1 Topic by FordGalaxie

  • FordGalaxie
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Topic: 3d printed gas tank

So heres the deal.  I have a Tomos Moped I use for work.  The gas tank only holds .85 gallons.  So I was hoping there was some way I could utilize my solidoodle to 3d Print a shaped auxiliary tank to go into my FAKE gas tank.  The fake gas tank is a large storage area.  The main question is, would PLA break down from the inside because of the gas?  Or is it something I dont need to worry about?  I planned on  Sanding it down and spraying it down it some kind of sealer as well, even AFTER I make sure its "Watertight".  Any advice is welcome!  Thanks guys!  And before someone suggests it, no I cant 3d print a mold to use to make a fiberglass gas tank.  Fiberglass gas tanks arent legal anymore.  Thanks!

2 Reply by elmoret

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

Fiberglass tanks aren't legal but you want to print one out of biodegradable plastic?

O_o

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3 Reply by FordGalaxie

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

Plastic gas tanks are legal.  In fact they are whats most widely used right now.  I figured I would print the Tank in two pieces, spray the inside with some type of treatment to resist the gas, then use a liquid gasket (also gas resistant) where the two pieces connect, and then bolt them together at that seam.

4 Reply by ronsii

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

I believe the plastic tanks would have to be DOT approved.....

5 Reply by FordGalaxie

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

ronsii wrote:

I believe the plastic tanks would have to be DOT approved.....

Crap I didnt think of that... Ill do some reasearch and come back to this

6 Reply by tealvince

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

I read some posts referencing bikes with oem abs tanks but I doubt that this means any plastic would be ok.  Even for the oem plastic tanks, the posts mentioned dot approval though. 

Legalities aside, personally I wouldn't risk using a printed tank for fear it would crack and leak.  Id feel safer with a container molded in a more flexible plastic like some food or drink storage containers and would look into adapting one of those.

7 Reply by ronsii

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

^^ Yeah, you could make a printed mold then either 'blow mold' it or 'roto mold' it, there are a few other techniques also but these two are fairly easy to do for the average 'builder' the key thing would be the type of plastic used... I think the toughest would be polyethylene.

As for the legal side of things.... I know people who run non-dot parts including tires on bikes and they usually don't have a problem... but if you do get inspected and they really go after you I am sure they will make it worth 'their' while.

8 Reply by elmoret

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

Why not just do it the right way and get one tig welded to fit?

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9 Reply by ronsii

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

Ahhhh. that takes all the fun out of it wink

10 Reply by SykoDJ (edited by SykoDJ 2014-04-18 20:17:55)

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

i dont think pla will work as well as abs but there are tanks already made out of abs so I dont see why not

11 Reply by adrian (edited by adrian 2014-04-19 00:38:27)

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Re: 3d printed gas tank

Pure PLA by itself will leak unless done stupidly thick, and theres also the whole 'will start to degrade mechanically at >60°C ... which in any automotive environment wont be hard to get to. Even just ambient on a warm day will cause lots of issues...

If I was planning on doing it, ABS, or more important, ABS+PC for added strength.

THEN on the Inside, assuming the ABS/PLA doesn't react with it, just use some Motorcycle Tank Liner product such as "Kreem".. Most are two-part process that you basically pour in, swish round, let cure for a week... and voila, re-lined tank... http://www.ebay.com/bhp/motorcycle-gas-tank-sealer ....