3d printing?

3d printing?

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Discussion

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Monday 28th August 2023
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Hello all, today's daft question, that I hope some kind folk may be able to help me with.....

Is anyone able to or fancy the challenge to 3d print the electric mirror pyramid knob?
I do not have the part so unable to supply dimensional details.

It appears or could be a Classic Range Rover Part or similar..

DRC2495 Pyramid cap

DRC2481 Switch

PRC5752 Switch

PRC4273 locking nut

Dave.

7,372 posts

254 months

phillpot

17,117 posts

184 months

Monday 28th August 2023
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Are there that many people losing them, enough demand to make replacements?

What would you consider a fair price?

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Tuesday 29th August 2023
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It was an optimistic question really.
Who knows how many may be missing, my car came without it. They are fitted to a few different TVR's as well as the Range Rover.
Cost again, I have no idea what the 3d medium costs, time, utilities and effort.
I have a few items printed previously for those hard-to-find bits, for a previous car, they were free from a long-gone ex-work colleague.

I have found a temporary solution. I while back whilst walking along Southend I came across a random keyboard key that looked a fair fit. Light Dremel later fits over the peg square peg. That will do for now.

Won't be driving it until next year now in any case, so not even looking at the dash for it to bother me in reality, nor the last 3 years. It doesn't distract from the driving, just a nice to have.


indigochim

1,520 posts

131 months

Tuesday 29th August 2023
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Is it just this bit you're after. I just googled your part number and they suggest they have stock £17 delivered.

Dave.

7,372 posts

254 months

Tuesday 29th August 2023
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It’d be pretty easy to do, but ibf if I’m buying one so I can copy it hehe

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Tuesday 29th August 2023
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Yes, I have seen that and others cheaper even. That's how I got the part numbers.
I always get a bit of a mental block with those prices, having previously been in the plastic injection moulding Industry for over 20-odd years. The real price is pennies not pounds.
Most look like soft cheap tooling or even silicon prototype tools, judging by the finish.

Any old how, I will CAD up the part at some point, no great hurry I lived without for 3 years, a few more years won't hurt. smile

indigochim

1,520 posts

131 months

Thursday 31st August 2023
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BlueWedgy said:
Yes, I have seen that and others cheaper even.
I assumed you probably had knowing the part no but you never know there's plenty of folks with limited search ability.


BlueWedgy said:
Any old how, I will CAD up the part at some point, no great hurry I lived without for 3 years, a few more years won't hurt. smile
Good that you have the skills I'm sure you time will exceed the cost of the cheap parts but I think the future of keeping classics on the road is people doing this kind of project for unobtainable parts.

LucyP

1,699 posts

60 months

Thursday 31st August 2023
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It isn't. We have had this discussion on here before.

The cost of the 3D printer that you will need to get any decent parts from will prevent it from being cost effective. Yes, you can buy a 3D printer for £a few hundred and eventually, it will turn out something small, of low quality, using the kind of plastic that McDonalds or Kinder use in free kids' toys.

If you want something of OEM quality, in ABS, then you need to pay £10s of thousands, and have space for something about the size of an American fridge freezer, that also uses quite a lot of electricity.

Dave.

7,372 posts

254 months

Friday 1st September 2023
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That might have been the case 5 or 10 years ago, but you can get very good ABS prints out of sub £1k printers these days.

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Friday 1st September 2023
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The last parts I had printed of a similar size, funnily also a switch cover for a Scimitar GTE were done by an ex-work colleague, on a relatively cheap much<£500 home printer, and were of exceptional finish, quality and durability.
It depends on a number of factors medium used, complexity and how fast you want to push them out. My last parts were left to run overnight in the office.

mk1fan

10,522 posts

226 months

Monday 4th September 2023
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Plenty of 3D printer design and print services available via Ebay / Fiver etc ..

No need to invest in your own machine.

Wedg1e

26,805 posts

266 months

Wednesday 28th February
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From memory the mirror joystick was also fitted to SAABs - as were the mirror motor units.

We have a 3D printer at work that I've used for various components (not car related) - the only TVR bit I designed was a replica of the seat recliner mechanism cover. It never got past a trial print which confirmed the concept but I wasn't happy with the surface finish.


Edited by Wedg1e on Wednesday 28th February 01:04

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Thursday 29th February
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Not done anything with this.
Did see the one for 17 quid, coming from a plastics background that would cost less than 3p to mould, kinda grates me that.
@ wedg1e well if you fancy another trial part, I have a CAD model wink
If it works to could punt them out for 10 quid a pop.

Wedg1e

26,805 posts

266 months

Friday 1st March
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BlueWedgy said:
Not done anything with this.
Did see the one for 17 quid, coming from a plastics background that would cost less than 3p to mould, kinda grates me that.
@ wedg1e well if you fancy another trial part, I have a CAD model wink
If it works to could punt them out for 10 quid a pop.
Don't mind giving it a try: I'd fancied having a crack at making an alloy one as various other controls on my car are home-brewed in the same fashion, though it wouldn't necessarily end up as a pyramid eek

Alloy heater dials:




The switch blank next to the hazard switch has been replaced by a switch that Lucas never made in the 182SA series: centre off, latching one way and spring-return the other.
The latched position lets me choose whether the fuel shuts off on over-run (so no pops and bangs, ironically the reverse of what all those to553rs do these days where they have their silly shopping cars remapped to do it rolleyes) and the spring-return position runs the fuel pump so I can prime the fuel rail before cranking when the old bus has been stood a while...

Seems as good a place as any to recall this bit of bling I made for Delilah, now that Zig has her back...



Edited by Wedg1e on Friday 1st March 00:31

BlueWedgy

Original Poster:

383 posts

103 months

Friday 1st March
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Well if you do fancy a go and you get a chance, drop me an email I should be contactable from my profile and I will forward on the .STEP CAD file.

Cheers