3D printing and RC cars

[cunawarit]

With all the very cool vintage RC cars that I see in this forum, and with the trouble and expense that some people go to get them as good if not better than what they would have been originally, it occurs to me that with the advent of technology like 3D printing this could get easier.

Right now if there are no spares for a smallish part like a suspension arm. You'd probably have to draw it our with a CAD system and either somehow machine it at home, or get one machined out by a company. Either way, it'll be expensive and potentially time consuming! With 3D printing I guess anyone could measure the part, and then share the design with the community so that anyone could print out the part and maintain their old RC cars.

[Please everyone note that the above construction steps are pure speculation from my part, I have no idea how some of you guys go about making custom one off parts. ]

Anyone know how feasible this is? Firstly from a strength perspective, are the 3D printers that we are likely to have at home in the next few years able to produce parts of the required strength? Secondly from a legal perspective, what are the risks? Could the person sharing the measurements be sued by an RC car maker? Even if the model is out of date and there are no original parts left anymore?

What ya think?

[Coelacanth]

3D printing?? Wow...if that technology's here right now, I can think of some gorgeous babes I'd want to print a lot sooner than RC car parts...

[jon burrows]

There is a member that has made parts via 3d printers. I believe chassis specifically. Take a look through the gallery where the cars were displayed. I can't remember the members name. But the items produced were amazing!

As far as "copying" and "reproducing" parts like a copy of mounts from corporations like associated or RPM, etc.? I doubt they would appreciate somebody copying and perhaps profiting from their design without their permission, or compensation for that matter. There might be a little cause for a copyright lawsuit. But then, I'm not an attorney, just a little common sense.

If you are reproducing parts for your own personal use and enjoyment, that may be a different story, I would advise you may want to retain an attorney for counsel though.
my .02c

jb

[8rad]

The problem is I dont think you would be able to produce parts with sufficient strength for running.

[arf]

Definitely the wave of the future for display modelers, but not yet for high strength parts made at home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

[Halgar]

3D printing?? Wow...if that technology's here right now, I can think of some gorgeous babes I'd want to print a lot sooner than RC car parts...

It is viable, but not likely feasible. Here's an article by Jay Leno with a vid of him talking about 3D printing to repro parts for cars that are no longer available.
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/articles/jay-lenos-3d-printer-replaces-rusty-old-parts-1/

As for the gorgeous babes, 3D reproduction models of those are available too, but I wouldn't recommend you building your own. Talk to NoThumbs and Klavy, they can tell you where to pick one up.

[cunawarit]

jon burrows, cool, I'll search around and take a look.

Halgar, awesome video there! Well the scanner is $2995, which isn't TOO bad. But Jay Leno's big printer is $15000, which is still very pricey. But there are websites where you can upload your 3D designs and they will ship out the parts made to you. They offer a while range of materials of varying strength, colours, etc... But as 8rad says, I don't know how this compares to the strong plastics usually used for RC car parts.

[fakiee]

3D printed parts for the Dyna Storm: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66451

[cunawarit]

Cool! And those are some structural parts too, so the strength is there

[fakiee]

Cool! And those are some structural parts too, so the strength is there

I'm not sure the strength is quite there yet........he has broken a few parts while testing.

[slim_chance]

I don't remember the name of the place but there is a place in South Carolina that claims they can surpass the strength of steel. They just have to adjust the mixture to match the specs you want

[Charlie don't surf]

Greenhell is the member that 3D printed a few chassis for his B4.2 and such- perfecty useable, very very expensive as it's a rapid prototyping system

[jon burrows]

Greenhell is the member that 3D printed a few chassis for his B4.2 and such- perfecty useable, very very expensive as it's a rapid prototyping system

thats the guy! Check out greenhell's gallery.
thanks

[cunawarit]

WOW Greenhell's chassis is great! I didn't expect it to be transparent.

[GreenHell]

It is feasible but still cost prohibitive…

I’ve been making RC and Slot Car parts on a 3D printer for myself for over a year. The machine I have access to is a Objet Eden260V, high resolution, very accurate and capable of running a decent assortment of different material types and hardness’s. The parts I’ve made are pretty durable, not as strong as a molded ABS or Nylon but have held up in a racing application (some caution required), but there are some new stronger ABS “like” materials I haven’t had the opportunity to experiment with yet.

The technology is advancing so rapidly and equipment costs are coming down, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the average hobbyist with some basic CAD skills will be able to produce their own parts. Even right now if you have a 3d file you can have a prototype shop produce them for you. http://www.solidconcepts.com/Home/RapidQuotes The only down side is the cost, it’s approx. $60 per cubic inch for a 3D polyjet part.