CGGorman's 99 Wide Glide build thread
#1281
#1282
Mad scientist? Dunno 'bout the scientist part but I'm definitely crazy!
These are now "officially" the most expensive tail lights in human history. LOL! I don't know what's wrong me sometimes...
Seriously, tho, if it was just the lights, I wouldn't have bought a printer. Push come to shove I could just print them at a nearby maker workshop but I'm not a member at any and the closest is about 50 miles away. I have a raft full of miscellaneous other projects (and ideas for them) that can benefit from this tech. I started looking into printers back in about 2014 but the cost was exceptionally prohibitive then. I quit looking in about 2016 before I lost I my job where I had them available for prototyping. Now, a couple years later, the price of the entire ecosystem has gone done tremendously while the quality has gone up. You can get a hobby-grade printer from China for less than $200 that will outperform some of the commercial machines from 5 years ago.
Depending on how my material and geometric test prints go, I may or may not invest in a bigger machine. We'll see. I'm not certain this technology can produce larger parts with the strength I want.
Specifically, I'm planning on testing carbon fiber reinforced nylon, ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, and probably a couple other blends.
The billet tail lights were never quite the shape I had in mind but were close enough to consider...then I started working on mods and brackets and such only to get frustrated by my limited fabrication tools. Compound curves are difficult to do in a garage with just a bench grinder and welder. Possible, yes, but not really where I want to spend my time and energy. I'm a capable wrench, but at heart more of tech guy.
These are now "officially" the most expensive tail lights in human history. LOL! I don't know what's wrong me sometimes...
Seriously, tho, if it was just the lights, I wouldn't have bought a printer. Push come to shove I could just print them at a nearby maker workshop but I'm not a member at any and the closest is about 50 miles away. I have a raft full of miscellaneous other projects (and ideas for them) that can benefit from this tech. I started looking into printers back in about 2014 but the cost was exceptionally prohibitive then. I quit looking in about 2016 before I lost I my job where I had them available for prototyping. Now, a couple years later, the price of the entire ecosystem has gone done tremendously while the quality has gone up. You can get a hobby-grade printer from China for less than $200 that will outperform some of the commercial machines from 5 years ago.
Depending on how my material and geometric test prints go, I may or may not invest in a bigger machine. We'll see. I'm not certain this technology can produce larger parts with the strength I want.
Specifically, I'm planning on testing carbon fiber reinforced nylon, ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, and probably a couple other blends.
The billet tail lights were never quite the shape I had in mind but were close enough to consider...then I started working on mods and brackets and such only to get frustrated by my limited fabrication tools. Compound curves are difficult to do in a garage with just a bench grinder and welder. Possible, yes, but not really where I want to spend my time and energy. I'm a capable wrench, but at heart more of tech guy.
#1284
I had these bumping around in my bag and thought I'd share.
These are some of the material samples I've been evaluating for lenses.
Left column are Macrolon Lumen XT, in a couple different specs, which is an acrylic designed specifically for diffusing LED light sources. The dark one is covered with a shrinkable tint film I had left over from another project.
The center column is three shades of Plexiglas bronze Solar Control. I can get the specific color numbers if anybody is interested.
The right two are oddballs. Top one is a tempered glass textured diffuser and the bottom one is the lightest bronze Plexi but sanded on one side with 2000 grit emery.
The idea was to hot form the acrylic into a shallow dome myself and have it diffuse the LEDs while lit and obscure while off, without affecting the color much. Abandoning that now. Gonna print a proper 3D lens mold and then cast it.
These are some of the material samples I've been evaluating for lenses.
Left column are Macrolon Lumen XT, in a couple different specs, which is an acrylic designed specifically for diffusing LED light sources. The dark one is covered with a shrinkable tint film I had left over from another project.
The center column is three shades of Plexiglas bronze Solar Control. I can get the specific color numbers if anybody is interested.
The right two are oddballs. Top one is a tempered glass textured diffuser and the bottom one is the lightest bronze Plexi but sanded on one side with 2000 grit emery.
The idea was to hot form the acrylic into a shallow dome myself and have it diffuse the LEDs while lit and obscure while off, without affecting the color much. Abandoning that now. Gonna print a proper 3D lens mold and then cast it.
Last edited by cggorman; 05-02-2019 at 08:31 PM.
#1285
#1286
Well, changing direction again on this tail light project. Been mulling over various current and future projects (bike, car, guns, audio, etc) and decided it's time to get into 3D printing.
The tail light housings and much more will be redesigned and fabricated in some type of composite. Maybe pre-preg carbon fiber or carbon fiber filled nylon.
I ordered the printer today and have dozens of things already planned for printing.
It's a Prusa i3 MK3s and I'll be doing a host of upgrades. Probably be a few weeks before I receive it.
I'll obviously update when I get some CAD models slapped together for comparison/comments/opinions/etc.
The Prusa i3...
The tail light housings and much more will be redesigned and fabricated in some type of composite. Maybe pre-preg carbon fiber or carbon fiber filled nylon.
I ordered the printer today and have dozens of things already planned for printing.
It's a Prusa i3 MK3s and I'll be doing a host of upgrades. Probably be a few weeks before I receive it.
I'll obviously update when I get some CAD models slapped together for comparison/comments/opinions/etc.
The Prusa i3...
Last edited by Max Headflow; 05-02-2019 at 08:30 PM. Reason: Maybe it's gotten better?
#1287
Varies widely depending on material and settings.
This printer can make layers as thin as .05mm (.002") and can use extrusion nozzles down to .2mm (.008").
I won't use settings that fine. Most aything I print will be post-processed by sanding or chemical smoothing.
An example of what it can do...
(ETA: this is definitely still not mainstream technology. It takes a lot of trial and error and patience to tune them for results like this.)
This printer can make layers as thin as .05mm (.002") and can use extrusion nozzles down to .2mm (.008").
I won't use settings that fine. Most aything I print will be post-processed by sanding or chemical smoothing.
An example of what it can do...
(ETA: this is definitely still not mainstream technology. It takes a lot of trial and error and patience to tune them for results like this.)
Last edited by cggorman; 05-02-2019 at 09:04 PM.
#1288
That's pretty cool that you can go to finer construction at the expense of longer run times. 0.02mm is pretty fine. I did not think that this type of thermal printer would have that resolution. The surface you show in black is more of what I would expect.
So you can sand this stuff? Paint it? Wonder how well it holds up to UV. Chemical smoothing? Dip it in a solvent to get a better finish.. Doing complex shapes are definitely easier than manual machining.
So you can sand this stuff? Paint it? Wonder how well it holds up to UV. Chemical smoothing? Dip it in a solvent to get a better finish.. Doing complex shapes are definitely easier than manual machining.
#1289
The material selection is vast. Pretty much any thermoplastic. Nylon, ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, TPU, PET, PVA, wax, etc.
Butter...chocolate...
On top of the base polymers, there are countless blends and additives to alter material properties. Metal, glass fiber, carbon fiber, wood, UV, etc.
Butter...chocolate...
On top of the base polymers, there are countless blends and additives to alter material properties. Metal, glass fiber, carbon fiber, wood, UV, etc.
The following users liked this post:
Max Headflow (05-03-2019)
#1290