I'm assuming this has been covered before, or at the least, discussed, but I haven't seen or heard anything that would indicate it has taken off to a point its popular enough that I would hear about it, so here goes.

The degree program I am in at my University allows me access to some rather decent 3D printers, and 3D scanners as well. After my headlight cover went airborne, this started crossing my mind. Now, I'm assuming this hasn't been done because without a 3D scanner (which are up there in price) you would have to design the cover from scratch, essentially.

It has the capability to print in methacrylate photopolymer resin up to 5.7 x 5.7 x 6.9 (in) and in PLA up to 11 x 11 x 9.8 (in.) I'm not planning on monetizing this (even though I have to pay for the resin) but I figured I'd throw this idea out there and see if anyone would be up for collaborating parts wise to see how a 3d scanned and printed part would function/fit.

This is entirely hypothetical, but I do have access to the resources, it just depends on how well it turns out.

 

I believe that Draklore is already doing something similar, I could very well be wrong though.

https://www.draklore.com/shop

 

try something smaller. the 3d printing will work for some parts, but for the headlight lids, its too expensive and not good enough.

 

The R&D cost is still too high, and the demand is just not there. So many fewer LHD cars means LHD restoration efforts are too small for small independent companies to make enough to recoup costs for this kind of effort. If one was to do this, the best bet would be to use the process to make mold negatives and make a run of parts. As quality approaches OEM, so does cost. I believe this is why we haven't seen this idea become successful yet.
Years ago, I reached-out to Benny, at Bubbletech, but he was not interested in working with me so I dropped it.

 

I'm not interested in doing it for profit, this is moreso just a 'because I could' since I have access to the 3d printers and scanners in the labs. Granted, I wouldn't be making tons of these, I do have to pay for materials. It would benefit me in getting extra time to use the lab, though.

 

The issue always seems to be the hours upon hours of finish work that people don't realize is needed for printed (or hand laid 'glass) parts. If you find a few pieces that people need finished to 90% and then they'd be able to do the rest you'd be lest likely to be burned out, I think.

 

Yeah, this isn't a business venture I'm considering.I would 3d scan it, transfer the file via usb drive to the printer, and print. Painting, would be up to whoever collaborated and wanted to. I'll paint my own, but that's about it.

 

I think 3d printing is cool and is being used successfully for a few different things, but the headlight covers are not one of them.

They are only a little over $100 brand brew from Mazda and will last 10+ years. No fitment issues, don't melt in the sun, and require almost no prep for painting.

I'd focus your efforts on something other than the headlight lid.

Vince

 

I think a great candidate for 3D printing would be the many little plastic interior & body trim fasteners and hole covers/trim plugs that are used throughout the FD. I'm thinking the push-pin & friction fit fasteners, but there's other stuff in that size range that would probably work well for 3D printing, like maybe the clip that holds the hood prop rod.

Many of these parts are unseen after installation, so they won't need lots of finish work or need to be pretty. These parts are indispensable if you're doing a restoration, but they often get broken or lost, and cost a small fortune to replace from Mazda.

 

Could be an interesting place to start, I'd have to remove it from mine without breaking it, though.

 

i've printed abs triangle demister vents for the fc, have a handful of ideas for cars, iv been cutting my teeth on sailboat 3d printing for 2 years..

 

a lot of these resins are not UV stable, and over time will become brittle much like the OEM ones but probably faster and worse.

if you have access to t resin printer of that size there are a lot of great things you could make though! and no i do not make these covers since there are good aftermarket ones in the 100-200$ range already!
cheers
Shane Drake

 

I have access to a photopolymer resin printer, even with my access to the printing and design labs its still not cheap, but cheap enough to do some trial and error on and see if some small pieces would work

 

I've been designing and 3d printing simple parts for the FD for a while now using only PLA. I've been mainly making brackets and little things here and there. It's actually super useful. 3D printing takes forever though! I just made a super simple bracket for mounting my AEM Infinity in the passenger well and the print job took 8+ hours. I made Dale Clark's LED taillights a while back using sheet metal. I think it would be way easier to design and 3d print it out.

 

I have access to PLA as well. I could be wrong on this one, but wouldn't it be easy to use the high res 3D scanners I have access to and print the parts from that rather than designing from scratch?

 

I'm not designing stock parts. They are merely parts to mount sensors, controllers, switches, etc. It's more like a "hey I can mount the boost controller solenoid here so no one can see it" and then I have to design it kind of thing. I would be interested in what you are planning on scanning/printing for the FD. My 3d printer sits idle until a little light bulb pops into my head.

 

PLA is not a good filament for outside use. It flakes under exposed UV and does not hold up nearly as well as many other filaments (PETG, ABS, PC, Nylon for example)
I design and print a ton of stuff for the various chassis I have and have sold many a product.
As some have mentioned there is definitely an application for 3d printed parts but a headlight cover is quite the large piece to have printed on the plate you have mentioned .Depending on your support setup and angle of the piece when printing it could vary easily be a lengthy print. Not that that is a huge issue but definitely not efficient in some cases.

I have great success using PETG for heavy duty strength, UV protection and fluid resistance, not to mention great anti vibe qualities and a great heat threshold with no warpage.

3D printers are absolutely amazing, I've easily designed and made probably 30 things that started out with an idea or need. Spend a few hours in CAD and boom a few hours later I'm holding my idea in my hand!

Print some out and see how it goes! Good luck

 

Yeah, I think I'm going to dabble in it over break. I'm fortunate in the sense that I have the design labs at the university to make use of. PLA I wasn't imagining to be the best choice based on what I've read. It looks like material strength is a huge factor here.

 

PLA is to basically bring your idea into a quick and cheap prototype and thats about it. Easy to print but layer adhesion is not good and its just too brittle
I like Nylon printing to be honest. It comes with its own issues of course but layer adhesion/blending is much better and the results are much smoother

 

Yea PLA ill use to prototyping and indoor desk trinkets and such. I've had a very small failure rate for layer adhesion with PLA, as mentioned its super easy to print, doesnt warp or smell (ABS sucks for this).
Nylon is some tough stuff, I find its a bit more sensitive to extruder temps. Support material can get alittle wonky. PETG for me is the perfect combo, has alot of strength and very comparable to ABS but without all the down sides like warpage/shrinkage, no need for an enclosure and it doesn't smell. I also have an extremely low failure rate, I'd argue to say its as easy to print as PLA.

Carbon filament is AMAZING, super light and very strong but man is it brittle. Really great looking prints and feel

 

too abrasive for the regular nozzles. You ll need a hardened nozzle
you need a lot of supports in nylon. And you need your filament to be really dry before use.

 

Yea I use a hardened nozzle for carbon and bump the temp up a bit due to it being steel. Have yet to have a failed print with it.
I'll have to pick up some more nylon, stuffs super tough. I have this sweet little setup to dry out my filaments if the moisture content gets to high.


its great to see 3d printing really taking off the last few years, such a useful tool for the industry

 

couldnt agree more but a lot of people got a 3d printer as a toy without any cad modeling experience where they only print stuff they find online. Kinda worked in the favor for those who use it as intended to bring prices down

 

haha totally! Printing things off Thingiverse is fun and all but the design is where its at. I bought a printer with the intent to design parts for cars and am self taught with CAD. Considered moving up to a bigger printer thats 24x24x24 to do alot larger automotive prototype components. Right now im on a 9x9x9 bed and is limiting for larger projects. So yea, I'm quite glad to see the prices getting lower and lower as it gains momentum in the field. The techs only getting better too.