3D Printed Part
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 220
Theres a russian vendor who made 3D printed ash tray cover replacements with switches. I think he's since swapped to using molds. I was really interested in buying a cover if it could fit my phone (iphone plus) but I guess the depth available behind the cover is limited...
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,461
Likes: 326
From: Houston TX
I have the center console lid latch modeled and printed. It is working successful. I need to make one adjustment to the model, which is moving the hole where the spring attaches about 1.5 mm further away from cylinder that it slips over.
Once I make that change I will print it again, retest, then make the STL file available free with either a private host or some place like thingaverse.
My next project will be the plastic seat rail covers that attach to the front of the rails and hide the bolts that hold the seat frame to the body. All four of mine have broken at least twice.
Once I make that change I will print it again, retest, then make the STL file available free with either a private host or some place like thingaverse.
My next project will be the plastic seat rail covers that attach to the front of the rails and hide the bolts that hold the seat frame to the body. All four of mine have broken at least twice.
Last edited by PCMusicGuy; Feb 1, 2018 at 02:07 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 13,262
Likes: 3,151
From: SW Florida
2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,453
Likes: 1,390
From: SC
You don't design parts with a 3D printer, you manufacture parts with a 3D printer. For Design you use a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software package like SolidWorks. There are many of them but they are all pretty expensive. You create a model of the part in the design package then you send that model to the 3D printer and it makes the part.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
Last edited by dr_gallup; Feb 1, 2018 at 11:03 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 21,631
Likes: 1,144
From: Below the bottom of Berby Hollow, NYS
You don't design parts with a 3D printer, you manufacture parts with a 3D printer. For Design you use a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software package like SolidWorks. There are many of them but they are all pretty expensive. You create a model of the part in the design package then you send that model to the 3D printer and it makes the part.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
As a moldmaker, my experience with this goes back to the early '90s when Kodak (a local company) was monkeying with it to produce simple prototype plastic parts that were to be ultimately molded.
Back then it was called "stereo lithography" (if memory serves) and it was done in a tank filled with gel, and a computer-guided laser beam came around and solidified the portions that were to become the finished part. Something like that anyway. "3D printing" (additive manufacturing) is a new term, in comparison. My CNC mill is driven by data from my CAM software, which removes material from the workpiece. 3D printing works more or less the opposite (additive).
The Kodak parts were very brittle and would break (depending on the shape) if you dropped them on a concrete floor.
A plastics company I work with now has about a $1000 printer that they use to make prototypes and other odd things of small quantity they need -- some of which I used to machine for them.
Apparently dentists can make teeth with them now, but the finished tooth is not as durable as porcelain or gold, so the applications are limited.
But in 10-20 years, who knows where it will be. Won't matter to me!
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
Theres a russian vendor who made 3D printed ash tray cover replacements with switches. I think he's since swapped to using molds. I was really interested in buying a cover if it could fit my phone (iphone plus) but I guess the depth available behind the cover is limited...
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
I have the center console lid modeled and printed. It is working successful. I need to make one adjustment to the model, which is moving the hole where the spring attaches about 1.5 mm further away from cylinder that it slips over.
Once I make that change I will print it again, retest, then make the STL file available free with either a private host or some place like thingaverse.
My next project will be the plastic seat rail covers that attach to the front of the rails and hide the bolts that hold the seat frame to the body. All four of mine have broken at least twice.
Once I make that change I will print it again, retest, then make the STL file available free with either a private host or some place like thingaverse.
My next project will be the plastic seat rail covers that attach to the front of the rails and hide the bolts that hold the seat frame to the body. All four of mine have broken at least twice.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
You don't design parts with a 3D printer, you manufacture parts with a 3D printer. For Design you use a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software package like SolidWorks. There are many of them but they are all pretty expensive. You create a model of the part in the design package then you send that model to the 3D printer and it makes the part.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
There are hundreds of different 3D printers and the quality of what they build is all over the place. Most of the cheap ones are just toys, their build accuracy is low, the surface quality is low and the structural integrity is low. At the other end, GE is building single crystal jet engine turbine buckets with very high end 3D printers.
I've been using 3D printers for 30+ years and while they are "cool" I find the technology to be way over hyped. Other than a "show & tell" part to pass around in a design concept meeting or to check fit in a bigger assembly they have limited real world use for me. For my line of work a functional prototype needs extremely good tolerances, finishes and material properties. 3D printing is not particularly cheap or fast either, I can frequently get 30 real parts CNC'd faster than 3D printed.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
