3D Printed 1.55" beadlocks

[JJBTEXAS]

I've been working on this today and thought I would show it off a little. Just a simple design. Started with a non-beadlock design and then split in half and added a ring to hold the tire in place. Let me know if you have any ideas!

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

very cool!

 

[JeremyH]

Nice work!!

 

[theloudone]

is the material durable?

 

[Honger]

Very cool. Did you do these yourself? Do you have a reprap or similar home-built unit?

 

[JJBTEXAS]

is the material durable?

It is printed using ABS plastic and should be very durable. Once I settle on a design I will print out 4 and do some testing.

Very cool. Did you do these yourself? Do you have a reprap or similar home-built unit?

Yes I used a makerbot. This is easy to do at home assuming you have a printer already. ABS would be better to use than the more popular PLA though as it's more durable.

 

[ik632]

ABS will usually be a little stronger. Best part is you can treat it in different ways after printing to get some cool effects.

 

[JJBTEXAS]

ABS will usually be a little stronger. Best part is you can treat it in different ways after printing to get some cool effects.

Can you elaborate on this? I've never heard of it before but it sounds interesting.

Also, finished up what I think will be my final revision of this particular model

I ordered some black ABS on Friday (5/31) so once that arrives I'll print up 4 and do some testing. I'll also be moving on to a 1.9" design since I know that is more popular.

 

[ik632]

If you take acetone and brush it onto the ABS it will melt the surface slightly and make it nice and shiny and you won't see the printing lines. At the office we have a vapor chamber where you put the part on a wire rack and there's a tray of acetone below it which is warmed. As the acetone evaporates, it's in the chamber and does the same. Then you have to take the wire tray out and let the part cure in fresh air. It will be sticky when you pull it out because the acetone melted the ABS.

I tried this with PLA and nothing happened to it. I ended up taking a small heat gun and hitting the rough spots to warm it up and then smoothing it with my thumb. PLA is cheaper and more popular, but I think ABS is a little nicer to print with.

Another trick with ABS is to take some of your scraps and disolve them in acetone making a "paint". Then you can use a brush and paint it onto a different color plastic. It's best to paint dark colors on light though. You'll need to experiment with amount of plastic to solvent. I can't say what it really is because I just take the scraps and throw them in a jar lid and squirt some solvent on them.

 

[JJBTEXAS]

That sounds really cool. I'd love to try that but building my own "acetone vapor chamber" sounds out right dangerous haha. I use a similar process to you "abs paint." I use a large amount of acetone compared to the abs scraps and use the resulting solution as a base to print on. Just lightly apply it the the heated print surface and the parts stick much better (sometimes too well). The prevents lifting on the edges.

 

[Honger]

I'm awfully jealous of your makerbot. Kudos to you for doing this yourself. I love this kind of tinkering.

I've been tinkering with doing my own wheels for a scale project and just got this in the mail from Shapeways today:

It's a bit too small and needs some refinement of the details, but once I've got it ironed out I'll order 4 so I can have 1.55" Toyota Steelies on my scaler.

 

[ik632]

I'm awfully jealous of your makerbot. Kudos to you for doing this yourself. I love this kind of tinkering.

I've been tinkering with doing my own wheels for a scale project and just got this in the mail from Shapeways today:

I've worked with Quickparts before too. They will account for material shrinkage so your printed part will match your CAD. Some of the other service bureaus will just print your STL and give it to you without checking that it's correct.

 

[JJBTEXAS]

I'm awfully jealous of your makerbot. Kudos to you for doing this yourself. I love this kind of tinkering.

I've been tinkering with doing my own wheels for a scale project and just got this in the mail from Shapeways today:

It's a bit too small and needs some refinement of the details, but once I've got it ironed out I'll order 4 so I can have 1.55" Toyota Steelies on my scaler.

Wow those wheels look awesome! I doubt my makerbot can print to that much detail. Would you mind sharing your files?

Small update. My black ABS finally shipped so hopefully I can have all 4 done by next week. I have a special idea for testing if time permits. Also got working on the 1.9" design and its almost ready for first print. Just need some 1.55" tires for testing now.

 

[JJBTEXAS]

1.9" wheel design finally cooperating. New ABS should be here tomorrow!