3d printing

[thomp1983]

Hi all,

May be a bit off topic for on here but does anyone on here know much about 3d printing?

I'm going to make up a throttle body trumpet for my motorbike that will be made up of 2 parts from seperate engines grafted together (likely a mix of glue and fibreglass all tidied up)

I then want to get this part 3d printed so I have it in 1 single finished piece, I've found places online that will quote and 3d print from a supplied 3d design but I've no idea how I get from the physical part I'll make to a 3d design they can use, anybody done this before?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Swwils]

You can scan the part you have created, but if the geometry is fairly simple it's probably easier to build the part from scratch in CAD, ready to be 3d printed.

Because even the best scans needs some manual tidying up.

 

[thomp1983]

I wouldn't have a clue where to start in cad so some sort of scan would probably be the way forward?

Is the scanning kit something the printing company would have or can it be done diy?

 

[Vinty]

Getting something printed these days would cost more than 3d i would imagine.

 

[Swwils]

It depends very much on the geometry. It's actually more likely that scanning will cost more than printing.

A throttle body trumpet is a very simple geometry that once you have some basic measurements for would take about 5 minutes in CAD.

 

[Brigade77]

I've designed & made many parts for motorcycles & use 3d printing a lot for the prototypes.

To 3d print you will need a 3d design. Your options are to either make this yourself or get someone else to do it for you. There are lots of Co's out there who will take your physical prototype, reverse engineer it & 3d print it, even taking it as far as ready to manufacture. IME they are expensive, have absolutely zero idea about the product & will intentionally 'get it wrong' until the £money runs out.

I use Autocad Fusion 360 to create my 3d models which is mostly free for hobby use. It's a steep learning curve but once you grasp the concept it gets easier.

 

[Old Salt]

Do you have a drawing with accurate dimensions and are there any particular tricky features?

 

[Munroast]

do you have a photo of it ? I'm quite into designing and printing 3d at the moment. If I had a better idea of what it is I could make a more informed comment - may be even draw it for you.

I use Autocad Fusion 360 to create my 3d models which is mostly free for hobby use. It's a steep learning curve but once you grasp the concept it gets easier.

It is a very steep learning curve, could not get my brain round how they do things for a while, it seemed to be the most stupid bit of software ever - then it all clicked and it is an amazing tool.

 

[thomp1983]

This is all in the planning stage, I'm still gathering parts and working out the ins and outs, hence this thread.

On the right in the above photos is 2 ducati 1098 throttle body trumpets

The above is a ducati 999 throttle body trumpet, I want to cut off and graft the injector holder from one of the bottom trumpets to the trumpets in the top pictures and then have it 3d printed as one piece

 

[Gasguru]

How fuel resistant are 3d filaments?

 

[Tigercubrider]

It's possible to have stuff 3D printed in metal, although cost might be an issue.
Another option might be to have it cast and machined.

 

[Brigade77]

This is all in the planning stage, I'm still gathering parts and working out the ins and outs, hence this thread.

Those parts do look to be on the difficult side for a beginner.

One of my first projects was to create the ultimate 'thumb brake' which were just becoming popular & hideously expensive. It took me 3yrs to get a working prototype which tested very well. In the meantime I completed a few easy projects, mounting plates, fork braces etc then moved onto bigger, more difficult & safety critical parts like top & bottom yokes, full rearsets etc.

If your looking to make these with a view to selling them on then "HEAR ME NOW", as soon as you sell a few someone will come along, reverse engineer it & sell it for £1 cheaper.

I make 'stuff' for me, for mates who race & increasingly for disabled riders. If you want to do it as a learning experience then it's a very worthwhile skill & you'll certainly be popular as word gets around that your parts makes 'em faster . . . . If you want to do it for money it will cost you 100's of hours & £1000's of drinking vouchers !

 

[Munroast]

Yes I think they are very do-able, but many hours of work in Fusion to create the model.

Those parts do look to be on the difficult side for a beginner.

One of my first projects was to create the ultimate 'thumb brake' which were just becoming popular & hideously expensive. It took me 3yrs to get a working prototype which tested very well. In the meantime I completed a few easy projects, mounting plates, fork braces etc then moved onto bigger, more difficult & safety critical parts like top & bottom yokes, full rearsets etc.

If your looking to make these with a view to selling them on then "HEAR ME NOW", as soon as you sell a few someone will come along, reverse engineer it & sell it for £1 cheaper.

I make 'stuff' for me, for mates who race & increasingly for disabled riders. If you want to do it as a learning experience then it's a very worthwhile skill & you'll certainly be popular as word gets around that your parts makes 'em faster . . . . If you want to do it for money it will cost you 100's of hours & £1000's of drinking vouchers !

What filament would you be using for the above, I mainly do stuff in PLA but I doubt that would stand the temperatures.

It's possible to have stuff 3D printed in metal, although cost might be an issue.
Another option might be to have it cast and machined.

They're even making the next generation of space craft and rocket engines on a 3d printer. the bit about rocket engines at 7:40 is fascinating.

 

[thomp1983]

This is purely to give me a better solution for holding the injector, currently I have a 90 degree bent piece of steel with the injector slot cut out in it riveted to the side of the trumpets, works perfectly fine bike dyno'd at 160bhp but I'm redesigning the airbox to make a more elegant solution and this will be part of it.

I've zero interest in making money out of it, if I can get something that works I'd likely post the design on the ducati forum I use so others can get them printed

 

[Brigade77]

I've zero interest in making money out of it, if I can get something that works I'd likely post the design on the ducati forum I use so others can get them printed

Have you mentioned this project on that forum?

IME there can be some VERY resourcefull folk hiding behind those forum handles.