cjm_wales 9 Posted March 29, 2016 Hi, second post My name is Craig and I've been a tamiya nut since getting my first proper RC car aged 12 (a midnight pumpkin). I'm now 38, and with the disposable income I could only dream about as a kid, I'm reclaiming old racing memories I decided I fancied getting another TA04 & put a wanted ad up on Oople a few months back. A friendly ex eurocup racer got in touch to tell me about the Iconic Cup - a two round summer championship for eurocup refugees. So I went and bought two TA04 chassis - one for stock, and the other for full-blown 13.5 blinky. I then went on to spend an absolute fortune on hop-ups! One of the major problems with these older chassis is that they were designed for 7.2v 6-cell Nimh packs. None of my top spec lipo sticks would fit, so I went and bought a couple of the core rc lipo stick packs, which fit perfectly. But I also wanted to race in 17.5 blinky at the cotswolds club, and the C rating on the core lipos didn't give the neccesary top end. I have 4 turnigy 90c shorty packs that physically fitted into the battery slot (I'm running the carbon re-enforced tub) but I had no way of keeping it from moving about.So I decided I'd download and install google sketchup, take a few measurements of the pack & slot size, and have a go at designing something to keep the pack secure in the chassis.It went rather well at the first attempt! Very satisfying!I'm planning on seeing if I can get a 16 year old car to compete with the modern machinery I'm also planning on restoring my super astute shortly. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2185 Posted March 29, 2016 Welcome to the mad house Craig - sounds like you've emptied your wallet before joining here, which is a change My first experience of 3d printed parts are due to arrive today and tomorrow, so I'm very interested to see the quality of the modelling (not my work, but another TC members) and the accuracy and robustness of the printing itself. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjm_wales 9 Posted March 29, 2016 Welcome to the mad house Craig - sounds like you've emptied your wallet before joining here, which is a change My first experience of 3d printed parts are due to arrive today and tomorrow, so I'm very interested to see the quality of the modelling (not my work, but another TC members) and the accuracy and robustness of the printing itself. haha, yes. Wallet emptied - and on quite a few parts which I could have sourced for a fraction of the price from Japan! You live and learn I suppose I got lucky on the 3d print hub & found a print guy who knew what he was doing & took a keen interest in what I'd designed, meaning he could spot weaknesses in how I'd oriented the part (layer direction) & rotated it to maximize strength. If done right, these parts are very robust. Probably more robust than the original parts! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t3garett 268 Posted March 29, 2016 Great cars !!! I m a massive ta04 fan, I ve got 3 to date, an Ss, a ta04r and a ta04 pro (virtually a trf with the ssg carbon parts) and yes they can keep up with modern cars ! Have fun ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisRx718 4642 Posted March 29, 2016 Saw this on the Iconic Facebook page, looks very neat (although would be neater printed in black ) Best of luck with the racing, hope it performs as well as it looks! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2185 Posted March 29, 2016 Welcome to the mad house Craig - sounds like you've emptied your wallet before joining here, which is a change My first experience of 3d printed parts are due to arrive today and tomorrow, so I'm very interested to see the quality of the modelling (not my work, but another TC members) and the accuracy and robustness of the printing itself. First impressions, very pleased 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjm_wales 9 Posted March 30, 2016 First impressions, very pleased Sweet! Are you going to paint the parts in chrome? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2185 Posted March 30, 2016 No they will be painted body colour - missing parts from my vintage Hilux project (plus the bed side rails that arrive today). I was worried I'd have a lot of filling and sanding smooth to do, but they look pretty spot on through the cellophane bag to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lentner3 328 Posted March 30, 2016 Are these 3d printed parts strong enough for things like uprights suspension mounts or even spur gears? I'd like to get a budget printer like this but not sure of the limitations. Do you need a more capable printer for this application. http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__82027__Fabrikator_Mini_3D_Printer_V1_5_Orange_AU_230V.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1475 Posted March 30, 2016 My personal advice is save the printer investment and use a third party company. Much better printing results and more options for material. The hard part as always with 3D printing is drawing the part. I had the gearbox casing on this copied and then 3D printed, came out lovely and I now sell them on shapeways. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lentner3 328 Posted March 30, 2016 What about strength? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1475 Posted March 30, 2016 If designed correctly i see no reason why not. Plenty of people 3D printing whole cars. I would be wary of spur gears though but you can 3d print in lots of materials now so you might find something more robust. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simensays 325 Posted March 30, 2016 No they will be painted body colour - missing parts from my vintage Hilux project (plus the bed side rails that arrive today). I was worried I'd have a lot of filling and sanding smooth to do, but they look pretty spot on through the cellophane bag to me Good to see the parts arrived from Shapeways. You need to expect some sanding, and maybe filling, to get a perfect smooth surface. Depending on the results you get, especially with the TOYOTA badge, I might make this part available in a material which is more detailed, and has a smoother surface. The more detailed material is about twice the price, and much weaker, but that is perhaps not an issue because of the way this part is mounted, as compared to the tail light/bumper part which needs to be strong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2185 Posted March 30, 2016 Thanks Simen - I have to admit I've not taken the parts out of the packet yet (side rails arrived today in a separate order), but will do so over the next few days - aim to have the body in grey primer after the weekend. (with luck and a following wind !) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pauly22 11 Posted March 31, 2016 Do you need to provide the details or can you send them something and they scan it then create the new bits? Looks good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1795 Posted March 31, 2016 I was worried I'd have a lot of filling and sanding smooth to do, but they look pretty spot on through the cellophane bag to me Apart from being printed 'mirrored' 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lentner3 328 Posted March 31, 2016 I think it's the whole image in reverse judging by the sticker, I was thinking the same thing. 😳 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1795 Posted March 31, 2016 That's what the [ ] was for 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2185 Posted March 31, 2016 Apart from being printed 'mirrored' Indeed - iphone was upside down when i snapped th photo; when it uploaded to photobucket i flipped horizontally but forgot to flip vertically too I'm kind of liking it though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zeppelin 71 Posted March 31, 2016 From my experience the white strong and flexible is very robust and even good for axles, but for bevel gears I had to go for steel printing as you can see it the picture. I'm using That axle for the past 3 years with no problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lentner3 328 Posted March 31, 2016 I thought as much Twinset 😱 thats what the [😳] was for 😂😂😂 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjm_wales 9 Posted March 31, 2016 From my experience the white strong and flexible is very robust and even good for axles, but for bevel gears I had to go for steel printing as you can see it the picture. I'm using That axle for the past 3 years with no problem. Can you provide a link for the company that did this? That's incredible. I'm thinking of asking for a quote to print my Super Astute gears in metal! Imagine that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simensays 325 Posted March 31, 2016 Shapeways.com You'll have to provide the CAD files though. I've printed various parts in various types of metal on shapeways, and have to say I'm pretty impressed by the strength & quality. Nickel plated steel Bumper for my Big Oly Blazer Stainless steel rear bumper mounts Stainless Steel Wild Willy SWB Arm Stays 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
