Grill dimensions?

[KevinRS]

I am kind of just testing to see how well the HT-PLA works. Haven't found info on it breaking down rapidly due to moisture. Generally heat and UV are the issues, some videos seem to show a higher heat resistance than I expected. For temporary cosmetic parts UV shouldn't be too much of an issue, and you could always paint.
Supposedly PLA is compostable, but it takes sustained temps of 140F/60C+ with plenty of moisture for months to break it down.
Annealing happens at 80-100C to improve stability up to 150C
Apparently the non-glass filled becomes more stable, but under stress can deflect closer to 60C
I have measured temps in a car in the sun up to ~160F which is 71C. I would hope it doesn't get as high as 100C which would have a container of water left in the car actually boiling.

I think it's possible even the non-glass type might work for temporary external parts, like holiday themed light covers, and low stress internal parts. For something like a phone mount, probably need the GF type and careful orientation. Testing needed.
I've printed one swatch, will print some more tomorrow, and also some GF swatches. will stick some in the AC vents of both types, and annealed and not annealed, once I figure out an annealing process.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

TLDR (Why do we put these at the end?): Go with ASA if you can. If you can't get the setup to work, try PCTG.

Oh, and sorry for the long first post!

3d printing isn't my jam, but I admire & appreciate the time and effort you made to share your knowledge and experience with the community here. That's a good thing! No need to apologize at all.

 

[Mr. Vacuum]

not exaclty the type of thing ya'll are talking about, but i'm thinking of printing an inset for a LCD panel to run custom images/advertisements. be pretty neat "off road use only" feature.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

not exaclty the type of thing ya'll are talking about, but i'm thinking of printing an inset for a LCD panel to run custom images/advertisements. be pretty neat "off road use only" feature.

Seems like a easy target for vandalism.

 

[EV Trek]

My go to for car parts is ASA. I have a Bambu printer and it prints in high quality. For my car parts none have failed as of yet over the last 3 years. I have made replacement trim pieces, emblems, badges, fasteners, grocery bag hooks, and phone holders for wireless charging. I am planning on doing custom parking light covers and tail light covers, and I may tackle the grille, I would like to make a Hummer style grille for mine. The slots would give a good break point for printing it in pieces.

 

[htmlprofessional]

My go to for car parts is ASA. I have a Bambu printer and it prints in high quality. For my car parts none have failed as of yet over the last 3 years. I have made replacement trim pieces, emblems, badges, fasteners, grocery bag hooks, and phone holders for wireless charging. I am planning on doing custom parking light covers and tail light covers, and I may tackle the grille, I would like to make a Hummer style grille for mine. The slots would give a good break point for printing it in pieces.

I'm going to buy a tool changer once more of them hit the market later this year. I'm curious what you think would work for joining the grill parts? Do you think super glue will suffice(my normal go to) or those heated bolt inserts(haven't used them much)?

 

[EV Trek]

I'm going to buy a tool changer once more of them hit the market later this year. I'm curious what you think would work for joining the grill parts? Do you think super glue will suffice(my normal go to) or those heated bolt inserts(haven't used them much)?

Either bolts and nuts or the inserts, print in flanges and premade holes. Or as I have also made interlocking pieces and used superglue also. There are lots of ways. Just have to try what works best based on the part you make.

 

[ClayJar]

I'll have to think about getting some black ASA if I want to print permanent front light covers, but then again, I might not care much about UV resistance and ideal longevity, as they don't necessarily have to be lifetime parts. Frankly, if they weather out and "force" me to swap them for something new, that wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

(The worst thing ever would be if I made a print to repair something in my wife's old Saturn Aura. I'm pretty sure whatever it would be, I would absolutely not want to ever do the same job again. That thing is the anti-Slate!)

On the other hand, I'm certainly not going to print anything for the dash in PLA. This is Louisiana. (Okay, maybe a Salvador Dali clock Slatelet...)

 

[KevinRS]

I printed some swatches of PETG, HTPLA and HTPLA-GF from polymaker a few weeks ago, and annealed 1 each of the HT types and they have been living sitting on top of my dash in high desert heat since. Some days over 100F outside, no tint on windows, and once in a while I forget to put up the window shade. Probably have gotten well over 150F. I think all 3 have gotten soft enough at peak heat to easily bend by hand, but they are thin swatches. The PETG has definitely warped, and all the HT samples are still flat, no bending or warping under it's own weight. I need to figure out a rig to hold them and put some weight on them to get some more unscientific data. Seems the HTPLA may well be good enough for temporary use, even if it's not going to last for years.

 

[EJensen]

I don't have a 3D printer, but getting the Slate will probably push me over into buying one. Whatever I get will have a heated/enclosed chamber and a hardened nozzle to keep all my material options open.

Plus, a 3D printer is basically free since I won't be paying for the extended range battery (there's probably some emoji that should go here to indicate irony).

I very much appreciate the material tips posted here. I hope to be coming back with specific questions when I start to seriously consider a purchase.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I don't have a 3D printer, but getting the Slate will probably push me over into buying one. Whatever I get will have a heated/enclosed chamber and a hardened nozzle to keep all my material options open.

Plus, a 3D printer is basically free since I won't be paying for the extended range battery (there's probably some emoji that should go here to indicate irony).

I very much appreciate the material tips posted here. I hope to be coming back with specific questions when I start to seriously consider a purchase.

It is tempting. Someone mentioned earlier that the after market might not be that robust if there isn't interested in a certain thing and I'm thinking to myself "all you need is a printer and some know-how." I see one-offs as being a larger market than usual. You want a badger wearing a Slate hat as a slatelet? Ok, done.

 

[htmlprofessional]

I don't have a 3D printer, but getting the Slate will probably push me over into buying one. Whatever I get will have a heated/enclosed chamber and a hardened nozzle to keep all my material options open.

Plus, a 3D printer is basically free since I won't be paying for the extended range battery (there's probably some emoji that should go here to indicate irony).

I very much appreciate the material tips posted here. I hope to be coming back with specific questions when I start to seriously consider a purchase.

Love to see another 3d printer joining the community. I'm currently leaning towards upgrading my printer to a Flashforge Creator 5 pro. It's a tool changer, it's enclosed and it won't break my bank account. I did debate getting a Pursa XL with an indx upgrade(love the build volume), but it just seems too expensive. With that said, I may wait to see what other tool changers come out later this year.

 

[kvermeer]

I wish the grille and light plates were 2D, for easy manufacturing from laser cut plates that would be vastly stronger than 3D prints. Maybe it can still be done in a stack of multiple parts?

 

[EJensen]

Love to see another 3d printer joining the community. I'm currently leaning towards upgrading my printer to a Flashforge Creator 5 pro. It's a tool changer, it's enclosed and it won't break my bank account. I did debate getting a Pursa XL with an indx upgrade(love the build volume), but it just seems too expensive. With that said, I may wait to see what other tool changers come out later this year.

I'm still very early in the window shopping stage, but the first unit to grab my interest is the Prusa Core ONE+. I don't think I can justify the additional spend on the L version. From what I've seen so far, I like Prusa's business philosophy.

Bambu gets a lot of love online for their quality, but they've gotten some pretty lousy press recently for their attempts to wall off their garden.

 

[ClayJar]

I wish the grille and light plates were 2D, for easy manufacturing from laser cut plates that would be vastly stronger than 3D prints. Maybe it can still be done in a stack of multiple parts?

Interesting thought. I think splitting the difference might be a useful approach. 3D print a dimensional "shim" that has the required geometry to interface with the vehicle-side structure and has a flat front surface (with or without locating ridge on the perimeter). Then you can easily use laser-cut sheet goods as the visible front surface.

This would also mean that the printed shim is, at least for the most part, shielded from direct UV exposure, so it should take notably longer for weathering to become problematic.

(Now I'm seeing a bunch of Slates with brushed stainless steel accents... and perhaps a few with gold(ish) grilles.)