power seat worm drive shaft guide part for 80 series seats (1 Viewer)

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Who made that part and what material is it made of?
Did you use any lube or is the material self lubricating?
hey man
i made it. it’s chopped carbon fiber. but i can also print them in nylon. it is just a sort of prototype run.
original must be an injection molded plastic. you don’t think OEM is self lubricating do you?
 
I'm not a plastics engineer, but AFAIK some types of plastic are considered self-lubricating. Something like POM/Delrin (what the Gamviti seat gears are made of ?) with a swipe of grease (DC Molykote 33 or the Toyota Body grease with PTFE)) before the shaft is pushed in would be all you need, if that.



 
I'm not a plastics engineer, but AFAIK some types of plastic are considered self-lubricating. Something like POM/Delrin (what the Gamviti seat gears are made of ?) with a swipe of grease (DC Molykote 33 or the Toyota Body grease with PTFE)) before the shaft is pushed in would be all you need, if that.



thanks for the link kernel. ALWAYS interested in learning something.
 
i got a batch of these in so if anyone needs some
Who made that part and what material is it made of?
Did you use any lube or is the material self lubricating?

hey man, i am late with this reply but i got a batch of these in. they are made out of a chopped carbon fiber.

i went ahead and set up a vendor page for this month and i guess i will have to check out what i can and can't do here. ideally i would just put an email address here and folks can let me know if they need any.

thanks for all the great input and help.

i plan to be doing more of this kind of small stuff and the 80 series if i can fold it in with other work so if you have any great ideas message me and we can discuss.

i'll will put a full write up on the lowest hassle install for these here in a bit and also post a part number and description of the screw that holds these on.

i expect to get a set off to a VIP or two in the coming days as well.

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Here's my input on the carbon fiber, although I agree it doesn't matter for this application.

In 3d printing, CF allows them to operate without creep at higher temperatures and creep less under sustained high loads, BUT, it also makes them much more brittle. This reduces your energy absorption before failure by a lot. (impact strength in other words)

In a theoretical situation, if you're manhandling the seat or something and set it down too hard on a curb, a magical curb that somehow manages to reach in there and whack it, it won't bend like a piece plastic as it absorbs and releases the energy because the modulus of elasticity of CF is way higher than that of the plastic around it. Instead it'll tear/pull the CF from the plastic around it as it undergoes deformation and thus the part loses all strength and is permanently destroyed. (the higher strength of the CF doesn't matter in this case as you have the kinetic energy of a 40 lb seat exerting its force on a tiny plastic bracket. It is going to deform)

You could also make them out of ABS or PETG, and while they aren't as brittle as PLA for example, they still don't have the ridiculous toughness of 3D printed nylon which is why I like to use nylon for a lot of stuff that I plan on attaching to something heavy or that might take big hits, even accidentally. Printed nylon can flex like crazy because the gap space in the infill allows it to collapse on the inner compressed surface rather than tearing/cracking on the outer strained surface like an injection molded nylon part. The "layer adhesion" aspect that people always gripe about for 3D printed parts is not notcieable if you have the proper settings in a heated build chamber. The fact that you have an object that isn't solid all the way through IS a reason for an object to be weaker, but can also be a major advantage in failure mode and the serviceability of the part after being crushed for example. Setting infill as high as 50% (which is a lot for 3D printing) can give a part a lot of strength but still retain its ability to deform way more than an equivalent injected molded part and still not fail outright.

Also, if you were 3D printing these yourself, the carbon fiber wears out nozzles a decent bit while regular nylon has basically no wear. So that would be another plus for regular nylon.

Again, there is no magical curb that could reach out and wack this particular bracket, but material properties are something to keep in mind for all parts. Temperature and creep resistance are the main reason to go to CF nylon, if you're using it because regular nylon wasn't strong enough you should go metal.

Since this bracket is very protected from accidental damage being on the underside of a seat, and little is demanded of it physically other than moderately high temperatures from being in a car, I would go with a PET variant (PETG, PETE, etc). It's easy to print and you don't need a fancy printer with a heated build chamber, is cheap (1/3-1/2 the cost of nylon), has a high enough temperature tolerances for a hot car, is tough enough to not crack from improper installation (overtightening the screws for instance) and doesn't smell bad while printing like ABS.
 
Here's my input on the carbon fiber, although I agree it doesn't matter for this application.

In 3d printing, CF allows them to operate without creep at higher temperatures and creep less under sustained high loads, BUT, it also makes them much more brittle. This reduces your energy absorption before failure by a lot. (impact strength in other words)

In a theoretical situation, if you're manhandling the seat or something and set it down too hard on a curb, a magical curb that somehow manages to reach in there and whack it, it won't bend like a piece plastic as it absorbs and releases the energy because the modulus of elasticity of CF is way higher than that of the plastic around it. Instead it'll tear/pull the CF from the plastic around it as it undergoes deformation and thus the part loses all strength and is permanently destroyed. (the higher strength of the CF doesn't matter in this case as you have the kinetic energy of a 40 lb seat exerting its force on a tiny plastic bracket. It is going to deform)

You could also make them out of ABS or PETG, and while they aren't as brittle as PLA for example, they still don't have the ridiculous toughness of 3D printed nylon which is why I like to use nylon for a lot of stuff that I plan on attaching to something heavy or that might take big hits, even accidentally. Printed nylon can flex like crazy because the gap space in the infill allows it to collapse on the inner compressed surface rather than tearing/cracking on the outer strained surface like an injection molded nylon part. The "layer adhesion" aspect that people always gripe about for 3D printed parts is not notcieable if you have the proper settings in a heated build chamber. The fact that you have an object that isn't solid all the way through IS a reason for an object to be weaker, but can also be a major advantage in failure mode and the serviceability of the part after being crushed for example. Setting infill as high as 50% (which is a lot for 3D printing) can give a part a lot of strength but still retain its ability to deform way more than an equivalent injected molded part and still not fail outright.

Also, if you were 3D printing these yourself, the carbon fiber wears out nozzles a decent bit while regular nylon has basically no wear. So that would be another plus for regular nylon.

Again, there is no magical curb that could reach out and wack this particular bracket, but material properties are something to keep in mind for all parts. Temperature and creep resistance are the main reason to go to CF nylon, if you're using it because regular nylon wasn't strong enough you should go metal.

Since this bracket is very protected from accidental damage being on the underside of a seat, and little is demanded of it physically other than moderately high temperatures from being in a car, I would go with a PET variant (PETG, PETE, etc). It's easy to print and you don't need a fancy printer with a heated build chamber, is cheap (1/3-1/2 the cost of nylon), has a high enough temperature tolerances for a hot car, is tough enough to not crack from improper installation (overtightening the screws for instance) and doesn't smell bad while printing like ABS.

wow. this kind of i response is definitely one of the benefits for not being hesitant to post on mud.
i very much appreciate your help as i try to wrap my head around this topic. it’s not the easiest thing to teach yourself. or to get solid practical facts on.
THANKS
 
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I had something similar to these for probably close to 8 years. When I repaired my power seat a third time - after replacing the warm gear and all (even the power seat motor) - I discovered this part was broken. Since Toyota didnt sell this part separately - I had one of the guys that worked for me print this up for me. I still have a couple dozen of these in abox in my shed somewhere. The one installed in my 80 has been holding up well all these years

FWIW, my power seat gets put to the test at least 4 times a week. It was my wife's DD and also our family car. So the seat gets adjusted
 

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