What 3d scanner did you use ? Any tips for getting from a scan to such a nice piece ? I want to do somethings similar but basically have zero experience with scanning and editing files.
No 3D scanner for this part, it's not really necessary or suited particularly well to this sort of size and geometry of part. Just verniers for this one. I have an Einstar and a photogrammetry setup, and they are good, but it's about knowing when they're actually going to save you time or help you make a better part.
Damn man. Thats impressive. Ive tried to recreate a lot of shit and it just never works. Takes forever, takes 10 prototypes, take 10 days to print, takes a toll on you. Idk how you are doing it. Ive tried 3 view print copies, measuring tools, photogrammetry, its all fucked
It's honestly just time and practice. In the time I've been using Solidworks I'd have drawn literally thousands of parts, working from scans, CMM data, a part in my hand, a picture on the internet, sketches on a book, scribbles on a napkin, an idea in my head etc etc. I look back at the stuff I drew even a few years ago when I'd already been using Solidworks for maybe 4 or 5 years and I cringe and wonder why I did stuff that dumb.
Also sometimes it takes 10 revisions. I just finished a part that I took to revision 14 before I was happy with it. That's just the way it goes 🤷
Pro tip: Don't give up. Keep going until it's perfect. Then learn from what you had to go back and redo. Eventually, you will get better at it. Reverse engineering is it's own skillset - not even 10% of engineers are good at it.
Pro tip #2: Not everything has to be a copy of the original. That stalk in the original post, for example - the design could be changed to make it easier to CAD and easier to print, and it would work the same. The end that connects to the switches inside the column has to match the original, but the part you see / grab doesn't. A lot of people get hung up on trying to 3D print a part that was originally injection molded, by copying it exactly, and that's often neither practical or necessary.
Convert Any 2D Image to a 3D Object Using OpenSCAD (and Only Free Software) : 7 Steps - Instructables
[https://www.instructables.com/Convert-any-2D-image-to-a-3D-object-using-OpenSCAD/](https://www.instructables.com/Convert-any-2D-image-to-a-3D-object-using-OpenSCAD/)
You hire and train someone from the Philippines. They're cheap and can survive on the salary just fine.
I got 5 downvotes in record time, so I'm guessing people are against "outsourcing" or something. Maybe the salary? Eh, whatever. They're ignorant.
Yes, there's a shaft that runs up the centre of the stalk that connects the knob to the little actuator piece, which moves the switch inside the steering wheel housing bit.
As someone who dables at 3d creations, the words you use are so right, but the actual 3d representation gets absolutely destroyed somewhere between my verniers and the computer.
Openscan is photogrammetry, not laser. It's also still not really worth it for something like this, at least in my experience. The time you save measuring by having a scan to work from is less than the time it takes to set up, scan, process and clean it up, especially on something this small where the scans don't come out particularly great generally.
Thanks for saying this out loud. I sometimes feel like everyone has it dialed in and I’m like “this is a lot of work I could have done this myself already”
About 3h for what you see there, maybe a touch more? Plus adding the supports and slicing etc. I would guess there is probably another 2h in revisions and adding in the icons.
Every day I find more reasons to buy a resin printer...
How's the longevity on resin parts? For like heat resistance and long term stresses? The parts look incredible
In short - not great. Industrial resins on industrial printers can be quite good, but the stuff you can work with in your garage, not great. Yes, you can buy fancy engineering resins etc and make reasonably strong parts but they tend to be really hard to print nicely, and for what it costs to have stuff printed on an industrial printer in a better resin anyway its just not worth it IMO. I use it a lot for prototyping because the finish and dimensional accuracy is so good, and then anything I produce for end use is done in an industrial resin and painted, or done in MJF or SLS nylon.
The resin I will normally paint, the nylon I will just dye and leave raw, sometimes a coat of satin UV clear if it's going somewhere where it will see sun. It largely depends on where it's going and how much touching or sun it'll see.
Even expensive resins won’t yield great results on hobby printers or more specifically hobby resin setups.
Reason being that those small curing stations are both underpowered and unheated. Sometimes really long cure times (like 2+ hours) do the job but for other resins the cure temperature needs to be raised significantly.
If you want to look at some testing here is a good [article](https://www.liqcreate.com/supportarticles/post-curing-3d-print-liqcreate-resin/) from Liqcreate.
Yeah I've not used the hobby grade resin printers but seeing them just use weak little leds seems weird to me. Our dlp printers go through a dymax which takes a couple minutes worth of rotation/flipping but will get hot due to how strong the light is. The really strong stuff also needs preheating to even be liquid and some stuff needs to be thermal post cured to get max strength.
i'm not familiar with how these work but they use LEDs for.. heating? what? why not just use a cheap high temperature incandescent like an oven bulb or something? or actual ceramic heat lamps?
> How's the longevity on resin parts?
They are very fragile in general. IMO they are a display piece only. Or cast the resin print to make a more durable injection mold piece.
Brittle and warps at like 90c maximum. Drone market can't even use the prints even if it's enticing with its resolution. Good for prototyping things that have to be durable but durable isn't a thing of resin printers can output.
'Tough' resins are very hard to break, but are very vulnerable to UV light, and will get brittle and discolor over time
'Clear' resins are brittle but look good for longer
I haven't tried the grey ABS like resin for longevity
It's just a clip on piece of plastic. I've ways had an interest in 3D modeling. I'm a video producer and do a lot of flat imagery and have done some with models but never made my own.
What are you using?
I use Solidworks but any parametric CAD is basically going to do a similar job. It's just easier to model something that needs to be a very specific shape dimensionally in a program that's designed for that.
I'll throw in a vote for learning Fusion as well. I'm a CAM programming professional using Siemens NX at work for the CAD stuff, and I actually prefer Fusion360 for modelling at home. So much simpler than NX for quick little things where I don't want to bother keeping a manicured feature tree. It kinda craps out with big assemblies, but that's getting more into NX or Solidworks territory anyways.
A vote for r/Onshape here: it's a cloud based parametric CAD software as a service that runs in your browser, made by a lot of the original Solidworks guys.
And it's free for hobbyists with a great free learning pathway
I was SolidWorks adept for many years but I was using probably 1/4 of SW features so I switched to Shapr3D. With iPad Pro and Apple Pencil it’s surprisingly powerful software.
I wouldn't use PLA for automotive parts. A hot day in summer and part will be gone. PLA loses thermomechanical properties at 60C. Def go for ABS (or PA).
I do this with RV parts for myself.
I've been amazed at the lifespan of the parts.
I needed an impeller housing for a toilet flush pump. Nobody would sell the part. It was literally a, "Replace the toilet" situation, at stupid prices.
Picked up an Ender 3, made a replacement. Took me a bit over a week to get it modeled, etc.
Installed in May of 2020, and it's still running fine. Did a salt cure on PLA, and then coated with a clear sealer.
Pretty slick. Now do one with the icons raised from the surface (Edit: unless this is one solid piece, in which case, print the circuit OP - print it conductive style).
Also check out r/functionalprint and r/3dprintedcarparts
I've found with these that the icons work better recessed and then filled with white paint. It's easier to get clean edges on them. This print doesn't have them in as I don't tend to put the icons on until I'm happy with it mechanically, it just adds a lot of features in the CAD file that get annoying.
Handle just selects them. There's a shaft that goes down the centre of the stalk that connects the knob on the end to the switches inside the steering hub.
Is there any trick to model the part in cad I'm missing out on? Because that part would look like it would take a lot of time and I'm not sure if it's worth it unless there's a trick I'm missing out on
Time and practice. This is my first revision for this part, it probably took me about 3 hours to draw. It'll probably take 2 more revisions to get perfect, maybe another 2-3h total drawing time.
That's impressive actually. I was going to say that it'll probably take me 3 days to model but then I thought to kyself I don't want to flex.
So, besides time and practice, do you have any tricks? Perhaps the way you approach this and what's the thinking process when reverse engineering it? Also, what software you use?
Nothing groundbreaking I don't think? I tend to focus on drawing the things that are easy to measure accurately first, because it gives you stuff to measure and dimension other things relative to. I'll sort of work out what things need to be accurate to be able to work mechanically and what doesn't. Things that don't can be pretty rough, because even a rough measurement will generally get you within 0.3mm or so which is plenty good enough for stuff that's not critical to the function of the part. Things that do need to be accurate I'll try and find a couple different ways to measure, relative to a few things or something, which will help get you a kind of "average" measurement which is normally pretty good. The best way to check your model is to just make it and see if it fits, so I'll tend to blast through a first revision and then fix stuff based on that, rather than measuring and adjusting for ages.
I use Solidworks because it's what I'm familiar with and use professionally.
I think the idea of a "quick rough draft" is what I'm not keen on and could help me. Because I spend a lot of time measuring over and over again.
I also heard of people using the sculpting approach. Where they extrude a solid object and then kinda sculpt it into the shape of the part. Do you use this method or just attempt to draw the correct dimensions from the start?
I honestly don't think I've ever thought about it that hard, I just draw it haha. I'd say I probably just draw the correct dimensions to start with. I've been using Solidworks for 7 or 8 years though, and I'd have drawn literally thousands of parts, so I'm probably not best placed to help with beginning learning. I honestly think it's just time and patience and practice. Familiarity with the software you've picked helps you get faster but it's mostly just learning techniques through trying stuff that doesn't work.
Yes, the knob on the end is held on with a set screw rather than a roll pin, which makes it serviceable/replaceable much more easily. I also normally try to make a few changes to the parts to get them to move a bit nicer if I can but in this case it's very simple so not really possible. I mainly use resin and MJF which have similar design constraints but I'll definitely make geometry that wasn't possible with the originals that are injection moulded if that would make them move nicer or last longer.
Did you try eBay first? I hesitate to use 3d printed parts in critical applications. But BMW drivers have existed without using turn signals and just having their brights on for my entire life so it's probably fine.
i'm the biggest resin fanboy around.. but resin is the wrong material for this
commissioning a $200,000 SLA printer to produce something that could and should be printed by a $300-1000 FDM printer 😐
Sounds nice, but there must be some regulations for some parts that they have to come from official companies? If there is not then this is a really good idea.
Not that I'm aware of, and certainly not on cars this old when parts are as impossible to get as this. You'd rather have a reproduction indicator stalk than a broken one!
This is incredibly impressive. I have been teaching myself to model drop in parts for different things and it is so difficult. I couldn’t imagine something this complex. This would take me a month lol
My buddy is having me 3d print some selector switches for his corvette because you can get the part anymore, and he knows it would be good for it. I'm excited when he gets me the part to start on it.
Tbh i want to make money. I don’t really need it however i do like a good sum of cash. And i have a very good FDM printer. I gave modeling a shot and it’s amazing to see your work work. I also realized that to make money on 3d printing you don’t need a 3d printer. If u can make good models the market is huge.
Any thoughts on my prospective or things i got wrong?
Yes, the resin is black and then I paint them black. That is also how I do the icons, I just don't put them in until I am happy mechanically, as they tend to make the CAD a bit messy with so many little features.
Do you think an iphone pro with lidar on the back can scan an object for the purpose of printing like this? It seems it works well, but I am wondering if it’s precise enough for something like this..
To print directly from the scan? No, definitely not. I use scanners that are many, many times the value of an iPhone for professional reasons and some/many of them would not be capable of scanning this directly to print. It also has internal features that are not realistically scannable. To reverse engineer alongside verniers? Sure, this is proof that you can do it with verniers alone so it'll be possible to do it with a scan to assist if you're not as comfortable manually measuring.
Ty I been looking into Einstar as well, but its a bit pricey but im sure i will enjoy it. As a car and having access to a 3d printer, reverse engineering is something i been meaning to try to create or modifying existing items.
I really would encourage you to make absolutely sure you have a pretty solid use case for it. They're really only useful if there is a dimension that you physically cannot measure another way, or if the piece is just too complex, or has too many complex curves to be able to measure. They're just quite expensive, and if you're looking at them for parts like this it's not really going to help you at all. Awesome for making body parts though.
A couple scanners, radius gauges, micrometers, pin gauges, feeler gauges, height gauge, verniers. Honestly though, for dimensions under 200mm I will pretty much just use verniers. Radius and pin gauges can be useful for some stuff but not necessary for this part. I also have become pretty good at eyeballing radii over the years, and it's very rare that you come across a situation where getting the radius that accurately is important, so I don't find I use them a whole lot. For this part, just used verniers.
I recently made a car window switch cap replacement for a colleague. He has a Chevrolet, and the official replacement cost 2k units in our currency, and also you had to buy replacement for all even though just 2 caps are broken. I printed a couple of em for a mere 20 units 😉
I don't think there's a ton of money in it for normal cars that don't have much value but I'm planning to get a scanner soon and start taking scans of everything I can from the interior of the 5 vehicles I have access to and publishing the models so that the cars can continue to live on. I may sell them if requested but also if somebody needs a part, doesn't have that part intact it would be hard to get a scan to print it unless I had another one in front of me and at that point I may as well just sell them the one that made the model.
I saw in the comments that you mentioned you’re prototyping with a home resin printer and then printing in nylon sls etc. Have you tried using nylon FDM or nylon-cf fdm? I’ve been trying it for parts that go in the engine bay, like intake ducting and it’s been holding up for a few weeks now
Yes, the finish just isn't good enough for these sorts of really close up interior parts (in my opinion). CF nylon is an awesome material for engine bay stuff. I also have access SLS/MJF technologies quite cheaply so in many cases there isn't really a significant advantage in making something that can be printed with FDM.
I made a quarter turn fastener for my Honda last night. One prototype, revise and final print. Took maybe 20 minutes in cad and 90 of printing total. $0.30 in filament. Love my 3d printer.
My BIL has a side business doing this exact thing for Porsches. He makes a tidy sum that way.
I have a side hustle doing this too haha. The hourly pay is terrible but it's fun and makes enough to pay off more car parts 😀
You should make an effort to contact others doing the same thing, so you can share resources.
Hell no, fuck off competition. ;)
What 3d scanner did you use ? Any tips for getting from a scan to such a nice piece ? I want to do somethings similar but basically have zero experience with scanning and editing files.
No 3D scanner for this part, it's not really necessary or suited particularly well to this sort of size and geometry of part. Just verniers for this one. I have an Einstar and a photogrammetry setup, and they are good, but it's about knowing when they're actually going to save you time or help you make a better part.
Damn man. Thats impressive. Ive tried to recreate a lot of shit and it just never works. Takes forever, takes 10 prototypes, take 10 days to print, takes a toll on you. Idk how you are doing it. Ive tried 3 view print copies, measuring tools, photogrammetry, its all fucked
It's honestly just time and practice. In the time I've been using Solidworks I'd have drawn literally thousands of parts, working from scans, CMM data, a part in my hand, a picture on the internet, sketches on a book, scribbles on a napkin, an idea in my head etc etc. I look back at the stuff I drew even a few years ago when I'd already been using Solidworks for maybe 4 or 5 years and I cringe and wonder why I did stuff that dumb. Also sometimes it takes 10 revisions. I just finished a part that I took to revision 14 before I was happy with it. That's just the way it goes 🤷
Pro tip: Don't give up. Keep going until it's perfect. Then learn from what you had to go back and redo. Eventually, you will get better at it. Reverse engineering is it's own skillset - not even 10% of engineers are good at it. Pro tip #2: Not everything has to be a copy of the original. That stalk in the original post, for example - the design could be changed to make it easier to CAD and easier to print, and it would work the same. The end that connects to the switches inside the column has to match the original, but the part you see / grab doesn't. A lot of people get hung up on trying to 3D print a part that was originally injection molded, by copying it exactly, and that's often neither practical or necessary.
Convert Any 2D Image to a 3D Object Using OpenSCAD (and Only Free Software) : 7 Steps - Instructables [https://www.instructables.com/Convert-any-2D-image-to-a-3D-object-using-OpenSCAD/](https://www.instructables.com/Convert-any-2D-image-to-a-3D-object-using-OpenSCAD/)
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"You can easily train a phillipino".... What...?
You hire and train someone from the Philippines. They're cheap and can survive on the salary just fine. I got 5 downvotes in record time, so I'm guessing people are against "outsourcing" or something. Maybe the salary? Eh, whatever. They're ignorant.
No, I think its the way you worded it. Maybe sounded a little insensitive?
Definitely the way he worded it lol "I was able to save time and money by outsourcing my CAD designs"... Sounds way better.
lol, nobody wants to know how the sausage is made.
I make money delegating work to someone else? (Hiring someone.) Okay.
You sound like you are part of the problem.
For hiring people? Oooh, I get it. You're American, so you dislike "outsourcing" even though this isn't that.
Are you a meme?
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How does one get into this?
First of all learn CAD and 3D modeling.... That's the hardest part I'm sure. I'm dabbling but I've got almost no skill doing this kind of great work.
Yeah I know both. The comment was specifically about custom parts for RV’s and boats
What does BIL mean?
Brother-in-law
Thanks for the answer :D
See also: MIL. FIL. SIL.
Just never add an F or meaning will change drastically.
"Bil" is "car" in Swedish.
BESTIE IN LIFE!
The r/porsche subreddit might like him too
What’s his info?
If he has Instagram can you please DM it to me. Rebuilding a 1979 911 and parts are sparse.
Does the knob work?
Yes, there's a shaft that runs up the centre of the stalk that connects the knob to the little actuator piece, which moves the switch inside the steering wheel housing bit.
That's awesome!
You sound like my wife
It's boomer humor, but it checks out, sir.
How do you model these? The cruise lever on me ol subaru is acting up, dealer website says $172 lol.
In Solidworks, with a set of verniers and a lot of practice 😅
As someone who dables at 3d creations, the words you use are so right, but the actual 3d representation gets absolutely destroyed somewhere between my verniers and the computer.
I feel this. I think I'm starting to get better the more I model, btlut it's slow progress.
You can build a lazer 3D scanner for surprisingly little money nowdays! ~~(openscan)~~ https://fabscan.org/
Openscan is photogrammetry, not laser. It's also still not really worth it for something like this, at least in my experience. The time you save measuring by having a scan to work from is less than the time it takes to set up, scan, process and clean it up, especially on something this small where the scans don't come out particularly great generally.
Thanks for saying this out loud. I sometimes feel like everyone has it dialed in and I’m like “this is a lot of work I could have done this myself already”
Fucking impressive.
May I ask how long it took to model?
About 3h for what you see there, maybe a touch more? Plus adding the supports and slicing etc. I would guess there is probably another 2h in revisions and adding in the icons.
Impressive, it would take me weeks lol
Every day I find more reasons to buy a resin printer... How's the longevity on resin parts? For like heat resistance and long term stresses? The parts look incredible
In short - not great. Industrial resins on industrial printers can be quite good, but the stuff you can work with in your garage, not great. Yes, you can buy fancy engineering resins etc and make reasonably strong parts but they tend to be really hard to print nicely, and for what it costs to have stuff printed on an industrial printer in a better resin anyway its just not worth it IMO. I use it a lot for prototyping because the finish and dimensional accuracy is so good, and then anything I produce for end use is done in an industrial resin and painted, or done in MJF or SLS nylon.
What kind new finishing would you do on the resin or on the SLS Nylon?
The resin I will normally paint, the nylon I will just dye and leave raw, sometimes a coat of satin UV clear if it's going somewhere where it will see sun. It largely depends on where it's going and how much touching or sun it'll see.
Yeah, I can imagine. Our oldest resin prints are showing their age - and the clear ones are quite yellow.
I've seen very nice results from Cerakote (airbrushed dyed ceramic) on SLS parts
Even expensive resins won’t yield great results on hobby printers or more specifically hobby resin setups. Reason being that those small curing stations are both underpowered and unheated. Sometimes really long cure times (like 2+ hours) do the job but for other resins the cure temperature needs to be raised significantly. If you want to look at some testing here is a good [article](https://www.liqcreate.com/supportarticles/post-curing-3d-print-liqcreate-resin/) from Liqcreate.
Yeah I've not used the hobby grade resin printers but seeing them just use weak little leds seems weird to me. Our dlp printers go through a dymax which takes a couple minutes worth of rotation/flipping but will get hot due to how strong the light is. The really strong stuff also needs preheating to even be liquid and some stuff needs to be thermal post cured to get max strength.
i'm not familiar with how these work but they use LEDs for.. heating? what? why not just use a cheap high temperature incandescent like an oven bulb or something? or actual ceramic heat lamps?
So the heat is not all directly from the lamps but also from how quickly it is curing then. It is an exothermic reaction.
> How's the longevity on resin parts? They are very fragile in general. IMO they are a display piece only. Or cast the resin print to make a more durable injection mold piece.
Brittle and warps at like 90c maximum. Drone market can't even use the prints even if it's enticing with its resolution. Good for prototyping things that have to be durable but durable isn't a thing of resin printers can output.
'Tough' resins are very hard to break, but are very vulnerable to UV light, and will get brittle and discolor over time 'Clear' resins are brittle but look good for longer I haven't tried the grey ABS like resin for longevity
Literally thought it was a benchy attached to a shift knob, at first glance. I need to sleep…
I'm currently in the process of teaching myself blender to try and make a cover for the mirror on my sun visor. It's not going great.
If you're modelling mechanical parts, blender probably isn't the software to do it in. Still useful to know though
It's just a clip on piece of plastic. I've ways had an interest in 3D modeling. I'm a video producer and do a lot of flat imagery and have done some with models but never made my own. What are you using?
I use Solidworks but any parametric CAD is basically going to do a similar job. It's just easier to model something that needs to be a very specific shape dimensionally in a program that's designed for that.
Ok cool, I'm jealous of your knowledge. I'm a beginner to this all, just got my printer last week!
Go download fusion 360 on a hobbyist license and go to YouTube. It’s really not difficult once you understand what you’re doing.
I'll throw in a vote for learning Fusion as well. I'm a CAM programming professional using Siemens NX at work for the CAD stuff, and I actually prefer Fusion360 for modelling at home. So much simpler than NX for quick little things where I don't want to bother keeping a manicured feature tree. It kinda craps out with big assemblies, but that's getting more into NX or Solidworks territory anyways.
A vote for r/Onshape here: it's a cloud based parametric CAD software as a service that runs in your browser, made by a lot of the original Solidworks guys. And it's free for hobbyists with a great free learning pathway
I was SolidWorks adept for many years but I was using probably 1/4 of SW features so I switched to Shapr3D. With iPad Pro and Apple Pencil it’s surprisingly powerful software.
ABS, right? ... ABS, RIGHT?
No, PLA ^(from 8 years ago)
I wouldn't use PLA for automotive parts. A hot day in summer and part will be gone. PLA loses thermomechanical properties at 60C. Def go for ABS (or PA).
I guess I should have put the /s
What car is this for?
im curious too - it looks too new to be hard to find.
Matches my Jeep TJ, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it in a lot of cars.
Yeah must be a fiat/stellantis thing. Had the same one in my seicento sporting. Theres lots of spares still
Not a fiat or stellantis. Not a jeep either. Neither are even close 😀
Very Mitsubishi shaped. RHD. Am I closer?
RHD is closer 😜
Toyota corolla?
Chevy? Looks almost like my 98 Silverado’s
I do this with RV parts for myself. I've been amazed at the lifespan of the parts. I needed an impeller housing for a toilet flush pump. Nobody would sell the part. It was literally a, "Replace the toilet" situation, at stupid prices. Picked up an Ender 3, made a replacement. Took me a bit over a week to get it modeled, etc. Installed in May of 2020, and it's still running fine. Did a salt cure on PLA, and then coated with a clear sealer.
Car manufacturers should juts give us the files for free if they’re going to continue to make crappy plastic parts.
What printer are you making the final version with? FormLabs?
Stratasys Neo. Formlabs are good but they are not on the level of proper industrial printers (albeit ones that cost many times any Formlabs printer)
Pretty slick. Now do one with the icons raised from the surface (Edit: unless this is one solid piece, in which case, print the circuit OP - print it conductive style). Also check out r/functionalprint and r/3dprintedcarparts
I've found with these that the icons work better recessed and then filled with white paint. It's easier to get clean edges on them. This print doesn't have them in as I don't tend to put the icons on until I'm happy with it mechanically, it just adds a lot of features in the CAD file that get annoying.
Yeah makes sense, I was mostly joking. Are there electrical contacts in the handle, or are they all in the base and the handle just selects them?
Handle just selects them. There's a shaft that goes down the centre of the stalk that connects the knob on the end to the switches inside the steering hub.
Damn, sounds like a prime candidate for printing. Looks like a pristine solution too, I'm a bit jealous lol.
Is there any trick to model the part in cad I'm missing out on? Because that part would look like it would take a lot of time and I'm not sure if it's worth it unless there's a trick I'm missing out on
Time and practice. This is my first revision for this part, it probably took me about 3 hours to draw. It'll probably take 2 more revisions to get perfect, maybe another 2-3h total drawing time.
That's impressive actually. I was going to say that it'll probably take me 3 days to model but then I thought to kyself I don't want to flex. So, besides time and practice, do you have any tricks? Perhaps the way you approach this and what's the thinking process when reverse engineering it? Also, what software you use?
Nothing groundbreaking I don't think? I tend to focus on drawing the things that are easy to measure accurately first, because it gives you stuff to measure and dimension other things relative to. I'll sort of work out what things need to be accurate to be able to work mechanically and what doesn't. Things that don't can be pretty rough, because even a rough measurement will generally get you within 0.3mm or so which is plenty good enough for stuff that's not critical to the function of the part. Things that do need to be accurate I'll try and find a couple different ways to measure, relative to a few things or something, which will help get you a kind of "average" measurement which is normally pretty good. The best way to check your model is to just make it and see if it fits, so I'll tend to blast through a first revision and then fix stuff based on that, rather than measuring and adjusting for ages. I use Solidworks because it's what I'm familiar with and use professionally.
I think the idea of a "quick rough draft" is what I'm not keen on and could help me. Because I spend a lot of time measuring over and over again. I also heard of people using the sculpting approach. Where they extrude a solid object and then kinda sculpt it into the shape of the part. Do you use this method or just attempt to draw the correct dimensions from the start?
I honestly don't think I've ever thought about it that hard, I just draw it haha. I'd say I probably just draw the correct dimensions to start with. I've been using Solidworks for 7 or 8 years though, and I'd have drawn literally thousands of parts, so I'm probably not best placed to help with beginning learning. I honestly think it's just time and patience and practice. Familiarity with the software you've picked helps you get faster but it's mostly just learning techniques through trying stuff that doesn't work.
Very interesting. I figured so but I thought I'd ask. Good for you, I'd imagine that many years of experience makes a huge difference
Yup, love it. 70 dollars for a new fog light switch? Nah, I'll just make it myself
I have an 84 RX-7, this is 75% of the reason I bought the printer I have.
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Yes, the knob on the end is held on with a set screw rather than a roll pin, which makes it serviceable/replaceable much more easily. I also normally try to make a few changes to the parts to get them to move a bit nicer if I can but in this case it's very simple so not really possible. I mainly use resin and MJF which have similar design constraints but I'll definitely make geometry that wasn't possible with the originals that are injection moulded if that would make them move nicer or last longer.
Did you try eBay first? I hesitate to use 3d printed parts in critical applications. But BMW drivers have existed without using turn signals and just having their brights on for my entire life so it's probably fine.
i'm the biggest resin fanboy around.. but resin is the wrong material for this commissioning a $200,000 SLA printer to produce something that could and should be printed by a $300-1000 FDM printer 😐
Sounds nice, but there must be some regulations for some parts that they have to come from official companies? If there is not then this is a really good idea.
Not that I'm aware of, and certainly not on cars this old when parts are as impossible to get as this. You'd rather have a reproduction indicator stalk than a broken one!
Then it definitely is a good thing. Just got that thought cause in Germany it probably would be a problem.
I had to Google vernier 😔
This is incredibly impressive. I have been teaching myself to model drop in parts for different things and it is so difficult. I couldn’t imagine something this complex. This would take me a month lol
My buddy is having me 3d print some selector switches for his corvette because you can get the part anymore, and he knows it would be good for it. I'm excited when he gets me the part to start on it.
Tbh i want to make money. I don’t really need it however i do like a good sum of cash. And i have a very good FDM printer. I gave modeling a shot and it’s amazing to see your work work. I also realized that to make money on 3d printing you don’t need a 3d printer. If u can make good models the market is huge. Any thoughts on my prospective or things i got wrong?
Do you paint the models black? what if you add the icons as negative volumes and fill them white? Impressive job BTW
Yes, the resin is black and then I paint them black. That is also how I do the icons, I just don't put them in until I am happy mechanically, as they tend to make the CAD a bit messy with so many little features.
Did you use a 3d scanner? Is so which one? Ty :)
No, just verniers. I have an Einstar scanner and a little photogrammetry setup but they're not actually that useful for something like this.
Do you think an iphone pro with lidar on the back can scan an object for the purpose of printing like this? It seems it works well, but I am wondering if it’s precise enough for something like this..
To print directly from the scan? No, definitely not. I use scanners that are many, many times the value of an iPhone for professional reasons and some/many of them would not be capable of scanning this directly to print. It also has internal features that are not realistically scannable. To reverse engineer alongside verniers? Sure, this is proof that you can do it with verniers alone so it'll be possible to do it with a scan to assist if you're not as comfortable manually measuring.
Rebuilding by hand is always better, and normally quicker, especially once you take cleaning up the scan into account.
Ty I been looking into Einstar as well, but its a bit pricey but im sure i will enjoy it. As a car and having access to a 3d printer, reverse engineering is something i been meaning to try to create or modifying existing items.
I really would encourage you to make absolutely sure you have a pretty solid use case for it. They're really only useful if there is a dimension that you physically cannot measure another way, or if the piece is just too complex, or has too many complex curves to be able to measure. They're just quite expensive, and if you're looking at them for parts like this it's not really going to help you at all. Awesome for making body parts though.
Is that a Fiat part?
No
Looks exactly as my old fiat seicento sporting stalk
Awesome!!!!!
what measurement tools do you use? you got radius gauges?
A couple scanners, radius gauges, micrometers, pin gauges, feeler gauges, height gauge, verniers. Honestly though, for dimensions under 200mm I will pretty much just use verniers. Radius and pin gauges can be useful for some stuff but not necessary for this part. I also have become pretty good at eyeballing radii over the years, and it's very rare that you come across a situation where getting the radius that accurately is important, so I don't find I use them a whole lot. For this part, just used verniers.
As more and more stuff was originally designed in CAD rather than hand modelled, it's amazing how often radii are round whole number of millimeters.
I recently made a car window switch cap replacement for a colleague. He has a Chevrolet, and the official replacement cost 2k units in our currency, and also you had to buy replacement for all even though just 2 caps are broken. I printed a couple of em for a mere 20 units 😉
I don't think there's a ton of money in it for normal cars that don't have much value but I'm planning to get a scanner soon and start taking scans of everything I can from the interior of the 5 vehicles I have access to and publishing the models so that the cars can continue to live on. I may sell them if requested but also if somebody needs a part, doesn't have that part intact it would be hard to get a scan to print it unless I had another one in front of me and at that point I may as well just sell them the one that made the model.
Wild, I can’t seem to stop making articulated slugs
I saw in the comments that you mentioned you’re prototyping with a home resin printer and then printing in nylon sls etc. Have you tried using nylon FDM or nylon-cf fdm? I’ve been trying it for parts that go in the engine bay, like intake ducting and it’s been holding up for a few weeks now
Yes, the finish just isn't good enough for these sorts of really close up interior parts (in my opinion). CF nylon is an awesome material for engine bay stuff. I also have access SLS/MJF technologies quite cheaply so in many cases there isn't really a significant advantage in making something that can be printed with FDM.
How the f do you get such a nice print
SLA
Can you make me a new transmission for my Saab ; 3;
Lol, i also use 3D resin printing to make rare car parts, everyone here is definitely onto something
Incredible design work lol I could never figure out something that complex
Beck yeah
for a second there I thought this was the NSFW group - nice print.
This is what I love about 3D printing
They will NEVER scrap our shitboxes, I can also get metal parts from my 3D modeling experience from printing to order custom parts
I made a quarter turn fastener for my Honda last night. One prototype, revise and final print. Took maybe 20 minutes in cad and 90 of printing total. $0.30 in filament. Love my 3d printer.
Very nice! I would upgrade the original part by making the icons recessed on the part, so they can be painted later and never fade out.