Any 3D Printer Enthusiasts?

vito2772 said:
Yes it can definitely make a duplicate no problem!!! you can either go to place that does 3d scanning and that will scan the model for printing, or it can be done manually through CAD simply by measuring the dimensions. I may be able to help you out further if you would like.
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Shuttlesworth said:
Ok, that's more complex that what I thought you meant by switch cover. But it isn't impossible to recreate in CAD, just time consuming. Definitely easier if you start with a scan though. There are several companies that you can get to do both scan and CAD model to have that recreated relatively easily, it will just come with a cost that might be more than buying a used one. But if this is very rare then it would be a good solution.

Here is a company that I have dealt with in the past. They offer scanning and modeling. I know you are in VA, but this is the closest that I know of with very exceptional quality.

https://www.tpm.com/
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Thanks a ton guys! I'm going to look into that TPM company. It is a super rare part that's basically impossible to find. Column mounted high/low beans came on Salon model Cutlass', and to make matters worse it has a tilt column which is even more rare of an option and uses a different cover. Then add to that the fact that they all disintegrate from the sun and you are why you can't find them. I offered somebody $100 one time for a NOS one and they laughed at me and said they paid $250 for it!
 
SkylinesSuck said:
Thanks a ton guys! I'm going to look into that TPM company. It is a super rare part that's basically impossible to find. Column mounted high/low beans came on Salon model Cutlass', and to make matters worse it has a tilt column which is even more rare of an option and uses a different cover. Then add to that the fact that they all disintegrate from the sun and you are why you can't find them. I offered somebody $100 one time for a NOS one and they laughed at me and said they paid $250 for it!
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Be sure to tell them that it’ll be in a vehicle. Some of the common filaments (PLA) would warp/melt in a car in the sun. I think ABS may hold up outside of exceptional cases like AZ, Texas, etc.
 
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SkylinesSuck said:
Thanks a ton guys! I'm going to look into that TPM company. It is a super rare part that's basically impossible to find. Column mounted high/low beans came on Salon model Cutlass', and to make matters worse it has a tilt column which is even more rare of an option and uses a different cover. Then add to that the fact that they all disintegrate from the sun and you are why you can't find them. I offered somebody $100 one time for a NOS one and they laughed at me and said they paid $250 for it!
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If you can get if off in one piece, I can probably model it up. Before I got into managment, I was a plastics products engineer. I know how to model that kind of stuff...as long as its relatively box like. I don't do much surfacing...but the picture you showed looked like a pretty simple shape. The print would need some finish work before you install it in a car...

this is pretty typical for a final surface of a 3D printed part:

1614369014509.png
 
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Not an enthusiast but I have access to a few of them.... some really nice ones. I'm an Architect and we use them often to build models our our building designs.... and other fun stuff I can't talk about.
 
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Resurrecting this thread: I just bought a 3D printer, will have it in hand Friday nite. At $140 NIB, I couldn't afford to NOT buy it. I'm buying it from a dance sister, I went and looked it up and apparently its a pretty good beginner's printer. We'll see - another adventure. Dunno where the HELL I'm going to set it up though...
 
Zorba said:
Resurrecting this thread: I just bought a 3D printer, will have it in hand Friday nite. At $140 NIB, I couldn't afford to NOT buy it. I'm buying it from a dance sister, I went and looked it up and apparently its a pretty good beginner's printer. We'll see - another adventure. Dunno where the HELL I'm going to set it up though...
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Which one did you go with? I'm currently printing a quadcopter frame.

image.png
 
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rasband said:
That's a clone of mine (ender 3v2) - it takes some tinkering but then it gets pretty good.

View attachment 437537
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I saw a reference to that somewhere - dunno what that really means. I take it "Ender" is a better known brand than "Aquila". I know just about the square root of fuck-all about 3D printers, we had some where I worked that cost somewhere in the mid-six figures, and saw some pretty impossible stuff come off of them.
 
Zorba said:
I saw a reference to that somewhere - dunno what that really means. I take it "Ender" is a better known brand than "Aquila". I know just about the square root of fuck-all about 3D printers, we had some where I worked that cost somewhere in the mid-six figures, and saw some pretty impossible stuff come off of them.
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I don't think it really means anything, I only shared that to suggest it'll be a good printer after some tweaking. Other brands can be "set it and forget it" for various reasons. I will say that the #1 upgrade is the auto bed leveling (BL Touch).

Excited to see what you do with it!
 
rasband said:
Be sure to tell them that it’ll be in a vehicle. Some of the common filaments (PLA) would warp/melt in a car in the sun. I think ABS may hold up outside of exceptional cases like AZ, Texas, etc.
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ABS is a good, strong material, but it’s not UV stable. For item outside or in a car, ASA is a better choice. Very similar strength wise, but it is UV stable.
 
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I've been wanting to get one for a long time now, but can't afford to buy one still. Maybe one day, as I'm designing some custom stuff in my notebook just as sketches at the moment for my Jeep.
 
Mousy Orla said:
I've been wanting to get one for a long time now, but can't afford to buy one still. Maybe one day, as I'm designing some custom stuff in my notebook just as sketches at the moment for my Jeep.
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Learn how to 3d Model in the meantime. A 3d Printer is only any good if you can send the printer 3D data. I'm fortunate to have a "real" 3d Modeling and simulation app I can use, but from a "free" perspective, I believe SketchUp can generate an STL file. Also, look into Fusion360 from Autodesk. At one time, they were offering free trial or something.

If you're a student, you can get most of these programs for like 100 bucks...which is a KILLER deal, based on the fact that my seat of Autodesk Inventor as a professional is north of 2k.
 
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What is the best bang for the buck 3D printer now? I see the Ender 3V2 looks to be about $200.
 
I believe one of the libraries nearby might have one to use for a fee. Is Prusa Slicer a decent one to use? I've heard of people using this and I just installed it on my laptop to play around with. But yeah, I have a bunch to learn for sure!

1688409177377.png
 
Mousy Orla said:
I believe one of the libraries nearby might have one to use for a fee. Is Prusa Slicer a decent one to use? I've heard of people using this and I just installed it on my laptop to play around with. But yeah, I have a bunch to learn for sure!

View attachment 437929
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That generates the print file from the model...so its a couple steps away from your sketches in a note book. Typical Process:

1) Design your part in 3d
2) Convert Native model to an .STL file
3) open the STL file in the slicer program. The slicer will Layer the model out, and generate the code for the printer to run.
4) Push the print button.
5) Pray (though the software and printers are getting SO MUCH BETTER now, successful prints have a much, much higher probability. I've been playing with them for a while, and at one time, it was about 50%).
 
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