Any ideas of a small simple part to reproduce? (3D CAD Plastic/Rubber Parts)

[Xhumeka]

What about a case saver?



(assuming you have access to material hard enough to actually save a case during chain failure)

[Louis Mielke]

I use fusion360. I haven't really been active here on the board much but I keep myself busy with the CNC conversion mill I built. Fusion is great for hobbyists.
Its tough figuring out what to make if all your doing is trying to figure out a product that sells. I would recommend just making stuff you're passionate about and let sales come if there is a desire from people. Its really funny because I've made stuff that no one had any interest in at first then months later when I didn't have any of the item people wanted them. Not to mention you'll only have a handful of people who are willing to pay what stuff is really worth and you'll have a million people who want something for next to nothing. And then half a dozen people either a trying to make a competing product (which is unfortunate but expected/acceptable) and then a handful of people blatantly trying to copy your item outright (which is unacceptable).

[newby200x]

Yea, the program is called Freecad. I'm not expecting things to be 100% perfect. Like I'm not going to design bearings in it or anything that's super tight tolerance. Rubber bumpers and such there's a fair bit of margin of error. Also yea, I'm mainly using a digital caliper for the base measurements. Seems like most of the primary measurements are whole numbers. Like the 350x pins measured 12mm diameter, 20mm overall length, head measured 2mm, eyeballing the slot appeared to be 1mm deep. The slot width wasn't a whole number though, my best measurement I came up with I believe was 1.4mm.

I've seen autodesk and solidworks at my first job around the engineering department, I didn't get to play with the software, that was my co-worker's job (day hours), I mainly did pc work, printer repairs etc (midnight shift). We had some super computers on site too, old one was a $20k unit, and the other was a work in progress, each one was $170k for the client, I think there was a few options for the server (16 blade server if I recall correctly), something like $360k, $780k, or one over $1m. They were for simulation mainly but the co-worker doing the cad stuff was thinking about getting one for the cad group.

Is there better options to get more accurate measurements than a caliper? I'm mainly looking to get the primary fitments spot on, and the rest is designed as a look-a-like as long as it fits the application.

Also, yea the 3d printing has a pretty wide tolerance. Their CNC option was down to 0.002in, standard/default option is 0.010in. This is on ABS plastic. It gets better for steel etc. I suspect if i had china make the parts, it would be like 1mm tolerance lol.

I would agree for these rubber parts that a digital caliper would suffice. It's hard to get certain accurate measurements on curved surfaces, or small parts w/ complex geometry w/ just a digital caliper. I would foresee the fitment of the split pin having a tighter or looser fit than OEM, just due to the fact of the relief and not knowing what kind of tolerance (or geometric tolerance) may have been applied to the part originally. I'm sure what you have measured and would reproduce would still work just fine, but may not have the exact same characteristics as the original. There are 3d scanners on the market now that would create 3d models of the parts and I believe have very accurate results, but I'm sure the cost of one of these would be very high. Our 3D printer at work is supposed to have a tolerance of +/- .005", which it does hold, but overall finish quality would not be something I would say is favorable. It is a layered plastic part, so it will never have a smooth, clean appearance. If you ever run into a snag and need something modeled and drawn up, let me know and I'd be glad to help.

[ps2fixer]

The case saver idea is a good one. I never seen them plastic like that though, do you know any info on them like what material they are made from? I'd guess something like nylon (soft for the chain to bounce off basically). Seems like the bolts would be the weak spot, and they designed around that by making it butt right up to the case

@Louis Mielke

Yea CNC work isn't cheap. Of the tiny bit I checked on price quotes, just to have it done is $100+ for most parts and you have to mark up the part cost to cover selling fees, shipping, and to pay yourself something etc. Small quantity high accurate machine work isn't cheap to have done, doing it yourself reduces your costs, but the end part should be valued (cost wise) the same as if a company was hired to do it. There's a few people willing to spend the big money on well made parts, but from what I've experienced, most people just want something that works and looks good even if the quality is sub par.

This is the first thread I actually got behind on reading replies on, kind of crazy lol. I'll get to page 2 replies in a bit, but first I got my plastic ignition switch plate in the mail. Personally, it doesn't look half bad. It's a unique rough surface that I wouldn't mind running on my own machine. Price wise, it's cheap enough I think the buyer market would accept the look at the price point I'm thinking. Basically some sort of dash + Chinese ignition switch I modiy and rewire + adapter harness. I'm targeting the ATC350X, ATC250R, and ATC200X with this plate. I'm really torn between keeping it a plastic plate, or having it cut out of the right sized sheet metal. It's a bit bendable, but seems quite strong. I could add some "skirting" to the outside of it to beef it up some and gussets and it should be pretty ridged and should be pretty impact resistant. Of course I can't get a good quality overview shot of it with my phone but I think the close up's shows the surface pretty well. The ignition switch has a blue cover over the metal face, normally it's chrome colored. The clocking on the locator slot looks perfect to me.

Now I have to locate my Honda made handle bar clamps that has the dash mount bolt ears and see how it fits the machine. Overall quite happy with how it turned out, and I designed the ignition switch hole to these Chinese switches, so the actually fit nice and snug so it actually feels like a higher quality setup (I hate how sloppy they feel in the stock Honda dashes, they are about 1mm smaller around).

if I add the skirting it will probably cost me more to have them "printed". I think they'd work fine as a flat plate, but it would be a better design with the skirting atleast. It's still a bit in the R & D stages, but it's really neet to design something on the pc, and get the physical object in the mail. I'll probably be using this plate on my 350x, just like it's running the first ever made wire harness of mine, and also the first Honda handle bar switch set I modified for a 350x. If I ever make a CDI, it will also have the first one of those I make too lol.

[Louis Mielke]

That's a pretty decent looking print. Honestly I think something like that could be milled out of .25" aluminum sheet pretty easily. I've designed several different versions of a keymount bar cap but in the end I keep making it overly complicated. I think I'll end up making one of these for myself but i think the design is way too complicated to sell, the price would have to be $80-100 to even remotely make any sense. I think you have the right idea there for a product with mass appeal.

The case saver idea is a good one. I never seen them plastic like that though, do you know any info on them like what material they are made from? I'd guess something like nylon (soft for the chain to bounce off basically). Seems like the bolts would be the weak spot, and they designed around that by making it butt right up to the case

@Louis Mielke

Yea CNC work isn't cheap. Of the tiny bit I checked on price quotes, just to have it done is $100+ for most parts and you have to mark up the part cost to cover selling fees, shipping, and to pay yourself something etc. Small quantity high accurate machine work isn't cheap to have done, doing it yourself reduces your costs, but the end part should be valued (cost wise) the same as if a company was hired to do it. There's a few people willing to spend the big money on well made parts, but from what I've experienced, most people just want something that works and looks good even if the quality is sub par.

This is the first thread I actually got behind on reading replies on, kind of crazy lol. I'll get to page 2 replies in a bit, but first I got my plastic ignition switch plate in the mail. Personally, it doesn't look half bad. It's a unique rough surface that I wouldn't mind running on my own machine. Price wise, it's cheap enough I think the buyer market would accept the look at the price point I'm thinking. Basically some sort of dash + Chinese ignition switch I modiy and rewire + adapter harness. I'm targeting the ATC350X, ATC250R, and ATC200X with this plate. I'm really torn between keeping it a plastic plate, or having it cut out of the right sized sheet metal. It's a bit bendable, but seems quite strong. I could add some "skirting" to the outside of it to beef it up some and gussets and it should be pretty ridged and should be pretty impact resistant. Of course I can't get a good quality overview shot of it with my phone but I think the close up's shows the surface pretty well. The ignition switch has a blue cover over the metal face, normally it's chrome colored. The clocking on the locator slot looks perfect to me.

Now I have to locate my Honda made handle bar clamps that has the dash mount bolt ears and see how it fits the machine. Overall quite happy with how it turned out, and I designed the ignition switch hole to these Chinese switches, so the actually fit nice and snug so it actually feels like a higher quality setup (I hate how sloppy they feel in the stock Honda dashes, they are about 1mm smaller around).

if I add the skirting it will probably cost me more to have them "printed". I think they'd work fine as a flat plate, but it would be a better design with the skirting atleast. It's still a bit in the R & D stages, but it's really neet to design something on the pc, and get the physical object in the mail. I'll probably be using this plate on my 350x, just like it's running the first ever made wire harness of mine, and also the first Honda handle bar switch set I modified for a 350x. If I ever make a CDI, it will also have the first one of those I make too lol.

[floydechoes2000]

I'm interested in one of those ignition cylinder mount plates, and the key setup for my 86 350X whenever you have it ready ps2fixer! I also have 3 new OEM rubber key covers that I can ship to you as a partial trade in. If you're interested in them PM me your address and I'll get them to you.

[ps2fixer]

The red plastic air frame ducts up at frame on the 85-86R which always have broken and cracked ears...I had tried to get a kid I worked with to repo these the same way with his 3D molder machine to make money but he was more interested in making Dungeon Dragon model ppl lol.

I'll have to look into the part more. I don't have hardly anything for the 85-86 250r on hand to take measurements from. Just to confirm, the part you're talking about is #3 and #4 in this diagram?

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/ho...50r-a/radiator

Ps2- I’ve always wanted to try the 87 200x dash mold but I couldn’t get the screw caps molded right(the tiny bumps) that hold it in place always were too fragile. I bought a set of repro caps a few yrs ago and the same issue the bumps broke off on install (or atleast one on each side did). But recently browsing lowes i happened across these plastic caps they fit perfect (no top slot though) and a little trimming on bottom and they are a nice color match too. I suppose a dab of silicone could be used also if needed.Attachment 256791

Fabio- those tailight pins are discontinued, next time I see you let me bring one home I’ll see if I can make it multiply. I’m in it for the hobby side of it, not to make money, I’ll just mold em’ when pouring something else no offense to anyone I just enjoy it.

Ps2- when it’s not 10 degrees out I’ll venture out to the shed for that 87 harness

Shep

That's a nice find on that plug. How different is the latch/holding system on the under side? I don't think this part could be 3d printed and have it look right. CNC work is expensive so I don't think they are worth $100+ for a pair to have them made that way. This would be a part that would more or less have to be injection molded (250-1000+ made and sell-able). If looks isn't as much of a concern, the material I used in the plate posted above is quite flexible so would probably work well for a cap like that. Maybe you can use a pour material that's more in the rubber category, but find something that's stiff.

Wait so the taillight pins are discontinued?

For the 250sx tail light pin, I'd say try to buy them from partzilla and see if they ship it or refund you. They have photos of it, so they have had them in stock since they updated their site. I think that was about a year or less ago. The dash covers I was buying took a couple months for partzilla to update as not in stock. Let me know if they are unavailable, I have a 250sx I could grab the part from to get measurements from.

I'm surprised no one has requested swing arm bushings yet...

I could make the cad drawing, but the tolerances for 3d printed parts I think is too much for a bushing based part. Injection molding or CNC would be acceptable, but is high cost per part made. I'd just need some parts on hand to take measurements from, or the bushings in hand to duplicate the measurements. Someone clearly made them as I'm pretty sure that's not OEM, didn't OEM have some sort of bearing instead of a bushing?

A part that comes to mind is the rubber fitting that seals the wiring that exits the stator on the Tri-Z. They would be difficult to install if they were identical to the OEM fitting, but I'd take a few if you made something that looked clean. Anything is better that the torn up rubber I have now.

I suspect this would fall into the injection molding requirement category. Maybe I could get a bunch of rubber based parts together, and have one injection mold made for like 20 parts. Of course if one sells really well and others performed poorly, I wouldn't have a way to mass produce the "good" part. I think the cost per part after the initial cost would be low enough where that wouldn't be a major problem though. It's just a pretty large upfront investment. Really any stator seal/boot I could use too since I'm planning to offer new stator to harness wiring for people that are willing to do the solder work involved with replacing the wiring.

[ps2fixer]

I'm interested in one of those ignition cylinder mount plates, and the key setup for my 86 350X whenever you have it ready ps2fixer! I also have 3 new OEM rubber key covers that I can ship to you as a partial trade in. If you're interested in them PM me your address and I'll get them to you.

I'll note you down as interested in one. I'm also working with Louis on doing some CNC metal work. I have some updates to do to the design, I jumped the gun a little on ordering the part and based it too much on a part I forgot isn't the same as what I'd be using. Fairly small tweaks overall. Also, since I have a CNC metal option, I'm throwing together a pretty quick "universal" mount that should fit more or less any ATV. The design I'm using is designed for my aftermarket ignition switches (slightly smaller than OEM Honda ones), but I could update the size for Honda ignition switches pretty easy too.

Here's a pic of the universal ignition switch plate. The idea behind this one is that it bolts on right where the handle bar clamp bolts on. Should be able to locate it on top or bottom, the clocking for the ignition switch is based for it to be straight up. I've seen similar plates on ebay, but none were made for the Honda style clip in ignition switches. Let me know which style you prefer. The smaller one should be cheaper to make. I'd assume you'd prefer metal over plastic, plastic of course would have the 3d printed finish, so not a smooth finish. The metal part would be a lot smoother finish.

[newby200x]

For flat sheet metal parts like this, you may want to investigate a local CNC plasma or CNC laser outfit. They can burn out 100's at a time and the cost is usually very reasonable. No set up time, or tooling required.

[ironchop]

For flat sheet metal parts like this, you may want to investigate a local CNC plasma or CNC laser outfit. They can burn out 100's at a time and the cost is usually very reasonable. No set up time, or tooling required.

I agree and would like to add a third option which is to have them done on a water jet table.

That job would be perfect for any of those three types of cutting machines and it's much cheaper to have a half sheet or more of them burned/jetted out at a time. Due to the narrow kerf width of all three of those, you can nest a whole bunch of parts very close together easily on most CAD/CAM software to get the maximum amount of parts out of any given sized sheet of material

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[ps2fixer]

I did some searching around and looks like the nearest place is around 1hr 30 mins from me that does laser cutting and water jet laser cutting (laser microjet I guess is the correct term?). Their site says they take sheet sizes up to 60 x 120in. I'll have to think of a few plate based parts and mix them together in the output file. I don't think I need 100s+ of these parts, atleast not yet lol.

Too bad there isn't more options locally for me. I searched laser cutting on google maps and look how bad my dead zone is. I'm near Midland, basically the center of the dead zone lol.



I knew about laser and water jet cutting, but I never dawned on me that the site I was using didn't offer that service. Pretty much all of the parts I'd need cut would be small/tiny things, so shipping shouldn't be a problem. Might just try to find a semi local business that offers instant price quotes online. The local shipping zone is fairly large so shouldn't be too hard to find a place that shipping would be reasonable. Thanks for the tips.

[ps2fixer]

Well I've found a place and poked around and the prices are so much cheaper to work with. Material setup is separated ($35 flat fee), but I can do multi parts from one setup. All parts I have cut at once help to discount each other for the bulk order. Based on these prices I could probably CAD up the flat engine mount plates. They come out as raw metal, I don't see any finish options. I'm not sure if the edges will come out razor sharp or if they knock down the edges first.

I might be able to have some of the spacers made too from "sheet metal", the laser cutter can cut some thick stuff, but I'm not sure how close the spacers are to a standard thickness. Seems like everything in inches based for thickness, so I had to go slightly thicker on the ignition switch mount plates (2.56mm vs 2.5mm), but that's not a problem for the switch to mount in anyway.

Since a metal option is available I redesigned the larger mount a bit so it bolts on where the handle bar clamp bolts go. This saves ~$25 in Honda parts that was required before. I think when all is said and done this kit will be very affordable.

Would there be any interest in a speedometer mount for the 350x too (seems like the mount pattern is "universal" but I don't have the ATC one on hand)? Just trying to think of more sheet metal type of parts and get an order in that's reasonable sized to have a good cost per unit made + the setup/shipping costs. Ideally I could probably make a harness that has a connector for reading the coil signal for a tach as well. I'd love a tach on my 350x, so I might be replacing the harness on it to test the idea out. I doubt there's many if any 350x's with a tach + speedometer, and even fewer that also have an ignition switch as well.

Anyway any more ideas for parts made from sheet metal would be cool.The thickness can be up to around 3/8-1/2in with the company I'm looking at. The other one was in the inches but doesn't offer instant price quotes. Hoping to think of a couple more parts to make from the 0.1in thick aluminum.

[newby200x]

I might reccomend a company called Nelson Steel Products out of Holland, MI. We use them regularly as our domestic steel fabricator, but not sure if they tailor to individuals, or the hobbyist. They have outstanding quality, great prices, and can pretty much fabricate any part out of sheet or tube steel. I've looked into purchasing my own CNC plasma machine, but didn't have the funds at the time. I think they can be found in the 7k-15k range, depending on quality. They maybe cheaper than that nowadays. If I had the time and space I would look into getting one again.

[ps2fixer]

Thanks for the company reference. I've had a couple part ideas that would require welding and such, so they might be a good option for something like that.

Owning a laser or plasma CNC cutter would be a pretty interesting hobby to have. There's been a lot of times I've seen my dad make flat plate steel parts by hand (no machine equipment, so all hand drilled and cut), so it would be nice to have a professional grade way to cut things. I've made a few things too in the past, but they never end up being a perfect fit.

I'm kind of shocked the Chinese haven't copied a plasma cutter design and made a stupidly cheap home owner (or lower grade) machine for 10% the cost. It's still pretty crazy to think a Chinese plasma cutter is like $250 new now, and the cheapest name brand one is like $1600. In theory that Chinese plasma cutter could be used for CNC work, but of course it would be a DIY home built machine. It runs though consumables a bit faster than the higher end units from what I've read, but it's not too bad. Better to have one than not. A blow torch is a bit much when you're cutting something thin.

Maybe if my parts really take off, I'll be able to start a machine shop, but I'd have to get the pole-barn built first lol. I have the pole-barn steel for it already, just need everything else and the permit to start building it. It will be a nice ugly dark yellow brownish color, but they make paint for a reason lol.

This 3d CAD adventure has been interesting so far, so many new options for parts and such. I was super limited before to just wire harnesses, and modifying existing parts (rewiring mainly).

[Gabriel]

Depending on how accurate the part needs to be, water jet is pretty reasonable too.
Always stupefied me how water with a little abrasive mixed in slides through steel like a knife.