Sick of Paying Tractor Part Prices.... Make Your Own....(3D Printed)

[LittleBill21]

Nice going Little Bill. I've been investigating the same thing for motorcycle side covers, classic car parts, etc. I keep running up against finding a 3D print file for the parts I need. Alternatively I'd like to buy a scanner/digitizer and create my own files but unfortunately those are very expensive. So, where did you get the 3D print files?

If you look up a couple posts, i created them myself in fusion 360.

you might want to look at using a iphone as a 3d scanner, appears there are apps now, that will interface with a program either called blender or mixmaster which can get you a rough quality image. I'm not quite there yet

 

[piper184]

Nice going Little Bill. I've been investigating the same thing for motorcycle side covers, classic car parts, etc. I keep running up against finding a 3D print file for the parts I need. Alternatively I'd like to buy a scanner/digitizer and create my own files but unfortunately those are very expensive. So, where did you get the 3D print files?

I saw some scanners in the $200 to $500 range the other day that looked like they might do a decent job. Even if not the greatest, they would at least get a file generated that had the basics. After that it is just checking and cleaning up the details. You could get some pretty complicated designs started without doing the whole thing from scratch.

 

[Skeans1]

I saw some scanners in the $200 to $500 range the other day that looked like they might do a decent job. Even if not the greatest, they would at least get a file generated that had the basics. After that it is just checking and cleaning up the details. You could get some pretty complicated designs started without doing the whole thing from scratch.

One cool feature about Fusion 360 is the ability to upload a picture with a rule next to object into a cad file.

 

[FarmerRancher]

How long to break even on your investment?

I'm interested, but for the up front cost, I'm not sure the ROI is there for me.

I built my first 3d printer about two years ago for about 250 after everything. I’d say I’ve broken even by now, not just in replacement parts but also in parts that just don’t exist. With that said, i also invested a lot of time in learning 3d modeling and how to 3d print. So it’s not for everyone. If a person is just looking for a turnkey solution, it’s going to sit in a corner, unused. But with desire to learn and time to put into it, it’s another way to manufacture exactly what i need to do something. Prepare to fail a bunch and enjoy a lot of success when you get it figured out.

 

[Rabhaw]

I bought a 3d printer out of interest, and for a specific project. Coming to find out I have a million uses for this thing.


All of my dust covers were ripped or removed from my mahindra backhoe /3pt. and they are ALL different sizes, plus some of them appear to be like 13-14 bucks a piece for a 3 cent piece of rubber.

So I made my own. and they came out pretty decent. Thought some of you might get a kick out of this.



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How difficult is it to program to make that type of part , simple looking but still a geometric shape
Thanks

 

[strantor]

3D printing is still just barely out of diapers, but it IS growing up. Some years ago this stuff was hugely expensive, it has come down greatly. Capabilities are up, too. NASA has a 3D printer on the ISS, they now make some of the stuff they need right there instead of waiting for Elon's next resupply rocket. Of course NASA has more money than we do, and it would probably be impolite to point out that it is actually OUR money, but whatever . . .

Modern cars (and lots of other stuff) have a gazillion plastic parts in them, many of which could be 3D printed quite handily. Suppose the dealer had the CAD files for all those parts and simply printed them out when needed? No more "out of stock", no more "unavailable", no more "obsolete, forget it", no more shipping, storage, freight, (or import duties), spoilage, shrinkage, just a bunch of digital files on a hard drive, referenced to the parts catalog, a 3D printer, and spools of filament. "I need a part for my 1962 Waxahatchie GTS V8." "No problem sir." Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt "Here you go, please pay at the register . . . "

Alternatively, when 3D printers have the same market penetration as cell phones do, you could rent a one-time-use CAD file and print the part out yourself, at home.

The nice thing is that NOTHING has to be invented to do this, we already have all the stuff we need.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

That's an interesting concept of dealers (and individuals) printing parts on demand. I think the key to making it a reality will a fight on two fronts:
1. Development of cheaper laser sintering (metal printing).
2. Development of cheaper and more robust resin printers for plastics. Or some other plastic printer technology which can make homogeneous parts (as opposed to layered, prone to separation) of equal strength to their cast/molded counterparts.

I look forward to the future you described.

 

[Motohaid]

I bought a 3d printer out of interest, and for a specific project. Coming to find out I have a million uses for this thing.


All of my dust covers were ripped or removed from my mahindra backhoe /3pt. and they are ALL different sizes, plus some of them appear to be like 13-14 bucks a piece for a 3 cent piece of rubber.

So I made my own. and they came out pretty decent. Thought some of you might get a kick out of this.



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Cool idea. Maybe you could offer to make expensive parts at a discounted price to pay for the printer. Did you know when you bought a 3D printer you put you name on a government watch list.

 

[strantor]

Did you know when you bought a 3D printer you put you name on a government watch list.

Surely you don't mean the watch list (no fly list) but instead, some lesser list curated by algorithms instead of people. There are not enough people in the government to spy on all the people who have purchased 3D printers, much less all the people who have purchased other things that actually represent direct threats (weapons, explosives, chemicals, airplanes, etc). If that's what you mean then I would say we are probably all on "a watch list" and the more fertilizer, 3D printers, AR15s, and box trucks you buy, the higher you move on the list until you finally get near the top, into the zone where you get evaluated by a human. I have zero evidence to support that, but it "feels" like something that our government would do (Just want to make sure that I represent that as my own conspiracy theory and not a statement of fact).

 

[MoKelly]

Did you know when you bought a 3D printer you put you name on a government watch list.

Ok. So why are 3D printers a national security risk?

MoKelly

 

[k0ua]

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