers, PCMusicGuy sent me a unit, that unfortunately was abused in shipment and was chipped, today I received not one but two replacements, that where carefully wrapped to withstand abuse. My thanks for you dedication and your sharing.
Please let me add my own accolades for PCMusicGuy; he has worked tirelessly to get me a latch that works. Apparently, my custom covered lid is much thicker than most and he has had to re-engineer the stem to accommodate the extra thickness. He's sent me several test items and we're getting closer to something that will work. I appreciate your knowledge, willingness, and dedication
Let me know if you need a tester for a console lid that has a leather wrap. Unfortunately, my latch broke shortly after installing a leather wrapped lid. Feel free to PM me, I would be more than happy to pay for shipping and product cost.
Please let me add my own accolades for PCMusicGuy; he has worked tirelessly to get me a latch that works. Apparently, my custom covered lid is much thicker than most and he has had to re-engineer the stem to accommodate the extra thickness. He's sent me several test items and we're getting closer to something that will work. I appreciate your knowledge, willingness, and dedication
Thanks, but I feel as if I lost track of our last email and have let you down a bit. I know you were going to try and do some file work and see if the last latch I sent was going to work. If not, I'll need to talk to one of my buddies that is better at 3D modeling to see how to approach this last issue.
Originally Posted by Mike's LS3
Let me know if you need a tester for a console lid that has a leather wrap. Unfortunately, my latch broke shortly after installing a leather wrapped lid. Feel free to PM me, I would be more than happy to pay for shipping and product cost.
Both my original and my padded DSV console lid fit with the original dimension latch. Since the padding varies, however, that is where the issues arise. If you want a latch that will work for you, could you estimate how much longer you would need the latch portion to be and shoot me a PM with your mailing address? We can start with a prototype and go from there.
Originally Posted by Hirohawa
Email sent for a purchase.
I didn't see an email. Could you maybe PM me with your request?
Thanks
In general, this adventure has been a good learning experience for me, in both the 3D modeling side as well as 3D printing. I have some other updates/lessons learned that I will share in this thread in the near future.
Seems like there's two threads on this.... I think this is the latest one, so I'll post again here....
I don't know the status of your latch testing but I can provide "Fortune500" product design & development capabilities. If you provide me STEP/CAD files of your "before" & "Updated" latch hook models I can simulate the structural behavior and quantify the benefits and robustness of your improved design! 1.5X better? 2X better, etc...
My C6 center console seems fine, but its great to see that there are enthusiasts like you willing to develop solutions for older problems!
Last edited by mike_engr; Dec 10, 2018 at 06:18 PM.
Good afternoon PC, wow! My complements and thanks for taking on such a lengthy, but to all of us who have broken latches, worthwhile & dedicated cause!! Bravo!!
I'm not a C6 Vette owner, rather a C3 Vette, which I'm "restomoding" with major interior upgrades, to include a modified/fiberglass C6 dash that fits into C3's, and needs the rear console/arm rest to finish the custom fit. I plan to have my dash/console pieces covered in leather, and have had to purchase the rear console/arm rest separately - bought one from eBay. Unfortunately, it has a broken latch - which your creative invention looks to help me resolve how to fix it.
I'd very much appreciate a black extended catch, ABS latch when you have one. Let me know the cost, plus shipping, and I'll be glad to pay you...thanks
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