What 3D-printing projects did you do for your truck and shop? (1 Viewer)

[e9999]

I've finally bit the bullet and am learning about 3D printing after years of thinking there is so much I could have done with that technology. I mean I spent hours trying to shape chunks of wood or plastic or even metal to make odd little things like weird shape brackets, supports, stands etc. Usually with rough results. Whereas they could have been done in minutes with 3D printing and look good too. Well, as long as plastic is OK, that is, I doubt I will have access to a metal printer any time soon...

So I've been cranking stuff out. Trivial stuff so far, but I am utterly amazed at the potential. So much fun but also will undoubtedly be so useful!

What interesting 3D-printed gizmos did you make that solved a problem or made things better in your shop or with your vehicles? Pics?

 

[Bad Mojo]

The timing of this thread is pretty great just starting to use mine a lot more for this kind of work.


Land Cruiser Wise
Currently working on gauge mounts that look semi-factory and then cup holders for the KZJ78. Waiting on a spare bracket so I can test fit stuff without having the dash apart.

For the FJ40 it is the start of confirming that have some accurate information on hole spacing for some bell housing work before moving forward in metal. I have done this in the past of just making sure I have holes in the right spot before sending out for laser cutting and bending.

Shop Wise
Working on labeling all the cases and toolbox drawers. I am tired of the blue tape look.

Will probably start doing come custom holders for my Packout cases and tool chest as well. I am gonna try and do them in 2-tone or 2 colors so they are kinda shadow foamed, so I know when stuff is missing.

Also take a look at this thread. @Jolton49 started doing some intercooler brackets with their printer.
KZJ78 Intercooler 3D Printed Brackets

 

[e9999]

Something I am still struggling with is dimensioning. So far, I have been using PLA -cuz it's cheap and I'm still learning- but it shrinks a bit on deposition. I was printing a conical shim of sorts for an articulating arm that had been unused for some time because the original shim broke. The problem is that the shim had to be just right with the correct dimensions and angles, and very sensitive to minor discrepancies. The -admittedly small- shrinking made it fit a bit off. Perfectly usable with minor sanding, but unsatisfying. Took me 3 tries with under 0.1mm adjustments to get it just right off the printer. Easily $200 saved not having to get a new arm. So worth it! Unfortunately, the shrinkage seems non-linear so hard to predict at first.

OTOH, I was really pleased with threads, both internal and external, they work really well. Lots of opportunities there.

And, yes, the potential for great tool stands, racks etc... Mind blowing!

Check out the YT vids about "3D printed tools". Some really useful stuff there.

 

[KLF]

I took delivery of a Bambu A1 w/AMS a few weeks ago, and I'm now addicted to printing stuff. So far I've only downloaded things from the usual free sites (Printables, Thingaverse, MakerWorld, etc) but my son is encouraging me to learn On Shape to build my own stuff. What are you guys using?

I have been mostly making things for my woodshop, so nothing for the Cruiser yet (too cold to work out there). I've made several Shop Vac fittings and other tool goodies. I've done some custom inserts for my HF parts sorter/containers, so handy. It has sooo much potential in woodworking.

 

[e9999]

^ I had used Solidworks for CAD before as I have access to it through work but the associated licensing aspects are a pain and is also quite expensive to buy independently so I wanted something free I can use at home with no string attached. I decided to take up the free personal version of Fusion 360 because it is a professional tool rather than somewhat improvised Open Source software. But admittedly, I don't know much about the latter. Hopefully, they'll keep Fusion free for a long time. It seems just as good as Solidworks from what I can see.

 

[KLF]

In a previous life I was an AutoCAD geek, and I keep a copy of the Student edition installed/updated for rare projects. So I probably should go for Fusion 360 to stick with the Autodesk family.

Guess I'll venture off to the YouTubes to watch some "intro" videos.

 

[e9999]

From vague memory, I am thinking that AutoCAD can output 3mf files, so that may be all that you need for 3D printing perhaps? But then again, I suspect Fusion is way more modern in concept, and seems quite popular on the 3D printing circuit.


But as to real use of 3D printing for the shop, this afternoon I worked on a small engine. I needed to do some troubleshooting and ended up having to rig something up with the carb. I needed 2 small custom spacers to hold the carb tight on the intake. I could have turned something on the lathe. Or fiddled with some tubing, or cut a piece of plastic to do that. Best case scenario: 15-30 mins to find the right stock in the shop (if lucky), 15-30 mins to machine something, 30 mins to throw it out and redo it all better, 10 mins to lament the waste of time. Or... go to the comp, and 9 mins later (I timed it), the spacers were going on the printer and it took 15mins each to print them. While I'm having a coffee... Perfect fit. What say ya?

 

[Bad Mojo]

Work has an upcoming install and I was told that some of the hardware is a bit tricky to get in place. No problem, made a little holder that holds onto the nuts just enough but is easy to slide off. I have 3 single wall thick "fingers" that grab onto each nut. They hold enough that I can flip the piece over and not drop the nuts. Also got to love having everything 3D modeled because it took no time at all to model this up.

 

[e9999]

having fun...
For the lathe!

 

[GeoRoss]

^ I had used Solidworks for CAD before as I have access to it through work but the associated licensing aspects are a pain and is also quite expensive to buy independently so I wanted something free I can use at home with no string attached. I decided to take up the free personal version of Fusion 360 because it is a professional tool rather than somewhat improvised Open Source software. But admittedly, I don't know much about the latter. Hopefully, they'll keep Fusion free for a long time. It seems just as good as Solidworks from what I can see.

Give Onshape a try. Does everything the home designer needs if you don’t have Solidworks.

 

[AirheadNut]

I've never messed with 3D printing but have been coming across quite a few little projects recently where I think it would come in handy.

I use OnShape regularly, it works great and is quite powerful for a free program and the tech support is excellent. They have a forum where other users and OnShape employees help solve any problems you might have. There is also an extensive 3rd party app store with all kinds of extensions and applications. I used to use Solidworks in school but haven't bothered with it since I started using OnShape about 7 years ago.

 

[KLF]

I installed Fusion the other day, it's pretty overwhelming with all the workflow stuff, too complicated for my use. Will uninstall. Might give TinkerCAD a try, but will probably go with OnShape so my son and I can share designs easily.

 

[e9999]

Yes, Fusion has a bit of a learning curve, it is really a pro piece of software like SolidWorks, but for the simpler stuff we are talking about here, I would think that in something like 5 - 10 hours, many folks should be able to turn out good simple stuff.

One thing I would say, though, is that whatever software one uses, it really pays off if it can do good threads. Very useful around the shop, especially if you don't need to run a die/tap through them again to make them usable. And I will say that I have been impressed with the threads that Fusion / PrusaSlicer have produced for me so far. Slightly tight at first but that's better than the opposite. And even with PLA, they are very strong, I would say plenty good for daily (non-life or hardware threatening, obviously) stuff, no way I can pull out a bolt out by hand even in as little as 1/4" thread depth.


added: I was curious so I did a quick search and it did not seem like Onshape is dramatically (or even any) easier to learn than Fusion 360 from what I read (and what AI is telling me). But I have no experience at all with Onshape and relatively little with Fusion 360, so....

 

[DangerNoodle]

A quick little USB adapter for an 80 we are working on.

Multicolor prints on my Bambu X1-C. It's been a super good printer so far.

 

[e9999]

^ Nice! How'd you figure out how thick and what shape do the locking tabs need to be? What material is this?

 

[DangerNoodle]

^ Nice! How'd you figure out how thick and what shape do the locking tabs need to be? What material is this?

Locking tabs were a PITA. It was mostly trial and error with some test prints. It's PLA-CF with white PLA. The tabs were still a little stiff for sure.

 

[GeoRoss]

I installed Fusion the other day, it's pretty overwhelming with all the workflow stuff, too complicated for my use. Will uninstall. Might give TinkerCAD a try, but will probably go with OnShape so my son and I can share designs easily.

TinkerCAD is what we give to our introductory students to get them going quickly. I use it sometimes if it is a simple design. It is very intuitive, but you will reach its limits pretty quickly.

Good luck and have fun! I just commissioned the new resin printer for one of our independent study groups.

 

[GeoRoss]

Yes, Fusion has a bit of a learning curve, it is really a pro piece of software like SolidWorks, but for the simpler stuff we are talking about here, I would think that in something like 5 - 10 hours, many folks should be able to turn out good simple stuff.

One thing I would say, though, is that whatever software one uses, it really pays off if it can do good threads. Very useful around the shop, especially if you don't need to run a die/tap through them again to make them usable. And I will say that I have been impressed with the threads that Fusion / PrusaSlicer have produced for me so far. Slightly tight at first but that's better than the opposite. And even with PLA, they are very strong, I would say plenty good for daily (non-life or hardware threatening, obviously) stuff, no way I can pull out a bolt out by hand even in as little as 1/4" thread depth.


added: I was curious so I did a quick search and it did not seem like Onshape is dramatically (or even any) easier to learn than Fusion 360 from what I read (and what AI is telling me). But I have no experience at all with Onshape and relatively little with Fusion 360, so....

OnShape is basically Solidworks in my opinion. I also found that my long time use of Adobe Illustrator inadvertently prepared me for these, especially in managing layers.

 

[re_guderian]

Wife gave me a used (at my request) older Prusa printer for Christmas to dive into 3D printing. Loving it so far!

 

[e9999]

Anybody tried nylon? Is it a pain to use compared to PLA or just a few setting tweaks?