Hi folks. Would very much like some informed input on a project I’m considering.
I’m a DIY’er and hobbyist, and I’m also retired, so costs are important. To keep costs down I realise I’m going to have to learn to do certain things myself.
The project I’m contemplating at the moment is to clone certain automotive interior trim parts. The vehicle is 30+ years old so replacements for damaged parts are not that easy to come by.
My plan is to remove the parts from the car, get them scanned by a 3-D service bureau, edit the resulting image to correct the damage, then have it 3-D printed. Finally the item can be painted or covered, though at the moment I’m leaning towards flocking.
So a couple of questions:
1. Is it a feasible plan overall?
2. I understand that the scanning will provide me with a .STL file. What simple (and preferably free) application can I use to display the STL file and to edit the image to correct any damaged areas?
Thanks for your assistance.
2 Likes
1) yes it feasible, but what kind of sizes are you talking abut
2) Design spark, freecad and mesh lab, all free can all manipulate and repair STL
Depending on the part complexity it may be better to get someone to reverse engineer the part, doing this on older parts that were designed with simpler CAD systems is usually easier than more modern parts that have a more complex design. Reverse engineering will give you a much cleaner file, and is usually more accurate.
It’s funny you should mention this since I’ve been doing almost this exact same job for someone locally… I do know someone who does scanning for car interior parts, however it’s more suited to the organic components (pillars, dash curvature etc) and not suited for the angular or parallel lined parts (grilles, vents, small details etc). I opted to model the part I was making from scratch and it took 2 hours and the resulting file was perfect.
On top of this, the size and intended use of the car part will drive the method of printing you’ll need to use and with that you’ll have other issues to run into such as the orientation of the print on an FDM printer will produce different surface finishes.
My knowledge of scanning is limited but you’d want to have knowledge of 3d modeling, as well as 3d printing to really get the most out of editing the files for printing.
Yes it’s possible, but you might find some parts better suited to scanning and some better suited to modeling from scratch depending on the size.
Hope that helps and I think it’s a good idea whichever route you go.
Well, so much for that idea!
I just got a quote back from a bureau in Brisbane for scanning three items: 1 x door handle trim panel, and two pieces of veneer-type dashboard trim. Cost = $523.83.
No wonder there are so few scanning bureaus focusing on small jobs – it’s just too expensive a solution for the hobbyist or DIY’er.
And without even extending the refurbishment into other trim pieces, there are three more door handles which I guess would have to be all scanned individually; the two front door handles are mirror images of one another, as are the back door handles, but back and front aren’t exactly the same.
Oh well, looks like a rethink along the lines of manually repairing the existing items, or possibly recreating the veneer-type trim from scratch.
Thanks for the informative responses. I’m still very interested in 3-D printing but it looks like this sort of a task only becomes viable if one can print from original CAD files, which in this situation would only exist in the auto manufacturer’s mainframes. The scanning route is just too expensive.
But maybe I should start looking to the future anyway and learn to use one of the simpler CAD programs. The scanning agency mentioned that I could edit the scans with programs like Blender or Meshlab. They also said they use Rhino and Zbrush to do their 3d Design work (both too expensive for my budget). I also saw one reference that said Blender had a “steep learning curve”. Have seen a number of references to OpenSCAD as well.
Thanks,
- Bill
I would start learning a 3d package and I’d aim for a Parametric modeler not a mesh modeler like Blender (aside from it’s crazy interface which is another matter). Parametric modelers like Autodesk Inventor or 123D or FreeCAD allow you to create shapes based on specific dimensions, then they can be edited after they’re ‘complete’ by just changing a dimension (Imagine a modeled door latch that you later decide needs to have 8.5mm holes rather than 8mm). Mesh modeling requires removing the mesh and replacing it.
Not to say that mesh modeling doesn’t have it’s place - I use a mesh modeler most of the time but only because that’s what I was a trained in. On that note, I am very familiar with 3d modeling and I still found Blender so frustrating that I gave up using it after 2 months. Yes it’s powerful, but it’s interface is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered and it makes almost not sense at all, using some very unique and bizarre conventions that I’ve never seen elsewhere… Like why is the Left mouse button almost useless?? Anyway I digress.
If you’re learning from scratch and hoping to make parts for cars I would pick a package aimed at industrial designers not game or movie makers… That’s just me 
