1 Topic by nikrawlinson

  • nikrawlinson
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  • Registered: 2013-05-01
  • Posts: 1

Topic: Printing car parts

Hello all

I'm researching an article for Auto Express magazine here in the UK about how 3D printing will revolutionise the way we look after our cars. Service centres and garages won't need to keep a large stock of spares, manufacturers can create spares on the fly and, ultimately, we should be able to create new door handles, switches, air vents and so on, at home.

Is anyone here printing anything for their car and, if so, would you be willing to answer a few questions to be quoted in the article?

Get in touch either through the forum or privately ([email protected]) if you'd like to take part.

Nik

2 Reply by Charles_Xavier

  • Charles_Xavier
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  • From: Indiana
  • Registered: 2013-04-11
  • Posts: 127

Re: Printing car parts

I've designed and had Shapeways print a car part for me. The backstory is that my girlfriend inadvertently kicks her hood release latch all the time when going to press her foot parking brake. The result is that she has broken the plastic latching mechanism twice, though the cable is fine. You can't buy just the latch, you have to buy the whole assembly, and for her car it is $50/each. So I used the part geometry to model up a highly reinforced version and had Shapeways print it. It came, fit and worked perfectly, and I couldn't break it when I tried. The most irritating part was measuring some very irregular geometry on the original part. I know it's not exactly what you're asking about, but it is related. Let me know if I can answer any other questions!