3D printing parts/emblems

[BidEquation78]

Hi everyone, in my high-school CAD(computer aided drafting class) we've been designing things to print on our in-house 3D printer! I recently made a simplified 65' Colorado emblem and figured I'd share it. The possibilities are honestly endless with what you can design and make,and  now it is becoming a reality for all of us to 3D print custom parts for vehicles, especially with UPS putting 3D print shops in over 100 locations and tons of smaller businesses upgrading to newer technology. Let me know your thoughts and ideas for future projects!

[Engineer]

Can you print me a 1987 K30 with a 454 and manual transmission?

Add A/C and cruise control.

Black, and silver two tone.

I'll take care of the rest.

[LTZ C20]

I would like custom door panels and speaker enclosures fort he cab corners lol.

[BidEquation78]

I'm going to (hopefully) print a shifter knob for my upcoming manual swap... we have to pay $5 per cubic inch of plastic though!

[LTZ C20]

That would be cool. Definitely post pics of anything you print, especially truck parts!

[VileZambonie]

Can you print me a new grille for my 74? 

[Stewart G Griffin]

This is great.  How did you do it?

[BidEquation78]

To print this I made a 2D model on a program called "Autocad Inventor". I then extruded it forward for each part and chose the height to extrude(This program is awful for 3D drawing  btw!) Anyhoe then you choose what filling method and plastic youre using, send it to the 3D printer, and it takes roughly 40 minutes to print out! 

[SkinnyG]

You do the same with Sketchup, and use a plugin to export as an STL.  If you know Inventor, (or Pro/Engineer) you will hate Sketchup, but Sketchup is free and it can do the job.

Do you have a metal shop with foundry capabilities?  If so, ensure your pattern has a bit of draft and you can make a mould and cast them. Or print two and waste-cast them.  Otherwise, Google "DIY Metal Casting" and build your own foundry.  Money maker to put you through college.

We have a Makerbot in my drafting class (I teach Drafting, Metal and Mechanics), and am working on acquiring a couple Afinia printers (available through Staples).

[NCali]

so how does a 3d printer make the transition from cutting a plastic replica of your drawing to cutting your part out of lets say brass or aluminum

[srozell]

so how does a 3d printer make the transition from cutting a plastic replica of your drawing to cutting your part out of lets say brass or aluminum

A 3D printer produces the object by laying down a really fine line of molten plastic that solidifies into the shape being printed. You need a CNC milling machine to cut something out of brass or aluminum.

You can use 3d printed plastic to make molds for aluminum casting.

There has also been great progress in 3d Aluminum printing, so maybe in the near future it will be affordable.

[Hillbillydrums]

To print this I made a 2D model on a program called "Autocad Inventor". I then extruded it forward for each part and chose the height to extrude(This program is awful for 3D drawing  btw!)

That's weird. I love inventor. I just graduated, and i was in an engineering class like you. I loved it so much i bought a 3 year license. OH, and my teacher only charged me $1 for every hour that the printer was workin! I really scored. $5 a cubic inch would have killed me.

[jaredts]

I takes a while to get good at it, but I have used Inventor to make incredibly complex 3d models for tool/die work.  The main thing is to stick with it and don't give up when you don't think it has the capability to do something.  A lot of the more complicated construction methods are sort of hidden.

[75gmck25]

In response to Ncali's question about transitioning from 3D printing to machining or casting.

When you design parts for 3D printing the CAD software design process is very similar to what would do to design a part for a milling machine or spec a part for casting.  Then there are intermediate software definitions (like adapters) that translate your design into commands for each type of production.  In many cases you can design the part once and use most of that design in several types of production.

There are also higher end 3D printers that can layer in Kevlar and carbon fiber with the plastic, and since the resulting part is as strong as high grade aluminum those parts could probably be used directly for automotive applications.  However, even those high end printers are so slow that you would not use them to produce a mass number of parts.

If you need to produce a lot of identical parts you could print them with the 3D printer until you get the design right, and then mill or cast the final set of parts.

Bruce

[VileZambonie]

That was the intention for the 73-74 GMC Emblems we did. Haven't gotten back on them yet but the files are saved

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=7175.465