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3D Printed Shift Knob

3K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  wicked93gs 
#1 ·
I was a good boy this past year and Santa Claus brought me a 3D printer for Christmas! I have wanted one for awhile now to play with and make plastic things, R&D, etc, and I finally got one.

I downloaded and printed out a few items from the internet to get a feel for the printer (first time using one) and figured it was time for me to make/print something useful. So my first, from scratch item, was a shift knob for my 67 Mustang. I built and designed it in an old version of SolidWorks, sent it to Cara for conversion for the printer, and then 4+ hours later it was all done. In case you aren't familiar with 3D printing, the knob is not solid, it has 1.2mm thick walls and an internal structure to help support it and make it strong. I was actually able to print the threads (1/2"-20 in case you were wondering) and aside from them being a touch tight, I couldn't be happier with the results. I cranked my print settings down to get a smoother print at the cost of slower speeds. There were a few spots that needed touchup with a file (start of threads and outer bottom knob edge) because of the sacrificial pad it created to keep the knob stable while it printed, but other than that it came out pretty nice looking. I am planning on filling in the indented numbers and shift pattern with a contrasting color to give it a bit more pop, but otherwise I am super happy with the results!
740667
740668
740669
 
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#3 ·
Awesome, looks like machined aluminum.

Next I suggest a turn signal lever that is only about 4" long. It should have a thin spot at least 1/2 away from the threads to be a break away spot so if it breaks it wont happen right at the threads and be hard to remove.
Make 2 and sell me the second one after the test fits:)
 
#5 ·
I’m not so sure the basic PLA plastic I have currently will be strong enough as a turn signal. It would probably require a metal insert to keep it from breaking near the threads. But I could easily make it hollow and glue a big nail or metal rod inside to make it stronger!

I might just try that...
 
#4 ·
Nice...I would love to have a 3D printer...would make so many things much easier. It would be perfect for making things that you could later wrap in carbon fiber. Just how big an object are the capable of printing?
 
#6 ·
The one I have can 200mm x 200mm x 250mm. They make bigger ones but they cost quite a bit more too (and have a bigger foot print as well).

I need to order some ABS filament, you can make multiple pieces and then glue them together fairly easily with good results. Plus ABS is a bit more flexible and resilient to breakage than the PLA. Lots of experimenting to do!
 
#7 ·
For finished prints I like to use nylon. It's much tougher than PLA or ABS. For the knob I would do a much higher infill for the final piece.

Nylon requires better ventilation and is trickier to work with. But the results are much better.
 
#9 ·
Never looked at nylon until you mentioned it. It seems to be a bit more involved (needs more heat) and is very hydroscopic. But the finished parts would be very durable.

I have been playing with infill percent as well. Most parts I have printed for "fun" I have used 10% infill, for my shift knob I used 30%. I took my Mustang for a drive today and its still in one piece after banging through the gears!
 
#12 ·
I would be interested if there is a way to integrate an on/set/off button for cruise control. Are there 3 circuit buttons like that? I assume so since ceiling fans have 3 or 4 speed settings off of one pull cord.
 
#17 ·
I plan to buy one soon myself...just make sure you get one capable of printing Nylon and you can make engine pieces with it like adapter plates for intake manifolds, velocity stacks, etc etc...if you get a large enough one, you can print an entire intake manifold(though not sure how well that would turn out if you cant hone the runners
 
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