3d Printing

davevg

0
Jan 26, 2014
24
3
3
Sussex County, NJ
So... does anyone else have a 3d printer? What pinewood derby related items have you created?
I'm not talented enough yet to attempt fenders but I was able to design a few tools to help make my build easier/repeatable.
Wind Deflectors, 0 degree, 3 degree, weight carrying, and an installation tool.
Wheel & Axle storage bin that fits inside an altoids box
A slotting jig similar to the brownells using 4 608 bearings (common skateboard) as guides.
Router Baseplate with built in guide bushing for my Colt Router to route out bodies using a template.
Someone has already created printable bodies here https://dreamfactory.build/xderby/ though they are probably not ideal for league racing.
I really like being able to prototype ideas with it quickly and I'm currently printing out parts for a MPCNC that I plan on putting together in the spring.
 
Hi,

I built my own 3D printer and have a couple of other smaller ones I use.
My son and I only race in his yearly Cub Scout derby; this is why I am not very actively involved in this forum, but when someone mentions 3D printing I am all over it. Next month will be our 3rd year; we came in second place last year out of about 25 scouts. We 3D model his car, but do not 3D print it; we only 3D print tools, guides and accessories for the car. I got my eye on some wood filament and I may 3D print a car just for fun.

This year I printed out a template to help me as guide to cut, drill and shape the wood (this really helps if you have to do some fancy cuts or want to maintain symmetry and balance). A couple of years ago I printed out fenders; this was our first year racing and we didn’t know what we were doing. I have 3D printed a guide to help drill my canted axles; 3 degrees in the back, 1.5 degree for the DFW and the NDFW is just slightly raised and I use drill bushings that get inserted into the guide at the precise angle; this is my first year drilling the canted axles. I use a very strong high temperature PLA that I can further strengthen by annealing it. The nice thing about 3D printing these items is that I can print several versions until I am happy with the outcome and it only costs me my design time and a couple of dollars per print material. I also printed a jig to help balance the car and determine the C.O.M.

This is the car we modeled for next month (very simple design this year), I already have all my tools printed out and templates ready to start cutting. We also have a sibling race which my little girl enters; for that race I have 3D printed a black cat; this year we are 3d printing a bunny which simply gets glued to the top of the car :).

Cheers!
 
Nice idea of the car template. I was going to cut it out of wood but I may just print one. I have a Prusa MK2 that I built from the kit which prints pretty well. I am currently printing using PETG and use the Prusa version of the slic3r software which has a cubic infill which is strong in all directions.

Here are some photos/screenshots of what I've done so far for ideas.. I currently do everything in OpenSCAD as I'm a software guy and it was the easiest for me to pick up and tweak. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/duhozsen8irspgd/AABC3_zMPeHFEQI38PrywPEpa?dl=0