3D Printing

3D printing has revolutionised the world of prototyping and making and I've now joined that world. I hadn't realised how affordable good quality printers have become and after some extensive research, I recently purchased a Creality Ender 3 V2 printer (AUD320). The Ender 3 V2 has the ability to print items up to 220 x 220 x 250mm size which matches my needs and if I have any teething issues it seems to also have a substantial user support base online.

The machine took an hour or so to assemble then many more hours of reading online forums and watching YouTube videos and using the printer for familiarisation of settings, software and then some small test prints (~4cm tall) for my kids.

I expect that I'll be using the 3D printer for prototyping parts and making small non structural brackets, clamps etc as I continue with the Mini build. I may also remake better versions of items I've already handmade such as fuel line clamps, battery cable clamps, catch can fittings. As a first example though I've printed some 3/16" brake line clamp samples.

I printed a few upgrades for the printer itself - some power supply & motherboard 80mm cooling fan housings to upgrade the standard 40mm/60mm fans and improve cooling (3D models available free on www.thingiverse.com). Despite taking 10-11 hours each to print the larger items, I was very happy with the overall quality for the first few long prints.

New fan enclosures installed on the base of the printer :

I also printed the first part of a protoype for the Mini layshaft mounting bracket which needed a design revision, as well as a sample spark plug lead separator.

I then tested it's ability to print really small items such as this fuse blank I designed (16mm long, 4mm wide). The fuse prongs are only 2.3mm thick.

I'll use these in the unused fuse slots to indicate which circuits are not active, as seen in this photo :

This 3D printer can print using PLA, PETG or TPU filament and for the all the pieces pictured above, I used PLA. For the actual parts to be used on the Mini I'll look into using PETG with it's higher heat resistance (up to 80-95degC), UV stability and petrol/oil resistance but some experimentation and print tests will definitely be required. I'll also have to print a few PETG parts and cable tie them to some engine bay parts in my daily driver car to test its heat resistance.