3D printed resin aftermarket mufflers and replacement wheelbacks

[JTalmage]

Howdy folks. Been a long time since I have posted here, ever since I got promoted, work sped up, etc. Things have slowed down again, I never really got out of model building, just buying and collecting more than ever. 

One thing I realized when I was buying rebuilders is that I always seemed to be missing wheelbacks for old annuals and screw chassis cars, or the tires melted them.

So, having owned a 3d printer for over a year as of last August I decided to really dive in. Well, I taught myself how to use Fusion360, which was freaking HARD. Then I taught myself how to use my printer with help from others. I ended up designing wheelbacks for metal axles... and I used the heck out of em on my projects! these shots of the wheelbacks in CAD were my first prototype designs w/o any measurements, just to see if I could do it. 

Here are some production units in the Slicer program:

 

And here's the finished products! I ended up making several styles in several depths, also some to fit the two types of Johan wheelbacks I had, and even the old 60's AMT ones. 

Later, after I got bored of wheelbacks, I decided, since I was soo good at CAD (sarcasm) and I only knew how to do basic shapes, I decided to try mufflers. I realized there wasn't much of a selection of aftermarket mufflers out in resin land. So, after getting on the internet and researching measurements, etc. I started drawing things up in Fusion360... and, before I knew it, I had 3 different sets of mufflers created! Flowmasters, Borlas, and Cherry Bomb Glasspacks!

 

What do ya all think? (some of you may have already seen these before on facebook, but this is the first time I've posted them here)

I can't wait until I upgrade from my original Anycubic Photon, to something more modern!

Edited February 28, 2022 by JTalmage
resize and edit pics... again

[JTalmage]

Ok for some reason I cannot get that very last picture in my post to go away. Even after 3 edits. 

Though, I must say, having not been here since before photobucket dropped the bomb on everyone, I do like the new photo upload and editing method.

[MeatMan]

Good stuff!

Being able to make your own wheel backs has been a great thing for me too. I used to spend a lot of time going through my parts boxes trying to find matching parts.

I haven't done mufflers yet but yours look quite nice.

What CAD program is that?

[MrObsessive]

Those look EXCELLENT! And yes, it is TERRIFIC to be able to make your own parts! The other day, I was printing out part of the files that @my66s55 sent to me for printing the 1958 Plymouth Poly Head V8. One of the files had a set of pulleys in it, and they came out really nice! It then occurred to me I don't have to buy these any longer..........I can simply print 'em out. 😁

I'm going to check out Fusion 360..........they have a free version for hobbyists. I have Blender, but man oh man----I can't get that to work to save my life. It's CONSTANTLY crashing whenever I need it to do a task, such as splitting a body. I've been told it's memory, but this is a new laptop with 12GB's of RAM. That should be plenty to handle that program.

Thanks for posting those Jesse.......I now have an idea I'd like to design once I get a hang of the program.  

[my66s55]

2 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Those look EXCELLENT! And yes, it is TERRIFIC to be able to make your own parts! The other day, I was printing out part of the files that @my66s55 sent to me for printing the 1958 Plymouth Poly Head V8. One of the files had a set of pulleys in it, and they came out really nice! It then occurred to me I don't have to buy these any longer..........I can simply print 'em out. 😁

I'm going to check out Fusion 360..........they have a free version for hobbyists. I have Blender, but man oh man----I can't get that to work to save my life. It's CONSTANTLY crashing whenever I need it to do a task, such as splitting a body. I've been told it's memory, but this is a new laptop with 12GB's of RAM. That should be plenty to handle that program.

Thanks for posting those Jesse.......I now have an idea I'd like to design once I get a hang of the program.  

If you are trying to use Blender 3.0, forget it. It's famous for crashing. I use 2.91.2. It will do everything needed to create files you want. 

[iamsuperdan]

Nice work! Are you selling your files on Cults or any other sites?

[Casey]

On 2/28/2022 at 3:20 PM, JTalmage said:

 

 

What do ya all think? 

 

I have to be honest. The surface texture of a real Cherry Bomb style muffler is smooth, while the 3D printed parts are not even close to smooth, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Not sure if that is a resolution limitation or what, but, while the shape looks good to me, the texture is unacceptable. It simply doesn't look like a 1/25 scale version if the real thing because of the texture. I'm not sure how people are looking past that and ignoring it, but maybe they've never seen nor held a real Cherry Bomb style muffler in their hand, and felt it has a smooth, painted steel case?

Yes, the above image shows a slight orange peel texture, which, in 1/25 would imperceptible for 99% of us.

 

The Borla mufflers suffer from the same issue, and appear a bit lumpy in areas, and the printed texture/layers are clearly visible, which makes them look a bit like a carbon fiber texture, which, they shouldn't.

Very thin areas, such as the lips/rims of the wheel back seem to be something which is a bit beyond the limits of the equipment you are using, too. The lip is inconsistent, and the small notches or voids catch your eye instantly. I don't see how what is pictured would be acceptable to use as is.

Sorry if my criticism sounds harsh, Jesse, but based upon what I see, I feel others who have commented are not giving a fair and honest critique of the finished product, but maybe it's good enough for them? Hopefully my concerns and honest critique resonate with you, and you are able to get finished parts more true to their 1:1 counterparts.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Casey

[yellowsportwagon]

23 minutes ago, Casey said:

 

I have to be honest. The surface texture of a real Cherry Bomb style muffler is smooth, while the 3D printed parts are not even close to smooth, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Not sure if that is a resolution limitation or what, but, while the shape looks good to me, the texture is unacceptable. It simply doesn't look like a 1/25 scale version if the real thing because of the texture. I'm not sure how people are looking past that and ignoring it, but maybe they've never seen nor held a real Cherry Bomb style muffler in their hand, and felt it has a smooth, painted steel case?

Yes, the above image shows a slight orange peel texture, which, in 1/25 would imperceptible for 99% of us.

 

The Borla mufflers suffer from the same issue, and appear a bit lumpy in areas, and the printed texture/layers are clearly visible, which makes them look a bit like a carbon fiber texture, which, they shouldn't.

Very thin areas, such as the lips/rims of the wheel back seem to be something which is a bit beyond the limits of the equipment you are using, too. The lip is inconsistent, and the small notches or voids catch your eye instantly. I don't see how what is pictured would be acceptable to use as is.

Sorry if my criticism sounds harsh, Jesse, but based upon what I see, I feel others who have commented are not giving a fair and honest critique of the finished product, but maybe it's good enough for them? Hopefully my concerns and honest critique resonate with you, and you are able to get finished parts more true to their 1:1 counterparts.

Sandpaper

[Casey]

🤔 I'll let Jesse carry on here, and hopefully others give their honest opinions as he requested.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Casey

[Erik Smith]

17 hours ago, Casey said:

I have to be honest. The surface texture of a real Cherry Bomb style muffler is smooth, while the 3D printed parts are not even close to smooth

Valid points. 

The “stamping” is also very pronounced - looking at real mufflers, maybe an actual in- scale-thickness would be difficult to print out and be visible. 

Never the less, nice work on Jesse learning the whole process! That’s something I haven’t had the patience to accomplish yet. 

[Pico]

3D print resolution tip: I have recently upgraded from an Anycubic Photon to an Anycubic Mono 4K and been astounded by the increase in resolution. 

[JTalmage]

Kinda forgot I posted this. Not used to checking the forum.

To answer Casey's concerns, I dab-painted the cherry bombs with an old testors paint pen that was less than half-working, and "painted" the other two mufflers with a silver sharpie. Did it just to get pics of them in color. They really do look much better than that. Although towards the end with my old Anycubic Photon I had to essentially wait for a full moon and perform gregorian chanting over a sacrifice to get anything to print right. 

No 3d printed parts is perfect, they will require cleanup. The back sides of those mufflers would have little pockmarks from the supports anyway. Easily cleaned up and, if one really, really desires, filled and sanded... but, I don't know about you all but I don't plan to look at the floorboard side of mufflers anytime soon on my models. 

Also, after I posted this I bought a new 3d printer. An Elegoo Saturn S. Which is a 4k resolution printer.  I'm working on getting it set up now and test printing. 

[JTalmage]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:46 AM, Erik Smith said:

Valid points. 

The “stamping” is also very pronounced - looking at real mufflers, maybe an actual in- scale-thickness would be difficult to print out and be visible. 

Never the less, nice work on Jesse learning the whole process! That’s something I haven’t had the patience to accomplish yet. 

With my original printer it took quite a bit of pronouncing with words to get them to show up properly. Could probably back it off a bit with my new printer, but I'm not redesigning my files. I'll just sand the lettering down if I feel the need.

[JTalmage]

On 3/7/2022 at 10:02 AM, iamsuperdan said:

Nice work! Are you selling your files on Cults or any other sites?

No, I usually only sell em in person at shows/swap meets or by mail. But I'm low on stock right now. 

[Oldmopars]

On 3/7/2022 at 12:06 PM, Casey said:

 

I have to be honest. The surface texture of a real Cherry Bomb style muffler is smooth, while the 3D printed parts are not even close to smooth, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Not sure if that is a resolution limitation or what, but, while the shape looks good to me, the texture is unacceptable. It simply doesn't look like a 1/25 scale version if the real thing because of the texture. I'm not sure how people are looking past that and ignoring it, but maybe they've never seen nor held a real Cherry Bomb style muffler in their hand, and felt it has a smooth, painted steel case?

Yes, the above image shows a slight orange peel texture, which, in 1/25 would imperceptible for 99% of us.

 

The Borla mufflers suffer from the same issue, and appear a bit lumpy in areas, and the printed texture/layers are clearly visible, which makes them look a bit like a carbon fiber texture, which, they shouldn't.

Very thin areas, such as the lips/rims of the wheel back seem to be something which is a bit beyond the limits of the equipment you are using, too. The lip is inconsistent, and the small notches or voids catch your eye instantly. I don't see how what is pictured would be acceptable to use as is.

Sorry if my criticism sounds harsh, Jesse, but based upon what I see, I feel others who have commented are not giving a fair and honest critique of the finished product, but maybe it's good enough for them? Hopefully my concerns and honest critique resonate with you, and you are able to get finished parts more true to their 1:1 counterparts.

To be fair, not all 3D printers are created equal. Older lower resolution printers are going to have a grainy/layered look to them. However I have a 4K Mono Saturn S and the prints are near glass smooth. There are now 6K and 8K printers on the market, but it will be a few years before I think they are affordable. When they are, the only limit will be your drawing and the 3D editor you used to make it. 

Right now, that Cherry Bomb even in low res can just be sanded smooth in a few minutes. Much better than any other option. 

As a newbie(me) to the whole 3D printing thing, I think he did great.

[Erik Smith]

3 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

To be fair, not all 3D printers are created equal. Older lower resolution printers are going to have a grainy/layered look to them. However I have a 4K Mono Saturn S and the prints are near glass smooth. There are now 6K and 8K printers on the market, but it will be a few years before I think they are affordable. When they are, the only limit will be your drawing and the 3D editor you used to make it. 

Right now, that Cherry Bomb even in low res can just be sanded smooth in a few minutes. Much better than any other option. 

As a newbie(me) to the whole 3D printing thing, I think he did great.

Scott, if you haven’t, take a look HERE - check out the “572” script on the valve covers. That’s a 1/32 scale engine. I think I read on his Facebook he was getting an 8K printer - I don’t know what those parts were printed with, but they are nice. So, yeah, printers matter.