Custom enclosure design requested

I’ll be using 3D hubs. So i have plenty of options… Splitting it up in smaller pieces would be easier in any way. Also if you could make it hollow, then it’ll save me on some filliant cost.

Keep the holes as-is, I can still fill them up with some putty.

yes, once i get my parts i’ll try to make a good build-log. started one on my fiirst build but quickly abandoned it cause of many beginners mistakes. For this build i’ll be documenting everything.

Including the beginner mistakes! Those are as important. Good luck mate

You can check my build for a 3d printed enclosure :slight_smile: Still finishing up the design but I have printed some iterations of my model. In general there are very very few 3d printers that exceed 220x220 build size. So you will have to split it up either way. I’d go for ABS or PETG as a material. And when making it hollow, make sure the strength is minimum 3mm.

There are several other factors which decide how much the enclosure can hold up. Infill and shell thickness of the wall (slicer settings). Top/Bottom layer thickness and so on. Make sure to nail those right since it can get pretty expensive using 3dhubs for parts that big.

Will you be able to print without support material? I can make it hollow but if you’re are going to save on material we’re going to need to change the design a bit

EDIT* also I took out the holes (don’t need to make you do extra work) If ya want em back let me know. I will also upload a new STL file that is hollow to thingiverse (I won’t delete the old one though)

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So I was looking at another thread that does custom enclosures and thinking about the design process and I had an idea.

If you notice there is this pesky “rim” that stops you from getting the flat sections flush with the deck. This is because of the way that the mold and vacuum work. So you can either sand/cut it down, or I could provide a pdf template with the cross section and we could remove the “base” on the 3d print and instead cut it out once the abs has been vacuum formed, thus removing the corner lip. Then you’d use the template to cut around the part in the shape that you desire for the base.

The only issue I could see with this method is that you might not get a fully flat surface because of the holes in the base where the air gets sucked out, but that could be fixed by putting the part on top of some thin cardboard or paper/insert other flat thing.

What are your thoughts on this method?

Didn’t notice that you want to use it as a mold. If you are, then I guess the part does not need to be hollow since it’ll have to withstand some pressure? You can fill up the rim with foam. Why not use the 3D printed part directly ? I’ve ridden around 50kms and no cracks or whatsoever yet. Currently printing my latest design above. You can see the wall thickness and infill there. Totally unnecessary but it’ll be as durable as a tank :slight_smile:

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I think it involves aesthetics, To get the quality of a heat/vacuum mold with a 3D print you need an acetone bath and ABS filament or a lot of sanding with PLA. I’m not entirely sure what @ikjahaa has in mind, but its entirely possible that they don’t have a heated printed bed so ABS could be out of the question entirely.

*EDIT, Foam is a good idea @TranxFu, but why wouldn’t you take out the extra step and just cut out the shape when you’re cutting out the plastic anyway? It would probably save money and time wouldn’t it?

to make sure that the entire Shape is Copied over to my Vacuum formed enclosure, I’ll need to drill some small holes in numerous important spots. this ensures that all the air can get sucked out.

hmm ok :slight_smile: If you want me to add holes again I can, but would you specify how many/where exactly you want them. That way they look good in reality and not just in CAD.

im not really familiar witht he Prices of 3 d prints but yesterday I uploaded my model to 3dhubs and the Prices were between 300 and 200€. don’t know if this was due to the big dimensions or the cost of the filliant itself but this was the reason why i’d prefer to make it hollow and possibly fill it up with something else.

i’ll do thinw ith a very small drill. it’s Pretty much a trial and error Process.

okee sounds good