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Yes, that
But also, not too long ago there was a guy who was trying to repower his truck.
In wading through the numbers we determined the M & 400 used diffeerent throwout arms and different pivots inside the belllhousing.
I sent him a pair of flathead black oxide Allen screws to retain it because he couldn't find them.
Ahhh! I remember that. Ok, I understand.
But, one question - how strong are the 3D printed metal parts? The engine/tranny pivot takes a bit of force laterally. Perhaps make just the mount via printing and use a stud/ball combo - like maybe the one for a six?
Gary I could send you the 4" x 7" speaker grills, But I have to get them back. wont be installing them for a few weeks. Was going to try and clean them up the paint, but if you could scan them or what ever....
Ron - I may have a set, but I can't get out to the shop right now to check. Maybe tomorrow. So hang onto hours for now. However, once I sign up for FabLab I could use their 3D scanner and, assuming the results look good, try to print them. I say "try" because the reading I'm doing suggests that things shaped like they are with long, thin pieces warp easily and may need extra support.
Brass or nickle braze has a lot more tensile strength than cast iron.
It may not wear as well, but the printed parts are a matrix/filler.
You could check the Young's moduls of their material
A little attention and grease go a long way.
Jim - Missed your post. If the bracket is strong enough after printing I'd hope to use a stud & ball from another application. That way the wear won't be on the printed part and would be replaceable.
Jim - FabLab doesn't print metal, unless I missed something. But I'll probably contact Shapeways if I get a sample to model to find out what they see the strongest of their products as well as methods to enhance that.
Speaking of modeling the clutch pivot bracket, one worry I had was whether there would be any copyright or patent problems. Fortunately I picked up this magazine yesterday and found an editorial in it that discusses that issue. Basically it says that any functional item, something that does things, cannot be copyrighted but must be patented to be protected. So, since clutch linkage brackets have been around forever I find it unlikely Ford patented them. Therefore they should be fair game.
Also, the magazine has a good review of 3D printers. So, if anyone is thinking about buying a printer this magazine would be a good resource.
The Dremel came in as 12th of 26 in their tests. And there is no option for a heated build platform, so it can only be used for PLA. Plus there is no fine-tuning of things like print temps and several other parameters that make the results better. And, it has a smaller build volume than the higher-rated ones. But, at $999 vs the $2499 of the better-rated units it could be interesting for some things.
Proto-Pasta has announced conductive as well as stainless, iron, and carbon-fiber filled PLA. And, supposedly the next generation of home 3DP's will "use lasers, heat, or liquid to bind powders into solid materials."
Sodium bicarbonate and cyanoacrylate make a pretty good combination.
There are CA's that UV cure, so the print head would not clog as long as it were opaque or amber.
On the media, lots of things are telling me this isn't the time to buy in. But, it is a good time to get involved. I'm glad you pointed out FabLab and Shapeways. The classes at FabLab may be exactly what I need to get started, and for $220/year I can gain access to decent equipment and be able to get my head around what I really want to do. Thanks!
