3D Printed Parts and Accessories

[BFB]

Just an update on the top cover. Even being Cerekote’d it didnt hold up to well, seemed to get a little soft and sank in some. my guess is from the fuel stand off. I havent had any printed oil breathers have issuses from the oil mist yet so i dont figure thats caused any issues with the intake top either.
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[Who.Me?]

[BFB]

No regular filaments ive tried have held up well to fuel and ive even had some companies send me test samples to try out, also even in resin. So i just use PLA for the most part, it’s cheap and easy to just replace the part if it has a minor fail, not like the lid which was a major issue. Even though it was a major issue it wasnt a quick failure, i bet the lid made it about 500 miles and was still intact just softened it enough that the force of the wing nuts was dishing the lid.
It wasnt heat because i printed a type 3 oil breather out of PLA and its been on the vehicle at least 6 months and have been told its holding up fine. And that type3 breather is right on top of the engine in a short engine bay.
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[BFB]

32/36 velocity stacks

Air filter is in bad shape, just a junk one i had laying around. But used to show the stacks still fit under the standard air cleaner for these. This carb had the chokes removed and these stacks wont work with chokes, but im going to see if i can make a set that does
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[raygreenwood]

[BFB]

So the problem with all of that is that the printer filaments are not the true plastic advertised , they are a blend ( from the research ive done and talking to filament manufacturers) so as a blend they lose the true plastic’s properties but it makes them “printable”. I tried printing quite a few things in polycarbonate which none held up to what true polycarbonate is supposed to. It had higher heat resistance than PLA but enough to really matter. I mean a 60-70F degree higher heat resistance was all, not worth the extra cost and difficulty in printing.
Think of it like the wood filaments, sure they have wood dust in them to give it wood like properties like color, texture, and smell as it prints. But its faaaaaar from being wood, its just woody PLA.

Now that doesnt mean that things wont progress and they’ll make better filaments, im sure they will, like BASF’s 316L. Which apparently the wife is getting me a new printer capable of printing that stuff but at $500 a roll, and still needing to be sintered, im not sure how much I’ll actually print with that, we’ll see though. I’m hoping they come out with a similar filament but aluminum instead of SS.

I really plan on casting most of this stuff anyways ( as long as i can learn it ) and am using the printer as a prototype machine as it was originally designed to be so most of all this is just R&D.
But honestly, a lot of the PLA has held up really well. I have a printed fountain thats been in our koi pond for nearly two years and has no issues at all. A couple printed bell siphons in outdoor aquaponics that have been there all summer, and several of the oil breathers that are in use and seem to be doing well. Also turbo hats thats seem to being ok too.
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[kaferonni]

Hi,

For anyone looking into rebuilding their fuel pump and needing the VW328d tool, here's a 3D printed version.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6840546

Printed it with PLA, worked like a charm to help me rebuild my Pierburg VW14 fuel pump.

Have fun!

[Flush_Gordon337]

Printed some adapter centering rings to improve the fit of my Speedhut Speedometer in My 74 Thing.

I will post files on Thingiverse as soon as I can.

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I like to sit in my barn and play with my Thing!!!
1974 Type 181
Berrien 902

[Dusty1]

Today's Million Dollar Idea:

3D printed T- shirts.

.
.

[BFB]

[raygreenwood]

[BFB]

Case clearancing guide for stroker crank
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[swhitcomb]

Just ordered my Bambu Lab P1S combo. Looking forward to printing some VW parts. What are you guys using to scan things? I’m going to try and scan some 66-67 type 3 armrests and print them. I know I’ll have to do them in sections because they are bigger than the printer can print, but worth a shot.
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My 71 Ghia Been in my family since 1980
My Patina 66
My 74 Ghia
07 Boxster

[BFB]

haven't scanned anything, draw it up in cad program
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"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[swhitcomb]

I can do that. I’ll have to learn CAD and buy a CAD program.
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My 71 Ghia Been in my family since 1980
My Patina 66
My 74 Ghia
07 Boxster

[finster]

[BFB]

Version 2 of the 32/36 velocity stacks. These work with the chokes still being in place. ( although the chokes have been removed from the carb in the photo )

_________________
"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[jbannon]

[BFB]

_________________
"how am i supposed to torque the rear wheel nut to 250 ft lbs??? " - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
Most experts aren't.

[jbannon]

3D Printed Neiman Steering Lock Electrical Terminal Cover

I thought I would share a winter project I am currently working on.

I have multiple Neiman steering locks with the built in starter button that all have broken or missing bakelite electrical terminal covers. This is a part you really don't see from the driver seat, but makes all the difference when restoring / using one of these accessories. These terminal cover are often broken, cracked, or missing given the bakelite becomes brittle and sensitive over time.

Here is an original:

You can see this cover is cracked in multiple locations and a previous owner attempted to glue it back together. It also gives you an idea of the profile, internal support pieces, and "Made in Germany" and model number scripts.

The first step was to model the part in CAD. With a pair of digital calipers, some angle gauges, and a lot of trial and error, I created a digital model of the part. I am not an expert in CAD and downloaded Fusion 360's free version for personal use and found a training course on UDEMY.COM to learn how to use CAD for 3D printing. It didn't take too long to figure things out and make something in CAD that was 99% accurate. Why not 100%? I made some changes to make it less prone to cracking or chipping, tightened up the sizing so its a better fit (the original is a little too loose), and increased the font size given 3D printers cannot print very small letters or numbers. I was also able to find some plastic-head thread screws to attach the cover to the steering lock that were very close to the original! Here are some renderings:

As for 3D printers I use a Bambu Labs Carbon X1. I have used 3D printers by Creality in the past, and while much cheaper, are not easy to use unless you love to tinker with this tech. If you want a printer that just works out of the box get a Bambu Labs Carbon X1. You won't be disappointed.

I made multiple test prints using PLA and ABS filaments. My first attempts oriented the print so the top surface was printed on the base plate and the print built up from there. Like this:

In this image the top of the part is faced down so the printer doesn't require any additional supports to print the object.

However, the part's placement on the print bed caused the rounded edges of the top surface to be less than perfect when printed. I got some slight deformation which I wanted to figure out if I could fix if I printed the part differently. So I printed it upright and used supports. Like this:

This produced a better print at the top surface edges, but created problems on the inside of the print and didn't produce a clean edge for the wire terminal openings.

I then tried different print angles and support types, but each produced its own set of problems. In the end I decided to go with the original print orientation (top surface on the print bed), and figured I would fix the edges during prep and paint work.

Here are few picture to better explain what I am talking about:

I printed a lot of samples in different materials. I think for the final print I will use ABS given its more heat resistant and won't warp if it gets too hot in the car.

This gives you an idea of how the print turns out due to the print orientation. The prints with the clean lettering and numbers are due to the print being made with the top surface on the print bed. However, what is challenging to see in the photos are the poorly made curves where the top surface transitions into the walls of the part. The parts with the rough lettering are due to prints that used supports. The script is still readable, but is poorly rendered due to interference from the supports. However, the walls and curves are perfect and need little finishing work. In the end I decided to go with the less than perfect curves near the top surface and clean lettering given I plan to finish these parts in primer and paint to match the original. A little sanding work will clean up the curves / edges and will give me a better looking part overall.

Any suggestions on ways to possibly overcome this dilemma is welcome.

Ill upload the final painted part when I'm finished.
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59 Beetle - Diamond Grey
58 Beetle ragtop - Glacier Blue
58 Beetle ragtop - Black
56 Beetle - Stratos Silver
62 Beetle - Turkis
67 Beetle - Savannah Beige