Massachusetts-based startup company Impossible Objects received $2.8 million in funding to help realise their vision for a composite based 3D printing technology. Impossible Objects uses a technique that almost resembles a combination of the Selective Deposition Lamination technology of Mcor and inkjet 3D printing, it combines additive and subtractive manufacturing by jetting a binder on to materials such as cotton, silk polyester, Kevlar and carbon fibre into the desired shape. The shapes are cut and layered before they are compressed and baked in an oven to bond, excess material is sand blasted away revealing the part.

While the machines shown here are only in the prototyping stages there is no doubt a market exists for it, the big benefit to this style of 3D printing is scale, enormous large form inkjet printers already exist so the possibility is to translate this technology to create car sized objects!

Well ok, still not cheap, but 50% less is a good saving.

Anyone who has ever tried to restore or maintain a classic car knows its its  not easy or cheap, finding original or 2nd hand parts can be extremely difficult on the more popular models, not to mention pricey, the window winder guide we replicated here would have cost an astounding $450 US, according to our client . We were confident we could design and produce the part for nearly half the price and in steel if required.

Auckland Police Officer Grant Kenny’s 1968 Dodge Charger ‘General Lee’ replica is a real stunner, with 600 + hp she’ll have more than enough power to stick to those speed limits, cheeky reference.

Problem was sourcing a window winder guide that allowed the pillarless windows to function properly, basically the window didn’t work. Grant contacted Clone, we discussed the part and its application and decided that as the guide had no weight  or force applied to it when installed, we could replace the steel one with plastic. We could also have chosen to use the 3D print in an investment cast and replicate it in steel at little more cost if required.

First, as with any type of 3D printing, we need to create a CAD file, this is a vital part to the quality of the completed part. Here is an image of the part in our design software.

The printed part sitting in the printer, still with support material and raft attached. We lay the model down to obtain the strongest possible part.

And here the old and new parts side by side, support removed and vapour polished, some will notice the plastic part is thicker, this is intentional to add rigidity and strength, it also looks bigger overall, this is just the camera angle playing tricks.

What can we create for you?

Jetskifishing.co.nz teams up with Clone to develop a new mounting solution for installing fish finders to jet ski’s.

We are now producing the 4th generation of these mounts after 2 years in use, the beauty of  additive manufacturing, subtle to major changes can be made to the design at little cost while still producing functional parts on demand. As with any part we create it has it’s own set of build specifications, the more we know of the parts intended use, the better we can tailor the part to suit.

Here’s how we create the Yamaha jet ski electronics mount.

All 3D prints start with a computer aided design file, adjustments to this file can be made from one batch to the next if needed.

The mounts are printed  in solid ABS for maximum strength,

and at 0.25mm layer resolution which offers economical production of the mounts by reducing print time.

The mounts are then vapour polished, like putting a lighter to wax, it smooths all the minor lines and  seals the surface, also, this process greatly increases part strength and brings out the high gloss ABS plastic can achieve.

The high gloss look was not really what we were after for this project, the mounts needed to blend in with the jet ski, solution,  spray them with a UV stable vinyl matte black paint, the ABS plastic we use has a high UV resistance however this extra layer of protection is welcomed. At this point we could fill and sand the mounts to achieve a mirror finish, however the added cost the process would add was not necessary for these mounts.

A 2015 Yamaha Waverunner, owners will recognize the cup holder to the right of the gauge cluster, this is where the mount attaches with 4 screws into the walls of the cup holder.

The completed package.

What can we create for you?