NormL

I have always liked the Tango as it is fast, but, it is so bloody expensive .... http://www.commutercars.com/

Now that IS funny!

License them as a motorcycle. I know that is how you license a T-Rex

Very cool, Bill, .... let's print it!

Scanners are good, it is the software that needs to improve for the creation of parametric models from point clouds. Coming from clouds to models is much harder than modeling in 3D ...

It is my desire to be able to print the Atom in FUD without much post preparation. I order to accomplish this I need to be able to print without the need of a ultrasonic machine. I don't think I will get out of the need of an acetone or alcohol bath. I am going for dolly print no. 2 and Atom FUD print no. 1 soon and I am going to print drain holes to weep out the excess wax and see if that alone can solve the bearing issue without a hot water bath. If, I can't get motion in the Atom FUD print it is not a deal breaker as I will not sacrifice accuracy for function this time, I just want to eat my cake too. It is clear to me that at anything close to minimum gap tolerance, no amount of alcohol and swearing will be able to free the larger bearing surfaces (74sq mm) without heat.

Went to Harbor Freight and got a heating ultrasonic machine. The hot water vibration did the trick and freed the only non broken dolly. It is fully functional and the original design does work, .. well if you go to Harbor Freight and spend money. The lever is too weak still. This gives me lots to think about in the hub design for the Atom, calipers riding on brake disks, central bearings and the ilk. I am thinking now that the hub will be printed assembled with the suspension arms, so, I can control their motion and that I will make the central bearing surface more of a bolt on thing And NO I do not answer to Ham Hands ....

They look really hard to balance. Might want to spin balance those What are you using as a majority thickness, if you don't mind me asking

Looking forward to seeing your work Bernard!

Soaked the jack for 20 minutes even though it was completely functional. Well, ... the liquid must have helped hold the setting for the clicks as it does not hold up a car anymore. It does move a whole lot smoother. You used to have to move it to where you wanted it by hand and then place the model on it, it now functions as a real jack as I can move it under the car and then raise the car with it. I am going to have to ask Bernard if he has painted the one he has and how that affected its function.

FUD softens at 80°C, so, ultrasonic and tests with alcohol and Dawn dish soap it is!

Gettin' Barbie drunk ...

I got movement of all of the parts with the exception of the main slides within an hour of soaking. I broke off some of the rollers for a closer inspection and found that the viscous liquid was still present even tough I could spin them. I cleaned off the rest of the viscous liquid and yes they worked much better, although they were broken to get access. I see that an ultrasonic cleaner is going to be in my tool kit soon .... After an all night soak the parts were more brittle and had an exterior white deposit. The main slides are still not free. Do not soak all night as the parts are definitely weaker. I know from the broken parts that the slides did print as separate items, the problem then is getting the viscous liquid out. I am going to look at melting points and see if I can boil the liquid out.

Great work. Thanks for posting this. These old European saloon cars are very cool

This model is freaking amazing! Your craftsmanship is outstanding and makes this a joy to check in with once and a while. I am going to steal your steering rack idea and modify it for 3D printing as it is close to what I need to do for my Atom, thanks for the inspiration

After soaking for several hours everything is breaking free, but, the slides. I really like the ultrasonic idea, but, I want this to be something someone can order and not have to buy a bunch of stuff, besides I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner The slides are the beefiest parts in near proximity, so, I am guessing the gaps for the larger bearings on the FUD Atom print need to be a bit bigger. Essentially, rod ends and steering gear will work from the print, larger surfaces such as brake discs against calipers may have to be soaked and the bearing inside the wheels will just have to be bigger. I suppose that the models could always be baked, I will have to look up the melting points I am thinking that I will size the shocks to a specific brand of pen and the spring will just be stolen from it and cut to length. I will have to figure out what size is needed and go to Office Depot and look like a complete tool with my vernier caliper. I will just print the rest as a kit that floats in the rest of the model

That is a great idea. That is the next step in static alcohol does not work

I love stress testing. Today I took the dolly models and since I got liquid out of them when i unpacked them I was thinking that the frozen parts were actually being held by the same substance. I took a lighter for no more than a couple of seconds under each of the rollers and then tried to roll them, ... they all broke free. So then I started working on the main slides. Again with a lighter I could not get them free without a lot of heat turning the little handles brown and breaking half of them. Too much mass to heat with a point source. It did answer my question, yes, there is still some of the binder wax on them. I am going to have to come up with a better heating source than the point source I was using. Time to go read the Shapeways forums ... After reading their forums it might be as easy as soaking them in isopropyl alcohol to loosen them up. I am going to give that a try

This popped up yesterday and has the Atom world upside down. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-Ariel-Atom-Replica-Ariel-Atom-REPLICA-KIT-/121076484209?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c30b88871 These are the frames and parts from the ill fated Chinese factory being imported through someone in Portland. Yeah drama on the Atom forum, kind of missed the drama of old ....

They may be homely, but, they sure can be wicked quick.

I thought about buying a Formlab, but, the tech is just changing so fast. Spend 3K to 5K and end up with one style of printing and then want that one over there in six months. I am doing that with too many other technologies to add another even moving faster one. The two week wait does ....

One more boring shot ...

I got the wheel dollies today. Not my most successful first try. The frame sags and I kind of thought it would, but, I wanted try try it looking something like a full sized one. The fix won't be that bad. The wheels roll and rotate just like they are supposed too, but, both long gaps fused, the main slide and the rollers. Obviously the gaps need to be increased in cases of large contacts. The holes in the shaft printed fine, but, the mechanism for locking the shafts is frozen. The accuracy and detail is awesome, I need to understand gap tolerance just a little better The Atom print is new to me too and it is like this one was printed with a higher heat or something it is very hard to get the moving parts moving on this one. Much different than the other prints.

I poked my head in this thread because of the high view count, and WOW! Your workmanship and capabilities are amazing.

Chris, I do not own a 3D printer, i use a printing service. I do own a 8'x4'x2'high bed CNC, ...lol, but, no printer. I asked the printing manufacturer a question regarding printing and they thought I was a potential customer and so I know the laser sinter printer is in excess of 900K. I have no idea how much their FUD printer costs. There are several printing services, but, mine are printed at Shapeways.com If you look on their site you will see the two materials that I speak about the White Strong and Flexible (WSF) and Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD) The jack http://shpws.me/n83F The functional Atom http://shpws.me/nhGG I model in Inventor and I mainly use Cyclone for laser scanning and point manipulation. like anyone that deals with laser scanning I use a ton of different software depending on what I am trying to accomplish.