I have seen a number of people mention 3D printing parts. I'm wondering if under hood parts are doable, or will the heat degrade/melt them? I assume there are different grades of plastic? More specifically, I was thinking of some tabs to control air flow around an intercooler, nothing that needs to channel fluids(yes, air is a fluid, but you know what i mean) or deal with large amounts of pressure.

anyone tried anything printed under the hood?

Thanks,
John

 

some tabs, like you suggest are perfect for 3d printing.

so the normal stuff that comes out of a 3d printer, is only ok up to like 120f, which is not good enough to leave in the trunk. there is stuff that can go higher, and this is what you want (PLA plus?). there is also a nylon 6 which is what they make intake manifolds from, it can handle gasoline.

the other thing with 3d printing is that the tolerances are not great, so interior parts look pretty crude, and its not very cheap either

however an IC duct, is perfect, it doesn't need to look great, tolerances aren't super important (the printing is about +/- 1 mm), it doesn't see fumes, etc. its also quite light

draw something up and do it!