What do you mean you just print out the parts?

I didn't actually start with this picture. I eyeballed the shape of the side cover. I got pretty close but then did take the picture. With most CAD programs you can scale the picture to 100% using a known dimension in the photo. I didn't. I also got really lucky.


I assumed the engineers in the late 1960s weren't going to get crazy with the shape so it didn't take much to replicate it. Although the fit is pretty spot on I'm still prototyping so I can't say these dimensions are gospel. Worship at your own risk.



Here is a simple extrude. Again, I just guessed at the depth.



I am rounding the edges, did I mention I am guessing? I do have radius gauges but I haven't pulled them out yet.



At this point I have a solid 3D object so I hollowed out the backside (it's called shelling) and I set the thickness to 1mm. Since I had no idea how it would print out I wanted to go thin. But going thin also meant I needed addition print supports.





First prototype. And yes, I was surprised it turned out as well as it did.




And it's almost a perfect fit. Happy accident.

But what are am I actually going to do with it? I can either print out the final item, apply a skim coat and paint it or, more interestingly, because I have the positive shape in 3D I can easily create a negative mold. I'm entertaining making some out of carbon fiber. Because I don't have enough going on in my life.

If I were to print out the "final" I would need to pick a good plastic as the oil tank gets hot.

Anyways.... any questions?

I am both impressed by your abilities and envious of the time you have on your hands !

Fast Eddie said:

I am both impressed by your abilities and envious of the time you have on your hands !

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It took a surprisingly short amount of time. Maybe a couple hours at the most to model it out. Maybe. It probably took me more time to post this that I spent making it. It's not a complicated part. And we don't count the 7 hour print time.

Very interesting. This would be a good way to obtain some of the hard to find left side Mk2 A sidecovers.

My son did a project recently with a major Japanese car maker.

They are actively trialing printing 3 D parts at distribution centres as a means of cutting down inventory and shipping of parts around the world.

johnm said:

Very interesting. This would be a good way to obtain some of the hard to find left side Mk2 A sidecovers.

My son did a project recently with a major Japanese car maker.

They are actively trialing printing 3 D parts at distribution centres as a means of cutting down inventory and shipping of parts around the world.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, and I have easy access to said side cover...

swooshdave said:

Hmmm, and I have easy access to said side cover...

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i should say I personally don't need one but have read posts from several people looking for them over the years.

swooshdave said:

I didn't actually start with this picture. I eyeballed the shape of the side cover. I got pretty close but then did take the picture. With most CAD programs you can scale the picture to 100% using a known dimension in the photo. I didn't. I also got really lucky.

I assumed the engineers in the late 1960s weren't going to get crazy with the shape so it didn't take much to replicate it. Although the fit is pretty spot on I'm still prototyping so I can't say these dimensions are gospel. Worship at your own risk.

Here is a simple extrude. Again, I just guessed at the depth.

I am rounding the edges, did I mention I am guessing? I do have radius gauges but I haven't pulled them out yet.

At this point I have a solid 3D object so I hollowed out the backside (it's called shelling) and I set the thickness to 1mm. Since I had no idea how it would print out I wanted to go thin. But going thin also meant I needed addition print supports.

First prototype. And yes, I was surprised it turned out as well as it did.

And it's almost a perfect fit. Happy accident.

But what are am I actually going to do with it? I can either print out the final item, apply a skim coat and paint it or, more interestingly, because I have the positive shape in 3D I can easily create a negative mold. I'm entertaining making some out of carbon fiber. Because I don't have enough going on in my life.

If I were to print out the "final" I would need to pick a good plastic as the oil tank gets hot.

Anyways.... any questions?

Click to expand...

Excellent! Myself and a friend were discussing 3D printing of things like the ignition console for Mk3s The modern replacements do not look like the originals and 3D printing opens up the possibility to embellish the console with a few more idiot lights etc also switch gear buttons and the like.
A few questions, what make/model is your printer? what software are you using, Computer specs etc. I'm familiar with Autocad and use a small CNC equipped Mill with Vectric/Mach 3 as the software so not a complete novice. I have resisted getting into 3D printing as i know what i,m like, it would take over....
Another question
did you print it at an angle as it wouldn't fit the envelope in your printer if it was flat?

dobba99 said:

Excellent! Myself and a friend were discussing 3D printing of things like the ignition console for Mk3s The modern replacements do not look like the originals and 3D printing opens up the possibility to embellish the console with a few more idiot lights etc also switch gear buttons and the like.
A few questions, what make/model is your printer? what software are you using, Computer specs etc. I'm familiar with Autocad and use a small CNC equipped Mill with Vectric/Mach 3 as the software so not a complete novice. I have resisted getting into 3D printing as i know what i,m like, it would take over....
Another question
did you print it at an angle as it wouldn't fit the envelope in your printer if it was flat?

Click to expand...

All good questions.

I'm using a Bambu P1S. https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/p1s?from=navigation



There are two camps of 3D printer people, those who don't really care about the printing and just want to tinker with the printers... and those who want to print stuff out that works and looks good. I had a printer years ago (and actually printed out some parts for motorcycles) but you had to really work to get decent prints out.

If you don't want to tinker and actually print stuff get a Bambu. They have made it extremely simple. Are you going to get a perfect print 100% of the time? No, there are still variables you will need to know about but you are not going to be farting around with the hardware hoping something comes out. If you talk to someone and they say Bambu is too expensive or they have a closed system, don't listen to them.

https://bambulab.com/en/a1-mini https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/a1-mini?from=home_web You can get into the A1 Mini for US$249. Sure it's got a small print bed but it will print really nice stuff.



For US$499 you can get the A1 which can do nearly everything my printer can do. The P1S adds an enclosure which helps when printing some of the more exotic filaments that require higher temps. The other advantage of the P1S is that the printhead moves X and Y and the bed just goes up and down. This can make a difference if you have tall prints as the bed isn't moving side to side. The printer will compensate by slowing down.

As for software I use OnShape. Because it's web based the computer you use really doesn't matter. And it's free (the caveat is that your designs are technically public so people can see them). They have a ton of training courses and I essentially got up to speed pretty quick. But really any CAD works with 3D printing. If you are already familiar with CAD you could be up and printing in an hour.

Yes, angled because of the print size. But you sometimes want to angle to reduce the supports.

dobba99 said:

Excellent! Myself and a friend were discussing 3D printing of things like the ignition console for Mk3s The modern replacements do not look like the originals and 3D printing opens up the possibility to embellish the console with a few more idiot lights etc also switch gear buttons and the like.

Click to expand...

I can see it now - Quadrophenia-esque...

Interesting exercise. I wonder how the final product would resist vibration fracture compared with a fiberglass version.

Stephen Hill said:

Interesting exercise. I wonder how the final product would resist vibration fracture compared with a fiberglass version.

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It all depends on the material you print it out of. There's a much wider variety than you can imagine. I would probably use ASA which is similar to ABS but is UV resistant. And these days you can get stuff that has carbon fiber or glass fiber in it for added rigidity.

'What man has made, man can make again'. My Seeley 850 is supposed to be an historic racing motorcycle - however in history, it never existed. Gus Kuhn's bikes were remotely similar. If you go to the Goodwood Revival Historic Races, I suggest it would be very difficult to find any vehicle there which is non genuine. I suggest a lot has to do with the reason people own Commandos. I do not own a Manx Norton because I could not do it justice. These days, it would be extremely difficult to find a nut and bolt perfect Manx. My problem is I can remember what they should look like. In my lifetime, I have seen two Commandos which have been near perfect in my estimation, but I am not an expert on Commandos. If I owned a Commando, I would probably 'improve' it - however the only changes I would make would be inside the gearbox or motor. The main things which helped my Seeley 850 to get up and go were the Manx close ratio gearbox internals, and the rebalanced crank. The motor can actually be used properly. The rider adjusts to the bike ?