3D Printed anti roll bar bushings.

Matt Simis

As attached.
Drew it in Sketch Up, measured from the original worn rubber bushings. Audi wont sell the bushings separate, want to sell you the complete Antiroll bar with bushings preinstalled for about EUR200.

Took 5hrs a bushing to print, very very strong parts, printed in Nylon (taulman bridge). So far, so good, very happy with them, fit perfect.

166man

What car you in these days Matt?

Supergurrier

That's mad. Print me an RS spoiler now

newmug

Wow! Where'd ya get that done?

Charlie19

I always thought that they were cheap enough, I got a pair on mister auto for less than €10 + delivery.

challengemaster

Charlie19 wrote: »

I always thought that they were cheap enough, I got a pair on mister auto for less than €10 + delivery.

Not for an Audi S8 you didn't.

Charlie19

challengemaster wrote: »

Not for an Audi S8 you didn't.

Yes very true and that's why I said "I thought".

Matt Simis

166man wrote: »

What car you in these days Matt?

A (D3 2004-2007ish) Audi A8 4.2 petrol! S8s of this gen are still pretty spendy, but the 335bhp A8 of the D3 is not too dissimilar to the D2 S8 I used to have performance wise.

Charlie19 wrote: »

I always thought that they were cheap enough, I got a pair on mister auto for less than €10 + delivery.

You cant buy the bushing separately, just the whole bar with the bushings attached. Im sure thats better but christ its $$ and wasteful.
3D Printing is not going to compete with economies of scale, its best for parts in low or no production (or completely custom) parts.

newmug wrote: »

Wow! Where'd ya get that done?

My garage! I got a Rostock Max V2 3D printer a while back. Since the bushings I also was trying out a diff fuel pump and found I didnt have a Y-piece splitter for the piping. Checked out Thingiverse, downloaded a 1/2" model, scaled in in the printer software (to match 10mm metric) and 29min later I had a Ypiece ready to fit the car. Its like all of a sudden that future we were promised caught up. Still more impressed with drawing/designing the model for the bushing from scratch. I printed out a fast mockup in PLA and brought in the original, the mockup and some of the failed nylon prints as office desk ornaments.

cletus

This is one of the most awesome posts on boards ever. Can I ask how much the raw materials cost

Matt Simis

cletus wrote: »

This is one of the most awesome posts on boards ever. Can I ask how much the raw materials cost

Very little, rolls of filament are about EUR30 for 500g to 1kg and these use only a small amount (as the honeycomb infill allows minimal use of product and max strength).

Here is the Audi proper solution, a full replacement Anti Roll bar with bushings pre-installed:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-suspension-stabilizer-bar-front-a8-quattro-s8-vag-4e0411305ac

GTDolanator

Thats awesome!but i gotta ask....how much does a 3d printer cost?

jca

Will the nylon last? Does the nylon transmit more road noise than rubber or polyurethane?

Vicxas

Printing cart parts that work

Matt Simis

GTDolanator wrote: »

Thats awesome!but i gotta ask....how much does a 3d printer cost?

EUR500 to 999 (and up I guess). Like TVs they were 10k then 4k now this.
My Rostock Max V2 was $999 US. Im going to make a walking spider drone at some point but next up something simple like customised iPhone 6 cases, designs freely available here:
http://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=iphone+6+cases&sa=

jca wrote: »

Will the nylon last? Does the nylon transmit more road noise than rubber or polyurethane?

Nylon is very long life and yes it would transmit more noise than rubber, as its not as soft, though bear in mind I could print in a softer rubber like plastic if I wanted to. Like PU, there are pro's and con's of using anything harder than the stock rubber but in most cases the life expectancy is way higher.
http://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare , fyi PLA is the generic and cheap 3D printer material and it gets more exotic from that up.

jca

Matt Simis wrote: »

EUR500 to 999 (and up I guess). Like TVs they were 10k then 4k now this.
My Rostock Max V2 was $999 US. Im going to make a walking spider drone at some point but next up something simple like customised iPhone 6 cases, designs freely available here:
http://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=iphone+6+cases&sa=



Nylon is very long life and yes it would transmit more noise than rubber, as its not as soft, though bear in mind I could print in a softer rubber like plastic if I wanted to. Like PU, there are pro's and con's of using anything harder than the stock rubber but in most cases the life expectancy is way higher.
http://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare , fyi PLA is the generic and cheap 3D printer material and it gets more exotic from that up.

Thanks for the link, it's certainly an up and coming interest. It will be interesting to see how it performs in the hostile environment. I worked in injection moulding Nylon 6 and Nylon 12, we found it tended to squeak in applications similar to your roll bar. Please keep us posted as it looks fascinating. There's nothing like someone doing it hands on.

alias no.9

Matt Simis wrote: »

EUR500 to 999 (and up I guess). Like TVs they were 10k then 4k now this.
My Rostock Max V2 was $999 US. Im going to make a walking spider drone at some point but next up something simple like customised iPhone 6 cases, designs freely available here:
http://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=iphone+6+cases&sa=



Nylon is very long life and yes it would transmit more noise than rubber, as its not as soft, though bear in mind I could print in a softer rubber like plastic if I wanted to. Like PU, there are pro's and con's of using anything harder than the stock rubber but in most cases the life expectancy is way higher.
http://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare , fyi PLA is the generic and cheap 3D printer material and it gets more exotic from that up.

I'd be very interested to hear how long it does last. The idea of a thermoplastic bushing under heavy loads doesn't fill me with confidence and that's before you take into account the layered nature of the 3D printed structure.
Personally, I'd have been more inclined to get something machined from Polyurethane.

Matt Simis

alias no.9 wrote: »

I'd be very interested to hear how long it does last. The idea of a thermoplastic bushing under heavy loads doesn't fill me with confidence and that's before you take into account the layered nature of the 3D printed structure.
Personally, I'd have been more inclined to get something machined from Polyurethane.

Update: I ended up printing about 5 diff versions. Audi bonds the originals to the bar so I had to up my infill from 50% to 80% and clamp it down tight to get it squeak free.. but its now all behaving.


Since then I also made and printed some replacement vacuum pod arms, a part audi doesnt sell (IRC) and the aftermarket wants $$ for metal versions. Nylon again, so long lasting, heat and chemical resistance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8WIiqEsanA

gctest50

alias no.9 wrote: »

......and that's before you take into account the layered nature of the 3D printed structure......

Matt Simis just inspired nasa to print rocket bits



http://www.nasa.gov/marshall/news/nasa-3-D-prints-first-full-scale-copper-rocket-engine-part.html






Propulsion engineer Sandra Greene, left, and test engineer Cynthia Sprader recently completed a series of test firings at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Credits: NASA/MSFC





diff process i know i know