Marc ordered me a custom project, his own car as a 1/28 Mini-z in front wheel drive form (AWD chassis with free rolling rear wheels).
Today I received the 3D prints: a body and a separated parts tree.
I will show you the process of preparing the body for paint, painting, detailing and assembling, and a track test of this beast before shipping it to Marc
Next step: sealing the body to save paint.
Because the 3d printed structure is honeycombed, we need to fill the small pores on the surface or it would absorb primer like a sponge (we will save 4 or 5 layers of primer doing so).
To seal the surface, I will use this
This is the cheapest acrylic varnish you can find. Read this
Well,
Before starting with the paint I had to check if all the attached parts are OK.
These are the first Mini-z hubs I design for 2WD and AWD (The Honda has AWD swing shafts front and MR02 knuckles rear).
These are the separated parts
As the rear of the Honda is very narrow, it is impossible to use a RWD differential, this is why it will be FWD. I had to design a rear section that will use MR02 suspension parts.
Here are the MR02 parts needed
This is the rear section assembled
Should I call this a SAS?
I gave the "SAS" 1° toe in by design so I am sure the rear will autocenter.
Wow, thanks Fovea! This is freaking sweet! One can not imagine how long I've ben waiting for this to become a reality!
I can not wait to see the body painted and detailed!
Okay, look's like this month I need to get me a good AWD chassis and a cheap'o 2.4 TX so I can drive this baby!
it all looks very interesting and a huge breakthrough in the custom and adaptable market to have parts that open the doors even further to customizing rides.
how does the material perform at the rear end? is increased friction a concern with the material?
i look forward to the further developments you will be sharing
I do this in order to seal the material surface and to save primer.
The first bath is the longest to allow the liquid to fill the smallest pores in the material. I remove the buildups with a brush.
15-30 minutes later, when the varnish is dry to the fingers, I will do more quick dips to finish filling the pores, removing buildups with a brush again.
5 baths should be enough. After 5 dips the buildups become thicker, but thats not a problem because they will sand off as easy as wax.
The more you do, the less primer you will need, the smoother the surface will be.
If you let the part soak overnight it will theorically dissolve the accumulated varnish layers, this is why the successive dips should be brief.
how does the material perform at the rear end? is increased friction a concern with the material?
i look forward to the further developments you will be sharing
The material is softer than ABS. Structural parts should be at least 2 mm thick, otherwise they will not be stiff enough. The grainy finish is comparable to the plastic used for ATM SAS parts (black and grainy).
Increased friction can be a concern for the free sliding of the knuckle steering rod but is also an advantage with stronger screw locking.
Once again Fovea, amazing detail. You seem to be one to five steps ahead of me! Lol! I've been trying to design some chassis parts and finally got some decent rear ends for an AWD. I may have to humble request better design tips compatible with shapeways. Have you had anything built with the alumide?
Once again Fovea, amazing detail. You seem to be one to five steps ahead of me! Lol! I've been trying to design some chassis parts and finally got some decent rear ends for an AWD. I may have to humble request better design tips compatible with shapeways. Have you had anything built with the alumide?
Thanks Leon,
Glad to know you are also experimenting with Shapeways. I'd say go on, it is only with experience that it will improve, for instance it took me 2 or 3 samples to finaly figure what an unthreaded hole size should be so a 1.5 mm screw will fit tight in WSF. Thats the same for the thickness of structural parts. Once you have them right it makes new designs easier.
No I did not try alumide yet. Will probably do for wheels soon.
@Marc: this thread will soon turn from "Tutorial" to "Mad doctor experiments" with the next episode: trying Filler Primer to smooth out the Insight body shell
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