Other: Studebaker Time Fillers

[jlmccuan]

For those that don't know me, I'll give a short history and then get on to the topic. Those that don't care or already know can skip down to paragraph 2. After having kidney stones last Christmas, I had 2 lithotripsy proceedures taking a lot of days last January and February. Feb 23rd, I finally felt good enough to get out and get some work done. The short story is that I was in a gasoline fire that day. Burn unit and rehab hospital for skin grafts from my waist up to my chin, over the shoulder blades and arms and backs of hands. The rest of the year was rehab 3 to 5 days a week and Drs. The process of rehab and the constant stretching and pulling necessary to allow movement and reduce scarring is SOP for burn patients, but I had already damaged my shoulders before and now I have surgeries scheduled to repair both shoulders and the 100% tear of the right bicep from the shoulder and 50% on the left. That brings me to this post. I will have 2 six week stints of complete immobilization of one shoulder at a time, so I looked for something to occupy myself.

So to fill this time, I got set up to do 3D printing. This print head essentially is added on to my mini mill and makes parts by addition rather than subtraction from a parent block. Known as rapid prototyping, this process allows the building of most any part that fits on the table which is 16"x24"x8" tall. I can do parts that are quite functional, even machineable for threads etc, parts to pull molds from for casting, test fits for complicated geometries and so on. I have several modelling packages to develop the models, given description, dimensioned drawings, or even files that already exist, with modifications or as they are. ABS plastic is my preferred material to print. It is similar to many automotive parts like plug wire looms, air cleaner boxes, switch housings, etc. Other materials can be printed, some very exotic.


Now, what do we want. What do we need. What experiments would we like to run. What parts can we not get that need molds for casting, casting cores or even used as is off the printer. Large items like cylinder heads are certainly possible, but down the road in terms of me tackling during this phase.

I'm not solid on pricing, but it will depend on complexity to model and the amount of material used, etc. Probably will be a quoted price for a project rather than time and materials.

I'd love to hear what you guys think.

[Lark Parker]

Well Jim, I saw a science news item that a guy was working on a substitute kidney that would be printed.
If you need a DNA sample, I can provide same.
Thanks in advance.
DM

[Steven Ayres]

As far as I know, radio preset buttons are still not available for '58 and I imagine other years. I need those.

Sunvisor receiver clips and rod ends are a common problem for many makes.

Supercharger medallions could probably be made of ABS, and you could offer custom as well as stock designs. (How much heat will it take?)

If you can do pot metal or similar, things start to get interesting. How about rubber or silicone?

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
58H-K7 660

[DEEPNHOCK]

Couple of swag questions....

If you make/print a prototype, how hard is it to upsize it 6% so that aluminum castings will come out the correct size?
(Say, as a replacement for a cast iron part).

Will the printed prototype be able to be used as the 'lost wax' part?

Would you have to/want to/need to design your prototype as a female mold to make 'wax' items for lost wax casting?

I would suggest something small, like that Lark Daytona beltline trim piece that's impossible to find.
It would be easy enough to flip your DWG to make it a left and right proposition.

Or..... Do up a nice desktop stand up paperweight with a pretty art deco Studebaker badge that could be sold through TW, or the SNM.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Hey Jim -

This may sound redundant...but it sounds like the perfect time to play with performance cylinder head and intake manifold design to with my cams.
Your choise, start with R1/R2 OR...R3 as a base. Overall, modifying the base R3 will flow better, but WILL require a matching manifold and therefore, cost more. While using the (stock)/R1/R2 style head, it will be a bit more dificult to make horse power, it would be a better seller I think because a stock manifold would properly fit.

I think using the standard head as a base, with proper design ports, 215cfm (at .500" lift) is possible. This should equate to about 220 or so cfm at a lift value that many of the roller cams out there, while not hurting flow with less cam.

An easy design for you....mate a modern small or big block Chevy (which ever fits the best) water pump to the stude block. Make the routing as required, and to include fittings to plumb water to the heads. This should obviously include the proper pulley spacing.
As a side note, the Stude engine should cool better as the Chevy impeller/passage is a much better toleranced design. Less water cavitation / leakage.

A more complicated design but still a need (in my opinion) would be an aluminum (read that light weight) water manifold simillar to the stock design, just properly designed to be an aluminum part from the begining. Not like the last alum. copy which was made out of alum, out of a cast iron pattern.

Another easy one...a cool looking set of rocker covers. Maybe even with peremiter fastener locations rather than the center locations. Make them like the Fords or Chryslers, more than four fasteners. Say...6, 1/4-20 fasteners and a paper template to drill and tap the rocker gasket rail.

One more would be a better designed, affordable, cast iron header. Designed well, and priced right, this "would" be an easy sell..

I've got a couple more, but this is a good start if you feel like doing something till a paying customer comes calling.

The best on your rehab.

Mike

[jlmccuan]

Modelling existing cast iron pieces and rescaling the entire part or even breaking out the open areas and scaling them separately is pretty simple if the model is constructed correctly at the beginning of the project. Scaling an entire part is simple, but an existing stereo lithograph would be more difficult to scale the voids separate from the solid areas. I'm not sure exactly how mold makers scale from cast iron to aluminum, but given the parameters shouldn't be an issue.

Using a lost wax process would require using the printed part as a plug and casting the wax unless you printed the the space around the model leaving the model as a void. Then cast the wax in the printed mold.

The temperatures for PLA and ABS to remelt once printed are about 180 degrees Celsius and 205 degrees Celsius respectively. Remember 100 degrees Celsius is the boiling point of water, so these parts will stand a fair bit of heat.


Mr. Parker, had I been able to print biological parts, I would have printed my grafts and saved the hide on my legs and thighs for the chewing out I got from my family after the docs finally (5 days after the accident) told them I was going to live, lol. With two complete layers pulled off my right side and one and a half off my left, I'd almost rather donate a kidney than have those grafts taken off again. Fortunately, after about 2 months, most of my donor sites had healed pretty well. They later took another half lap for another graft session and evened the right and left sides out, lol.

Seriously, though, the technology of printed biologicals is pretty cool and I did talk to my surgeon about them later. He is a big fan as the reduction in infection at the donor sites is eliminated.

[jlmccuan]

Mike, if you have poured castings of improved chambers, bowls and ports, etc. I could start with that in development. I can do 3d scanning without cross sectioning them for measurements. I would need to coat them with copper coat or aluminum spray. The coating could be taken off after scanning.

[junior]

the thought of 53/54 c/k grills and surrounds pops in my mind. light weight, flexible, and able to be chromed like modern OEM 'chrome' grills is what came to my mind when I learned about 3d printers last year...even seems like a market may exist. what say you? regardless of what you do with a 3d printer, the possibilities seem vast. good luck with your surgeries. regards, Junior.

[rockne10]

I too had thoughts of at least the '53 C/K grills. I believe the ABS itself can be chrome plated or, spray-chromed.
Would I buy a set? I spent a month's pay to get my original ones done. Hopefully I'll never need them again but, with the cost reduction once the scan is programmed, many owners could contemplate purchasing a couple of sets in their lifetime.

[Lark Parker]

Mr. Parker, had I been able to print biological parts, I would have printed my grafts and saved the hide on my legs and thighs for the chewing out I got from my family after the docs finally (5 days after the accident) told them I was going to live, lol. With two complete layers pulled off my right side and one and a half off my left, I'd almost rather donate a kidney than have those grafts taken off again. Fortunately, after about 2 months, most of my donor sites had healed pretty well. They later took another half lap for another graft session and evened the right and left sides out, lol.

Seriously, though, the technology of printed biologicals is pretty cool and I did talk to my surgeon about them later. He is a big fan as the reduction in infection at the donor sites is eliminated.

That's OK Jim. If I had to choose between the pain and damage by burns like you have and a bum kidney, I think I'd rather put up with my kidney. I just thought I'd take a shot. Good luck.
The C/K grilles sound like a good project that you could actually take a profit on.
I could probably get the 53 grille blueprints back from the guy that was going to try China for manufacturing repops.

[jlmccuan]

I wouldn't wish either on anyone, but I'll lay claim to being a tough old codger. More frustration than anything else if you have the right pain meds, lol.

I'd be willing to look at about any project, but the first few weeks will be ironing out the idiosyncrasies on smaller parts, like, say R3/4 badges. ABS is a good candidate for spray chrome with enamel inlay. The radio buttons are another good one. ABS is available in a large variety of colors, even glow in the dark.

[rockne10]

Then there's always those rear quarter beltline moldings for the Lark hardtops and convertibles.

[dean pearson]

As far as I know, radio preset buttons are still not available for '58 and I imagine other years. I need those.

Sunvisor receiver clips and rod ends are a common problem for many makes.

Supercharger medallions could probably be made of ABS, and you could offer custom as well as stock designs. (How much heat will it take?)

If you can do pot metal or similar, things start to get interesting. How about rubber or silicone?

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
58H-K7 660

If you can do pot metal or something similar I need a complete chromable belt line trim for my 52 commander hard top.

Dean.

[rockne10]

I assume anything to be duplicated would need a near perfect original to scan or program to be entered. If such be the case, any old pitted item that is still in one piece and of original contour could be filled and smoothed to be scanned. Absence of an original precludes its reproduction.

[avantilover]

I assume anything to be duplicated would need a near perfect original to scan or program to be entered. If such be the case, any old pitted item that is still in one piece and of original contour could be filled and smoothed to be scanned. Absence of an original precludes its reproduction.

Not necessarily, considering new concepts are sent from PC to printer, if a drawing could be provided of the no longer available part, surely (?) it could be recreated???