3D printing fun

[Sean'O]

Howdy friends,

I found a few posts on 3D printing but thought I might start a thread to consolidate the bits and pieces I make for the my R32 Skyline and update the original post as I go.

I only recently got into this hobby and for some of those obscure parts which are difficult to locate part numbers, or are no longer in production, the 3D printer is a pretty useful resource, albeit there will always be some cosmetic limitations.

I'll list model files on my Printables account for those with their own printers so you can download and print at your leisure.

If anybody has any ideas on parts they can't locate and want me to have a crack at making something, feel free to post below and I might be able to help out 🙂

• BNR32 wheel caps : https://www.printables.com/model/808878-bnr32-nissan-skyline-r32-gtr-wheel-centre-cap
  
  

Cheers,

Sean

[DaymoR32]

Loving your printables name 😆 "i was tryna save time!"

[Sean'O]

Exactly ha ha XD

That movie has aged terribly ha ha, I do miss my old Nokia to be totally honest 

[DaymoR32]

haha, its still a cracker though!

yeah days where simpler when you could actually text and drive as you didnt have to look at the phone when it had buttons 😆

[Sean'O]

Poor kids these days will never know ha ha 😉

[Sean'O]

Howdy friends,

So this evening I had a need to remove the rear compressor turbo pipe (long story, but I'm replacing it due to a bolt snapping off in the pipe and managing to then snap an extraction bit in the broken bolt, fun times -_-). The rear bolt is a bit of a bastard and very little room to get good leverage. I was able to get a 12 mm socket onto the bolt head, but none of my ratchets were able to fit, so I put together a "stubby" socket wrench to get it out and it worked surprisingly well 🙂. In the past I've "made" tools by cutting down spanners and bending them with a torch etc, but this 3D printed wrench was way less effort.

I'll be keeping this one in my "special tool draw" from now on for sure ^_^b

https://www.printables.com/model/868973-half-inch-stubby-socket-wrench

[GTSBoy]

Plastique? So there will be a limit to how much torque you can apply. I guess the short length probably plays well with that. You chose the length based on the room you had available to swing it in?

I've made something similar with round bar, heated up and bent sharply, then a little spray with the MIG to fill out the corners of the 3/8" square and some filing to shape. I've also seen it done just using a short length of 3/8" square bar (or there are double ended male 3/8" socket accessories which can do the same thing) and a bit of plate with a 3/8" square hole broached through it to use as a handle that you can slip over the square drive.

You could probably do the job you had to do with a 12mm box spanner too. You know, the sort that you get for spark plugs on whipper snippers etc. Box spanners are beneath scorn most of the time, until one saves the day.

[Sean'O]

On 09/05/2024 at 2:26 PM, GTSBoy said:

Plastique? So there will be a limit to how much torque you can apply. I guess the short length probably plays well with that. You chose the length based on the room you had available to swing it in?

I've made something similar with round bar, heated up and bent sharply, then a little spray with the MIG to fill out the corners of the 3/8" square and some filing to shape. I've also seen it done just using a short length of 3/8" square bar (or there are double ended male 3/8" socket accessories which can do the same thing) and a bit of plate with a 3/8" square hole broached through it to use as a handle that you can slip over the square drive.

You could probably do the job you had to do with a 12mm box spanner too. You know, the sort that you get for spark plugs on whipper snippers etc. Box spanners are beneath scorn most of the time, until one saves the day.

Yep PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol), my 'go to' plastic, printed to precisely how long I wanted 🙂, about a finger length ha ha.

I would usually grind up something but since I've got the printer I thought I might give it a try and it worked beautifully ^_^b

So with regards to torque, there's a little bit of science behind the orientation of the print, fill density, fill pattern and number of external perimeters which can increase the strength dramatically, but you still need to work within the constraints of the material and the orientation of the model for sure. I certainly wouldn't be making a breaker bar out of plastic, but this little bugger is very strong for it's size that's for sure.

[Sean'O]

Howdy all,

A mate of mine picked up an R32 GTS-T recently and it had a very... colourful... gear knob that needed to be replaced immediately 🤣

I put together a replacement which is reminiscent of the Nismo offering, which I also really like both the feeling and design. I basically took what they did and optimising for 3D printing, with the exception of the top chamfer, where I prefer a filleted design, despite it not printing quite as clean.

If anybody needs another thread size for the locker or if you prefer a top chamfer similar to the Nismo one, I'm happy to put something together for you and as a side note, I was really impressed by the TPU lock nuts. Originally I was going to use steel and then found out the ones I had on hand were sadly M10 1.5 pitch, rather than the required M10 1.25 pitch, so I had to get a bit creative rather than wait for the bolt shop to open.

In the picture it looks a little bit 'rough' at the top due to the layering printing on a curve, but in reality it's not very noticeable at all and honestly feels pretty good in the hand.

https://www.printables.com/model/910138-nissan-skyline-r32-gear-knob

Regards,

Sean

[Sean'O]

Howdy friends,

So another weird one today, I was looking into replacing some broken clips holding the front grille for the R32 GTR (part number 01553-03831), and noticed the brackets which are supposed to hold the grille in place were also missing 😑. I do recall seeing this issue many years ago, but didn't fix it at the time.

A quick look on eBay and I was able to find the genuine brackets, along with all the screws which suited the headlights (part numbers 26042-08U05,26092-08U05). Happy days!.... 

Once they arrived however there was an extra nut in the packaging which implied that there should also be a bolt or a stud, and sure enough, after a bit of searching I found this thread from 2013, and @Ants clearly shows a stud should be present. Reading around a bit more, it's possible the headlights on my car are the "povo pack" headlights as mentioned by @funkymonkey in this thread way back in 2008. This could explain why the studs are missing on my set of headlights.

Looking at the headlight diagram I wasn't able to see a suitable part number for the stud itself. The headlight did indeed have a recess that looked like it would accept a stud, but interestingly no thread or anything obvious how the stud would be affixed to the headlight, I suspect it may have been glued in, press fit, or melted into the plastic at the factory. Another member may be able to clarify if they happen to have a genuine set of N1 headlamps. The only thing we have to work with within the recess is a keyway which likely is there to prevent the stud from rotating within the recess.

In any case, back to 3D printing, I put together a model which acts like a pug with a friction fit inside this recess, making use of the keyway so it doesn't rotate while tightening a bolt. Printing in TPU will allow it to slightly swell making a nice snug fit without cracking the part. I've designed the adaptor it to accept an 20 mm M6 bolt (stainless with a cap head in my case), as opposed to the standard M5 stud and I made use of the standard galvanised split washer that came with the genuine brackets from Nissan.

Once the bolt and screws were all in place, giving the bracket a gentle shake gave the classic "shaking the car" feeling, very solid, which gives me confidence this is going to be able to hold on much better than the janky solution which seems to have been here for the past decade or so. Overall I'm really pleased with how this turned out and maybe there are more people out there running these headlights without a centre stud at all!

Link to the freely available model on Printables: Click here

Regards,

Sean

 

[Duncan]

Thanks for sharing this, and BTW if your headlights are in good condition they are worth thousands....you might want to consider replacing them with brand new LED ones like this (https://www.nengun.com/78works/full-led-headlights-r32-skyline) and making enough profit to buy a house in Sydney

[Sean'O]

No worries at all 🫡

I think the most satisfying things to make are the little bits that are just impossible to find or they're no longer manufactured. Generally I always try to replace parts with OEM wherever possible.

This little project is also great because it'll never see the light of day, but strengthen these brackets so it's not just relying on the little standard screws in the headlight plastic.

As soon as I saw the standard brackets and screws I thought, "well I'm not going to install with just the screws, the plastic tabs will just snap off". It's crazy how expensive everything has become yeah. But I suppose that's supply and demand; granted it's a lot easier to get brand new genuine parts these days which is fantastic 😊, I don't have to get totally reamed at the local Nissan dealer ha ha

We sure are lucky we have all these manufacturers making parts these days, a few really great Australian companies too like Platinum Racing Products and Fit Mint Automotive, what a time to be alive ❤️ . I've got my eye on the RB26 head by PRP as mine has a very fine hairline crack, so that'll need to be addressed some time in the future.

If you have any requests or odd things to make feel free to let me know and I can have a crack at making replacement parts ✌️

[Sean'O]

Just one more post to show the final result and the original "janky" solution for a laugh.

Everything feels really tight and no wobbling at all, very pleased 🙂