3D Printing

Wanting to centralize my additional switches and temperature gauge, I am planning on having a switch panel made that I can mount on the headliner just rearward of the interior rear view mirror.

Either this


or this if I decide I also want my dual band radio here


I've fairly well exhausted finding an adequate producer here in the Philippines and have decided that I will need to go online. I was wondering if anyone on the forum has some experience or feedback they can provide on a quality outfit that does 3D printing.

Thanks
Bob

Look at vac forming. Not hard to make your own...

bigjimny.com/index.php/forum?view=topic&catid=18&id=62078

Thanks Riccy. The material properties of a formed part would have some advantage over the layering of a 3D print. Do you have a feel of cost comparison when it is likely to be a single piece production?

The information I have here is that a 3D printed part would cost about £120. The problem is that they have neither the equipment to do the type of print I want nor the material I am after. I'm not sure what the cost would be for a DIY vacuum table and pattern. Any idea of comparison?

Keithy has done a bit of vacuum forming maybe worth a chat

Yeah Kiethy is much better at it than me and has better equipment.

Costs would be about £15-20 for plywood to make the vac box out of and some rubber seals (draft excluder stick on strip for doors).

The sheets of plastic I bought 2mm pin-seal finish from ebay. Think it was 3 sheets for £15, but they can be bought much cheaper than that. Thinner might have worked better.

The blank was easy enough to make from some scrap steel and plywood.

After that its just time to make the box and seal it (simple), make the blank (fairly simple), heat the plastic and pull it. I would say of the three I had a go at, only one of them came out good. The others look OK until you get close so are rejects.

Thanks Riccy and Daniel. I will start doing some digging for equipment plans and materials.

Interested to hear Keithy's feedback. I would like to determine the best path forward soon so I can't give him more than 2 months to reply. After that, I will flood his inbox.