I was watching the cable show "Counting Cars" and they were trying to find NOS tail light lenses for a Chrysler. There was a guy who suggested in the episode that they scan the tail light lenses they had into a 3-D printer and they could have reproduction lenses for @ 100 bucks. Has anyone ever heard of this being done?o No:
most 3D printers use a plastic resin. I would be worried about UV rays breaking down the material. If it is UV resistant then its a great idea. Wish I could print up some aluminum heads
Didn't see the episode but was chatting with my eldest son this AM. Same general topic. Many, many third world countries that have had recent wars are using the 3D printers to manufacture prosthetic limbs for about the same cost. A huge majority of the recipients are children.
There are many different materials available now for use with 3D printing. You may be able to print out a tail light for $100 but it still needs to be drawn 3D CAD to create the file for printing. That would take time and more money. They do have 3D scanners that will scan the part and create a drawing but it would still need to be tweeked to make it perfect. I have had/seen many 3D printed parts at my place of work and they are nice but not restoration part quality. The printed part would also need to be finished and polished. Not as simple as they make it sound. I am sure it will get easier as the technology advances.
And an item like a taillight lens also needs the interior surface to be properly reproduced.... they aren't just smooth on the inside, they have grooves or more complex surfaces such as a reflector.
There are a number of epoxy products out there - EpoxAcast 690is one - that can be used to make castings of jewellery and vehicle lenses. You need to learn how to cast with silicone, etc but once learned, you can add tinters to achieve the desired colours. I do a little body casting and am waiting to have enough spare cash to buy some of the epoxy to try making a few lenses. Might be a nice little niche business for a skilled person.
I saw that and was really hoping they would run one off so we could see the process. Danny did find a set of NOS lenses for 1000.00
Hey - Give it a shot. I've seen this on the news this week. http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...oston-store/VXp6uGAVq7QL2uTcLkm83L/story.html Run down to the corner store and print one out....
im waiting for the metal 3d printers to come out Theres one thats also coming out that'll print Fiberglass, Carbon fiber and Kevlar
dont recall when the metal 3dprinter is comming, but the carbonfiber/fiberglass/kevlar printer may be available as last I read they said they'll be shipping 2nd half of 2014...those units were 5k and 9 k i beleive
I do a lot of R&D for a top global consumer products company and we have used it for some of our experimental components. Its still in its infancy, but believe me, its not far off. I couldn't give you you a date by any means, but in the words of Kevin Costner in water world, "dry land is not myth, I've seen it".
lol good movie Theirs also a cool adon sensor for mobile devices that'll make scanning things to 3d a snap which got me thinking :-D
it uses structured light process via infered lasor projector scans 30 frames per second in VGA resolution and, if close enough to the subject, with sub-millimeter precision
