So as I am beginning my restoration journey I am finding out that some smaller parts are very reasonably priced but that the shipping cost sometimes is as much and often more than the parts. I began messing around with 3d printing a couple of years ago and was surprised not to find any posts involving 3d printing on this site. Am I missing it or is it just not a thing? I am certainly going to give it a try for some of the parts I need. Especially for those parts that I do not want to buy used as they will be just as old as the ones that I have that are crumbling when touched, i.e. the doom light cover, visor retainer etc.

If I am somehow missing it can someone point me in the direction of a 3d printed parts thread?

If there is none I am happy to start one if I begin printing parts. Of course the parts that I would print would mostly be interior parts and hacks. It does take time to design the parts before printing which is why I am looking to see if there is already people doing it because those parts are usually shared freely as long as they are not used to sell. I did check some of the common 3d printing sites and did not see any designed parts.

I may try to replicate my visor retainer clip this week and will update this post accordingly.

 

Some one already has been printing and selling parts.

https://3dprintedfordparts.com/shop-all-products/ols/products/73-79-ford-truck-starter-pack

https://3dprintedfordparts.com/shop-all-products/ols/categories/1973-1979-dentside

 

I've designed a few parts myself, problem is that I don't know how close/similar my designs are to stuff that actual vendors sell - and so what I've designed, I won't be sharing for obvious reasons, and I think that that's also why you don't see a whole lot of free/shared designs.

 

So I went to replicate the part in with CAD and decided since someone else had already made one I would pay the $4.00 to download it as it would have probably taken me a couple of hours to recreate in CAD. I printed the part which took 33 minutes and will give it a try when I get home today. Not including the cost of the design the total amount spent was a whopping $0.44! I am not looking to start a side business but am willing to share any design files that I create in the future as I can almost guarantee that I will be making other parts.

 

I designed and 3D printed AC duct adapters out of necessity. Being a beginner at CAD they are basic but work well. Below are a couple of posts related to the AC adapters and a link to the files on Thingiverse. The files have been downloaded (for free) over 350 times so hopefully have been of use to the community. The only other item I have 3D printed for my truck were fuel door bumpers out of TPU.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...l#post18872592

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...t-ducting.html


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3887203

 

You need to consider trademark laws if you decide to sell such.

 

If my printer was set up for ABS I would be more likely to use it for car parts. Since I am printing only with PLA currently I wouldn't use it for that purpose. PLA would be okay for prototyping, but anything I planned to install permanently I wouldn't trust PLA, it delaminates too easily and you can't really sand it or expect paint to stick for very long. At least with ABS it will hold up a lot better, can be sanded and painted.

I have no experience with the resin type printing so I am not sure how that would be for auto parts.

 

I definitely agree. I printed this part in PLA just to check the fit and because I don't have any white ABS on hand. I will definitely be using ABS for parts if nothing else because of the incredible heat in SC!

 

PETG holds pretty well, especially for indoor parts. I've found Overture PETG in green is very close to the color code 8 (hatteras green metallic) and holds really well in hot temperatures. It's definitely a great alternative to ABS especially if you aren't setup to handle fumes.

 

Here is the part in the truck. It works well.

3D printed visor retainer

 

I Haven't printed with PETG yet, thanks for the tip, might grab a spool and play around with it.

The fumes are the issue, I have my printer set up in my home office and it's a open printer, I could make it work, but wouldn't be ideal. On my wish list is a better printer set up properly to print ABS but it's going to be a bit before that wish becomes reality.

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The key with PETG is to NOT GO FAST lol - it's a slow printing filament, not as slow as TPU, but nowhere near as fast as PLA. As far as fumes - if you are far enough from the printer, an enclosure could work, or an enclosed printer upgrade such as the Bambu P1S (which is what I have, upgrading from an Ender 3 S1) - these Bambus are like magic boxes, they just work.

 

That's a nice looking machine, and would be a nice upgrade for me. I am using an Anycubic Mega Pro that picked up about 3 years ago. It is an inexpensive machine, that I bought not knowing if 3d printing was something I would continue with or would try it and get bored with it quickly. I enjoy using it, but as with any entry level machine it has its issues and limitations but has been great to learn with and figure out what my needs are for a printer. What I really need to do it refresh my memory on how to use CAD and make my own designs, just haven't taken the time to do so. That would open up a whole lot more options for me if I could do that part of it rather than depend on someone else's plans that are floating around out there.

 

The 3d printing has been a game changer. There is a guy on instagram building a bump out of all carbon fiber with the help of 3d printing. It is amazing

 

let us know what other parts you can come up with!