Anyone 3D Printing replacement parts?

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midfat

midfat

10 Year
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I went to the Toyota dealership yesterday to get a new driver's side lumbar switch. They quoted me $120. It's a &$@!ing plastic switch!!! Got me to thinking. A 3D printer could make that switch in about 40 minutes. Anyone out there doing this yet? We need to start a share site for downloadable cad drawings of standard plastic parts. $120 for a stupid switch is insane. (And I'm coming from owning Audis and Mercedes!)
 
That is nuts. I have a hunch you can probably find that switch for much cheaper from CDan or others that frequent this forum. Even if you were to get it for half of that though, that is still an insane price for a plastic switch, I agree.

3D printing sounds like it would be a potentially simple solution, but you also have to factor in the finely fitted metal contact pieces within. Although their actual value should be less than cents, shaping and cutting metal that small is going to get expensive, I'd imagine.
 
http://grabcad.com is a free site that aggregates a lot of models. You could also check out http://www.thingiverse.com/.

Yah I think if you source through one of the folks like CDan, Beno, etc... they can give you a really good discount. You could also try mouser.com or digikey.com for general electrical switches, but digging through all the parts to get something close to fitting is a huge pain. But could be really cheap (if you are ok with making your own harness).
 
I think this has a ton of possibilities in the future, if not right now. I believe it will be a game changer in life like then cell phone has been.
 
I'm just getting into the 3d printing. I have a printrbot+ and had a hard time with ABS, but am having some luck with PLA.

I was going to start by trying to make a new shifting bezel/plate - but I'm having an especially hard time with large flat surfaces. I'm having an easier time with small parts that aren't too complex.

As parts break on my old lx, I am hoping to print them. I can't wait for metal printers to get to consumer pricing. For now, maybe I can set up something on shapeway - design on my local printer and people can get a better printed part using their high end printers.
 
how strong are those plastics?
 
e9999 said:
how strong are those plastics?
Click to expand...

You can print in ABS which is as strong as well, ABS.

An ABS printer has been used to produce a handgun with a one shot barrel so if designed appropriately you can get good strength.

I believe some of Gamiviti's parts are direct 3D printed (mic holders) but don't quote me.

This tech is going to be pretty awesome as the material available continue to improve and systems continue to get cheaper. This stuff started out soft, just for visualizing or test fitting or mold making. As it progresses the sky is the limit.

Super cool stuff!
 
AimCOtaco said:
I believe some of Gamiviti's parts are direct 3D printed (mic holders) but don't quote me.
Click to expand...

C'mon, don't quote ya? :grinpimp: yes, early 80 series seat parts (caps & gears) as well as all the mic holders, etc. were all made with 3D Printing. Laser Sintered nylon, to be exact... much higher end machine compared to the FDM-style print robot/Makerbot/uprint etc. unfortunately, I no longer have the inside hookup... so I'd send someone to Shapeways for the same stuff. lead time is long, but likely the cheapest option for higher end equipment. I played in that world for 13 years though, it's cool to see it getting more mainstream.
 
Can someone print me a frame? :flipoff2:
 
jonharis said:
Can someone print me a frame? :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

How 'bout a roof rack? :popcorn:

expo_3dp.webp
 
How LEDs, buckets of plastidip, and exhaust systems? Can we print that stuff?
 
there's been a lot of great input on this thread, so i wanted to give it the attention it deserves

guys - i think this should meet your specs, a few problems need to be worked out, but it's almost there

formud.png
 
kashmir said:
there's been a lot of great input on this thread, so i wanted to give it the attention it deserves

guys - i think this should meet your specs, a few problems need to be worked out, but it's almost there

formud.png
Click to expand...

Wow, is that a flux capacitor? Yeah, might need a bit more R&D.
 
yeah - the oem flux capacitors are big $$$

interesting thing i found when i was looking around recently, ponoko - which is like shapeways has teamed up with sparkfun which does electronics. that was announced in 2010 but I don't really see much recent stuff about it
 
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