Short track gas tank production feeler

[riverrat]

I am working on trying to reproduce the infamous 85-6R short track tanks. With the rising cost of finding one, and advances in ways to produce these things, it may be feasible to produce them. I am just throwing this out there to see how many people might be interested, and what would you expect to pay for one? The construction will be slightly different, but the dimensions will be the same. There is also the possibility of producing them in just about any color.

~rr

[Keith Salyer]

I just paid $600 for a used one and feel good about the deal. I would love to have one in white, that would just be awsome.

[rjs89ia]

I got mine under 300, but it ended up being cracked around the aft mounts and leaked like no other. Took some pretty creative epoxy and silicone work to get it sealed up. So whats your overall plan what kind of materials do you plan on using and what do you believe you could produce and sell this for in a time, labor and material since of cost. You've got my full support as long as you stick with it.

[riverrat]

I am waiting for some quotes back to see how much this will cost. I will have a preliminary cost in a few days I am sure. Then I may have to shop around for some comparison estimates. I am almost positive this can be manufactured in a custom one-off basis. I am kind of tired of the high cost of these tanks, especially since I don't want to collect them, I want to race them. If I could make one for $400 or under, I would buy it myself.

Also if this works out to be cost effective, it could be done for any part on our trikes made of plastic. Did I hear someone say Tecate fenders?

[rjs89ia]

what material are you aiming at using? i may have a place to compare with your prices.

[poohbee1]

I just got a complete kit on craigslist after going from a homemade one . Making all the radiator brackets wouldnt be hard , the tank to shroud brackets are really hard to make they go up and down and curve around hoses and mine sucked . The dc shrouds are junk they dont line up with anything on the factory stuff i gave up and put the factory shrouds on but when they break im screwed. The tank buy itself is more trouble than its worth and i would never do it again. If you build the tanks you will need to build everthing or reverse engineer it around the dc shrouds.

[rjs89ia]

yea dc's arent the greatest but they're a good ground mold to make your own and if you can make a tank you should be able to whip through a set of shrouds in no time at all.

[greenhuman]

I can make perfect fiberglass repo's of genuine Honda short tank shrouds. All I'd need is a loan of a pair of decent shrouds to mould off.

[Mosh]

From what I understand, if all goes as planned we will have much better options for new short track shrouds in a few months. You may want to wait and see what comes of that.

[Billy Golightly]

I loaned my tank out to another guy here on the board a few years ago named Dee something or another and damn near never got the thing back. He was going to do Carbon Fiber which woulda been bitchin, but it never materialized and I ended up having to mail the guy a UPS label for the box to send it back to me in. Some repro short-track stuff would certainly interest me if it was done right.

[deathman53]

I have the DC shrouds, one black and other red, Only paid for one. I sent them the oem shrouds(brand new, in sealed box), I am kinda pissed about opening very rare parts, but it was for a good cause. The factory stuff fits far better, but I was on the last set of good shrouds and didn't want to risk it, besides, red shrouds on everything black doesn't match. If you do re-do them, it would have to be complete, tank, shrouds, shroud brackets, new radiator brackets or things to modify yours to move the top of radiator back ~1.5" and line up everything else and new bottom triple or template to modify yours so it turns more.

[riverrat]

I remember that deal Billy. I will follow through on this. The only question will be cost. Like I said, if it works out, we can make any plastic piece we want. DC shrouds fit fine if you take some time to align them. I got mine pretty close. Anyway, as I stated I am interested in them for racing purposes, so looks are not that important.

The material it's made out of will be determined by the people making them, based on construction method and being fuel proof. These will not be molded, or injected.

[Billy Golightly]

Personally, I wouldn't be opposed ot hte tank and shrouds being made out of aluminum, which was my plan many years ago before I actually acquired a tank of my own. I think if you used something like .180 aluminum sheet and made it mallable, you could probably get a pretty decent shape out of it. I mean, FlyinBrian did a phenomenal job on that Tri-Z tank that is on the raffle trike, so I'm sure it can be done, the question again is cost. I could just take a good hard look at aluminum before committing to plastic for the tanks as well..might be surprised and end up being cheaper to do them in aluminum once some templates are cut out and a little bit of jigging is put together.

[rjs89ia]

the place i was refering too for prices was aircraft spruce you could probably get a good fiberglass, resin, and fuel tank sealer as well as an aircraft cap and all the fittings to go in it. sometimes this aircraft stuff i deal with actually turns out to be useful for something. i could probably copy the applicable pages out of my cd catalog if your interested. since billy said something about aluminum they have a whole section of that too in the catalog.

[nstyle73]

I would definitely be interested, and my previous experiences with DC products wouldn't give me much faith in trying to get short track shrouds to fit, which is currently where I'm at as I have a kit with no OEM shrouds. On a related, but separate topic, anyone know if someone is reproducing the factory triangle decal on the top of the shrouds?

[riverrat]

The tank will be made from some sort of plastic, and be made by machine.

[kiser]

I would be interested in a white short track tank for sure if thats possible.

[riverrat]

Hey Billy, what do you think a tank made out of aluminum would cost? I mean what would the final cost to a consumer be?

[riverrat]

Just got off the phone with the first company. Initial estimates would be over $500 but less than $1000. That would be a tank made of ABS, in any color. Only thing is that the mounts would be abs as well, and I would need to redisgn the mounting for the gascock. Maybe t-slots in the plastic.

[Mosh]

I know with Flyin Brian's aluminum tanks, being hand formed to factory lines..He wants $700 for one with a bare finish..Nobody, is buying at that price with the exception of a select few..I am sure if you square angled all the tanks and made them easier to produce, the price would go down quite a bit. When you talk about a guy hand forming or using english wheels and metal forming equipment to produce factory lines and edges, you are talking a lot of time, plus the cost of materials not to mention equipment. If I am not mistaken, those aluminum cap bungs are almost 100$ each at a small amount of runs..Even at $700 for hand formed aluminum tank, minus the materials..He has about 30-40 hours into each one. I figure by time all is said and done, he makes maybe about 6 bucks an hour making one..I don't know of any machinist's that will work for those wages..Especially with McDonalds hiring management at 15$ per hour..I think the prices are fair in every case for a product that deserves them. But the reality is, not many people can afford that much money for one part.

Personally, to make shrouds out of aluminum would be pretty dangerous far as on a functioning rider machine. I don't think I would want two large razor blades rolling over me if I were to crash. Not to mention the damage they could do to the rest of the bike, or others around it, during a wreck.

It's great everyone is taking initiative to try to reproduce things and make things. That is how people have learned in history.. I bet alot of these people don't/won't publicly say, they loose their ass in doing it..And to try to replicate anything made from a professional factory out of a small out back shop with limted equipment, usually (use term loosley), although intentions are best...Does not yield factory professional results in many cases.

[riverrat]

Well this would not be a backyard deal. Plus sometimes, we get better stuff when reproduced, so let's stay positive :)
I talked a second company today, and it seems I might be able to get closer to the $500 mark. This company makes gas tanks that go into military planes, so their specifications are way higher. But the tanks would be made from a form of nylon, which may or may not be able to be dyed. However, it has a seal coating over it, so they would be paint able. I was informed that they are as tuff as nails, and can take a beating. The nylon is white.

I have the access to a new tank thanks to ChrisD, and new shrouds too if we get that far. There is going to be a pretty good outlay of cash to get it all set up, but hopefully I can make it back by selling the tanks with a little profit, just enough to justify it, I am not looking to get rich here, I have a good job.

I figured the aluminum ones would be too pricey.

This whole deal might take a couple months before I have a tank in my hand, but I think it will be worth it.

[riverrat]

As far as the rest of the kit goes, it's easy to bend the original brackets to move the rads back. You can then cut the hoses and make them fit. And the brackets to move the rad brackets back are real simple to make as well. The original triple can be modified to accommodate the increased steering. All you really need to make a short track conversion is the tank and the shrouds. That's how I did mine, since I didn't have $2k to drop on a NOS kit.

[rjs89ia]

for an aluminum tank i could care less what the bottom looks like aslong as the part that you see conforms to the orginal tank that would work for me. a 48x72in aluminum sheet for fuel tank use in .040 is $52 and .050 is $62 thats last years prices but im sure they dont increase much. for a plastic tank i would suggest making the fwd and aft mounts a bolt on set up instead of cast into the tank. put some threaded inserts in the tank should make for a cheaper production and you can make and sell the mounts with it. then you dont have to fight with switching the grommets over and depending on the bolts you use they might just shear in a wreck instead of cracking the plastic around the mount.

[riverrat]

The way these get manufactured, there would be no way to make the mounts separate. Designing the petcock will be challenging enough.

[riverrat]

So I have been do more work towards my goal, and it looks as though it will become reality. I know these kinds of threads pop up every now and then, and nothing ever happens. But that's not me. Not only will I be doing the tank, I will be doing the shrouds as well. These will be exact duplicates of the orignials (as close as you can get without having the molds). There are many manufacturing options, but I think I am going to go with a nylon type tank that has a gold seal applied to it (not gold in color but white). The tank and shrouds will be paintable. This tank will actually be made to the same military specs as the tanks used in drones, and from the same material. I will be incorporating a few design changes, but nothing cosmetic, to the tank. There will be the option for a high-flow petcock (standard 3/8 pipe thread hole) and clearance added to run big carbs with big motors on top of the carb. My hopes are to have this all done in a couple months (2). Not completely sure of the pricing as of yet due to the nature of the manufacturing process and design element, but I am hopeful to be around $500 for the tank. Not sure the shrouds yet.

There also may be other ways to produce these tanks in color, but it may turn out to be more money, and the specs won't be as good, but still good for us.

This will open up a whole new world of color combinations with the short track tank. I can't wait to see what builders will do with it.

So now that the initial figuring out if it is possible or not is done, I am moving forward at the speed of.....well as fast as I can. :D Star Trek here we come.

[Billy Golightly]

I was gonna say probably $750-$800 to reproduce the tank in aluminum and it be of satisfactory design and asethetics. When I was going to make the scoops out of aluminum I was envisioning .180 or so material so its easier to form, not paper thin sheeting. I still think they'd just look cool as hell and I plan to one day make some if nothing more than just for myself...

I don't know much about other technologies are far as making them out of plastics, but it sounds good! Not promising I'll buy one but Id probably look pretty hard at them.

[riverrat]

Just trying to keep our options open Billy. At this point, I'd rather race a new tank, than sacrifice these expensive old tanks. Once the tanks are done, I will explain how I am doing it, if you haven't already figured it out.

[Keith Salyer]

Does anyone have any radiater brackets off the trike that they could trace a pattern and mail to me . I recieved a ST tank but no brackets. Having some paterns would save some time. Thanks

[riverrat]

What I did was take the original brackets and heat up the horizontal portions of them and twist the ends. Then on the top made a 1.5" bracket to move the top mounting back. If you need to figure out how far to go, just mount up the tank and shrouds and use that as a template.

On another note, this week the reverse engineering of the tank and shrouds should commence.

[pipeline triker]

Do not need one but look foward to your progress with these. Alot of guys that race will like them I am sure.

[Keith Salyer]

I was looking at that last night and it looked like I needed to move the bottom radiator mount about 1/2 back also. I will do some more measuring. Thanks

[riverrat]

Like I said, if you "twist" the lower rad mount, you don't need to move that one back.

[Keith Salyer]

Can I heat it with a propane torch and get enough heat.

[riverrat]

Maybe. Try using a turbo torch head. It just has to glow a little red. Set up a way to measure it as you twist it so you only have to heat it once. You only need to heat up about 2 inches of it for it to twist.

[Keith Salyer]

great, I will try that after i get my brackets made this week. still would like to have one in white.

[riverrat]

The first run will be paintable.

[riverrat]

I had the coolest day yesterday. The reverse engineering has commenced!

[Billy Golightly]

Looks good! You using a 3D Scanner?

Pro tip: More work will get done if the coffee maker is moved to the top of the to-do list. :)

[Red Rider]

The reverse engineering has commenced!No wonder 250R's are so fast! When that Honda tank was reverse engineered, you can clearly see some Kawasaki Green inside. :p

[ylwgtr]

hi id buy one of those....but just a question is abs up to the job?most tanks are PE or in some case's PP

[riverrat]

LOL Billy, you noticed that too?

Yes, the tank is being 3D laser scanned.

ylwgtr, I most likely will not be making the tanks out of ABS. The first run will most likely be Nylon with Gold Seal. The same process they are using to make the fuel cells on military drones. It will be paintable.

I have a set of original shrouds as well, but it may not be cost effective to reproduce them the same way I am doing the tank. As costs come down on the technology I am using, it might work out one day.

Thanks to ChrisD for lending me a NOS tank and shrouds.

[ChrisD]

No sweat. Good luck with the project.

[riverrat]

Just an update. I thought things were hard to get done in the construction world. So I enter this corporate world thing, and boy is it ten times worse. Seems like no one knows how to keep their word these days. At least there is communication from some of the people I am dealing with. Never the less, the project is still under way, just might take a little longer than I would have liked.

[Keith Salyer]

It's always a dollar waiting on a dime :)

[riverrat]

Well forward progress is being made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY1geYDKFb0&feature=youtu.be

[Jason125m]

The video says it is set to private

[riverrat]

Try again.

[riverrat]

The tank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuaW_ntUzT4&feature=youtu.be

[Jason125m]

Looking real good! Nice work!

[Keith Salyer]

Very nice work, it lookslike you are getting ever closer to the goal.

[Keith Salyer]

Are the shrouds going to be injection molded or vaccume molded?

[riverrat]

Are the shrouds going to be injection molded or vaccume molded?
Niether, for now the shrouds are not cost effective to reproduce, unless I find another way. Just doing the tank, and in the future when costs come down, I will do the shrouds.

[riverrat]

Well some good and bad news. It won't be cost effective at this time to produce them, but in the near future it will be. The technology is there, that is the good news, it can be done. I could have them made for about $1200. The shrouds would be $400 each. These are exact copies. When you think about how much the last few NOS short track kits sold for on ebay, we are not that far off.
I mean it's not all dead yet, I am still investigating a few other routes I could take. Unfortunately the machines that can produce these are like $250,000.00 otherwise I would buy one, lol.
I will keep you guys updated. I've invested quite a bit so far, and plan to continue on.

[brapp]

bummer but keep up the good work man if we could get a set down to the 600 range i woudl be in .

[Keith Salyer]

Keep trying

[riverrat]

I have to price around a bit more, but more work needs to be done to the files before I can. I have the CAD files from with I can make these many ways. It's just about finding the most cost effective way. The first road I took came out a little high, but I am not too discouraged. I am sure those tanks would be awesome, and probably better than the originals as they are built to military specs.

[TatTooL23]

So y do u say its because of technology if u say they can do it, it's just expensive???

[riverrat]

So y do u say its because of technology if u say they can do it, it's just expensive???

Yes, I don't think people are willing to pay $1200 for a tank that isn't original. My goal was $5-600. The technology isn't that old and will improve in the next few years and become cheaper. Just a few years ago this would have been double, and a few years before that it couldn't have been done at all.

[TatTooL23]

Oh I c. Wel hopefully y o u r assumptions r correct and the price drops.

[riverrat]

Well just to let you guys know, I have not given up on this project. There was a lot of learning I had to do on my part. But let me just tell you the future is now people. I bought a 3d printer, and started learning even more about this awesome technology. MY goal is definitely attainable, and the future of our sport/hobby has a bright light in it.

There is much to say. First off, I printed so far 2 scale models of the short track tank. Don't judge these to harshly, my machine was having a problem that I just figured out, and now the prints will come out a little better. 3D printing is an art in of itself. The first pic is of a 1/6th scale tank, the first ever 3d printed scale part of a 3 wheeler.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131204_060601_zps0gwtvqii.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131204_060601_zps0gwtvqii.jpg.html)

These next pics are of a 1/4 scale tank, which took 8.5 hours to print.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131204_174357_zps1uafkfmc.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131204_174357_zps1uafkfmc.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131204_201709_zpsusoyauiz.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131204_201709_zpsusoyauiz.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131204_213658_zpsz7esatrv.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131204_213658_zpsz7esatrv.jpg.html)

So now that your appetite is wet, on with some details. If you are like me, your brain is turning already. So these tanks were printed in ABS plastic. Pretty brittle stuff. Just good for display model really, or a trophy top :naughty::naughty:.

:naughty:he good news is that there are new filaments coming out all the time, and I have even seen them print in polyethylene. Unfortunately, my machine isn't large enough to print a full scale tank. 99% of the machines out there are not. But bigger machines are on the way. Right now I could upload this tank on to shapeways, and you could have a tank printed out in nylon which is fuel resistant, but you would need to coat the inside of the tank. I am also experimenting with printing in nylon. There is a possibility I may one day soon to be able to print these in my home. We might have to finish them to make them look nice though. It will depend on the process.

So here's the thing. I have a couple thousand put into this already. Including the original scanning, and now this machine, not to mention endless hours of learning. I would like to offer for sale some scale models of the tank. You could make a paper weight out of it or what ever. Either way, you can be a part of history, and in the process help fund my efforts. This thing is cool btw. We have never had a scale model of a 3 wheeler. My other goal is to make a complete scale model of a 3 wheeler. Hopefully offer it up for sale as a kit. Maybe even eventually R/C one. This will be as close as possible to perfect scale. I say close, because for example, if you scale down a shroud it becomes paper thin, so the scale thickness would need to be changed. Stuff like that to make it functional. I am going to put these in the classified, or pm me.

I want to show you what the tank can llok like after a minor bit of sanding, then an acetone fume bath.:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131209_175242_zpsppdabsi4.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131209_175242_zpsppdabsi4.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20131209_175234_zpskigq1jtd.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20131209_175234_zpskigq1jtd.jpg.html)

With a little more sanding and some filler material, it can look outstanding. I don't have red filament yet, but that's no problem. The 1/6th scale tank takes 3 hours to print, and the 1.4 scale tanks takes 8.5 hours to print. I was thinking $35 for the 1/4 tank, and $17 for the 1/6th tank, plus $5 shiipping anywhere in the US. It will come unfinshed, and possibly not absolutely perfect, like the pictures. It will be up to you what you wish to do with it. There will be limited quantities due to the time constraints of printing them. Soon enough I may get, or build a second printer.

But wait.....it doesn't stop there. I have some more VERY exciting news. You know all those rubber bushings and what not on our trikes? I am almost positive I can reproduce them on my printer. I just got a new filament called ninjaflex. I've only printed one thing so far, it is a slotcar tire, that actually works. The material is very similar to rubber, although it is not fuel proof. Going to have to do some testing. But things like the seat bushings and what not, I can totally see this stuff working. So over the next few weeks I will be designing these parts in the 3D software and start printing and testing.

Anthony

[robertc]

Interesting stuff Anthony! Look forward to seeing this progress.

[joesouth]

Man, that fuel tank blew my mind. New technology making our old 3 wheelers last longer!!

[ONEBAD350X]

awesome work man!!! Everything looks great!!

[riverrat]

Thanks guys. First scale tank sold already.
I heard that Konica Minolta who did the scans was getting out of 3d scanning. So called to see about purchasing the laser scanner. Found out it was originally $80,000. But sale price was 25k. Still way out of my reach. I am looking into other scanning options.

[riverrat]

Well an update on stuff...I sold a few model tanks. Got different colors in now, and starting to print some really good looking AND functional stuff.

Got a few more price quotes on producing tanks, and they are all out of this world. The best so far is shapeways. Soon enough it will be within reason, or I am going to build my own printing machine capable of making these.

In the meantime, check these out:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140205_175941_zps2xgj10ih.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140205_175941_zps2xgj10ih.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140207_205509_zpskznjxyqm.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140207_205509_zpskznjxyqm.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140207_222457_zpscodapkae.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140207_222457_zpscodapkae.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140207_223016_zpsykojolfy.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140207_223016_zpsykojolfy.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140205_174414_zpsqx39byif.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140205_174414_zpsqx39byif.jpg.html)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1/antslake/20140205_174500_zpsjhciotsj.jpg (http://s68.photobucket.com/user/antslake/media/20140205_174500_zpsjhciotsj.jpg.html)

[riverrat]

Yes I will be selling custom fork caps! Don't know about gas caps yet, haven't figured out if 2 of the filaments I have are fuel proof yet, been so darn busy. So a Billy if your reading this, I should open a store here?

[Xowner]

Just a question, has anyone tried asking clark if they have any interest in making these? Then we can flood them with emails like the tecate gas tanks?

[riverrat]

They probably would, and it would be a minimum order, and who knows what it would cost. This process WILL work and once it becomes cost effective enough (about even now) you don't have to do group buys, or special orders. Another cool feature is I could alter the shape of the tank. Why would I want to do that? For instance, last ice season I ran Menthanol. But I could only get 12 minutes of hard running out of a tank. I could make the tank bigger to hold more fuel, yet still have the demensions on the frame so I could get the short track steering. :D There is so many possibilities. There will be color choice as well.

[Billy Golightly]

Please keep us in the loop...I recently dreamed up an idea on re-producing these also that I'm pretty sure could be made to work, but I don't have any of the equipment or experience in the process to make it happen personally.

[riverrat]

Been working hard on 3D printing all along. Getting ever so closer to printing out at least the shrouds. In the meantime I have put up a web-site with a store with all the products I have created so far for the ATC. Much more to come in the future. I also figured out how to print bushings in polyurethane, and have printed the square bushings that hold the rear fenders up. Held up to several 90mph runs on the ice, and a whole season of ice racing. The process isn't perfected yet, so the bushings are a little rough. Once I get some free time to build a custom extruder for it, I will post some pictures and add the product to my store. I will be able to produce all the bushings and a reasonable price. So check out the web-site, register so you can receive updates on new products, and spread the word!
www.apshobbies.com
thanks guys.

[yaegerb]

subscribed and link now in my favorites.

[ONEBAD350X]

cool great work! cant wait to see more stuff! great job

[Blown 331]

Ever think about white 350x headlight shells? Several people have made them but I always seem to miss the boat.
The prices on your site seem very reasonable.

[riverrat]

Ever think about white 350x headlight shells? Several people have made them but I always seem to miss the boat.
The prices on your site seem very reasonable.

Yes, I will get to a lot of the parts we need. Problem is that professional scanning ($80,000 scanner) cost big bucks. I would like to start getting a return on my investment before I sink a lot more money into it. But this will all happen in the very near future, so look forward to it :D

[riverrat]

So I designed the nylon bushing that goes between the seat and frame that Honda no longer makes. Register for my website to receive updates as I add stuff. Lot's of goodies coming!

http://apshobbies.com/index.php/store/atc-stuff/functional/nylon-bushing-seat-to-frame-detail

he bushing is printed from 12-64 nylon. This filament just hit the market weeks ago, and I am a tester for it. Very good stuff. Took me months to get to this point of being able to produce high quality parts that we can use!

[riverrat]

I am making the shrouds for the short track tank kit available for sale on shapeways.
**WARNING** These have not yet been tested, buy at your own risk!!
So if someone who has money to burn wants to test these, that would be awesome. I already spent a small fortune getting them scanned.


http://www.shapeways.com/model/1952978/19035-shroud.html?li=search-results&materialId=6
http://www.shapeways.com/model/963880/19030-shroud.html?li=search-results&materialId=6

[Billy Golightly]

What woudl the finish on these be like, I don't expect a perfectly glossy finish, but is it going to be reasonably smooth?

[Louis Mielke]

I don't think you'll have many buyers at $382, especialy not when someone else are makes them at a reasonable price, even if they're not 'perfect'

[riverrat]

Hey Billy, those machines produce some of the finest finishes in 3D printing. Having said that, there will be some layers visible from the process. I imagine they can be sanded, and dyed or even painted after sealing. It's nylon. You could order a small item from shapeways in the same material first to get a feel for it. Lots of small items on there for less than $10.

[riverrat]

I don't think you'll have many buyers at $382, especialy not when someone else are makes them at a reasonable price, even if they're not 'perfect'

One is less than the other. Again, read my previous post. Not really expecting a lot of buyers at this point. But it is history in the making, and people pay a lot more for less just for the "cool" factor.

[riverrat]

Sorry there, was confusing threads. Ignore my comment about previous post.
This was my comment from another thread to put things into perspective with this:

I beg to differ. Let's put this in perspective. I've been watching ebay for the last 7 years for these, and never has then been just the shrouds NIB, NOS for sale. Complete NOS kits are going for $2000. That puts the worth of a NOS shrouds at $800. As a matter of fact, I've only seen just a handful of NOS kits come up in the last 7 years. Used kits could be had for over $1000, but that's not the point. With these kits getting rarer and rarer, they will become worth even more money. Do we want to race something that is worth so much?

So while the cost of the originals will go up and up, these will come down and down. Right now, the cost is even to a little better for the 3D printed ones. Not to mention they can be dyed any color. P.S. I also have the tank scanned, it just needs some more work on the computer to make it usable. Then that can be dyed as well. Good things are coming. There will always be a small number of people racing these kits, and they will need replacements. This is the cost effective solution, since no-one is going to produce these again. The detail on these also blows away DC shrouds and should fit just as well as the originals, not to mention the color options.

Right now, someone has the chance to buy the very first pair of 3D printed shrouds! and also help contribute to the development. The machine this is made on cost 1.5million dollars, but the key patents to that machine are expiring this summer. Plus new technologies are coming out monthly it seems, and it won't be long before we can print these at very affordable prices. I mean right now for less than 2K I could build a machine that prints it, but the resolution won't match the shapeways machines that use Stratsys machines.

[Blown 331]

I was the one ordering your fender / seat bushings, incase you didn't see the user name. Thanks for the help with the check out. One of mine is cracked and the other is missing. Plus I'm interested to see a part made using this method.

[riverrat]

I was the one ordering your fender / seat bushings, incase you didn't see the user name. Thanks for the help with the check out. One of mine is cracked and the other is missing. Plus I'm interested to see a part made using this method.

No problem. Don't know what the trouble was, or does the admin. It's a new website so I am sure there will be bugs. Your order will ship out Monday. Thanks :)

[riverrat]

Good news, shapeways has lowered it's pricing. This is becoming more of a reality. The shrouds came down about $100 each.

https://www.shapeways.com/model/963880/19030-shroud.html?li=aeTabs
https://www.shapeways.com/model/1952978/19035-shroud.html?li=aeTabs

I may purchase a set, just so I can be the first one!

[Marty]

I am currently having radiator mounts being made by CNC machinists and boy that is expensive, sorry having dyes made. I hope to have them soon.

[riverrat]

You mean to reproduce the rubber parts?

[Marty]

202795202796202797no the steel fuel tank to lower shroud mount, the lower radiator frame mount , and the upper radiator frame mount. The hardest one so far is the upper tear drop mount because the short course upper radiator mount has a 30 degree bent then has a tear drop bracket. And my machinist is trying to compensate with stock radiator mounts how much longer upper tear drop will be considering stock radiator support comes straight down

[riverrat]

Getting closer!

https://www.shapeways.com/model/2813482/atc250r-short-track-gas-tank.html?li=aeTabs

[Billy Golightly]

Man that is impressive...I'd love to guinea pig one of these when its ready, seriously. I am still looking for a damaged one to dissect for my idea to reproduce them, but this will probably end up being better than what I had envisioned anyways.

[250rmanfmf]

Cant wait, very interested.

[SUPERBEAST]

how hard is it to get something produced on shapeways?

[riverrat]

how hard is it to get something produced on shapeways?

If your stl model is all in order and printable, it should be very easy. I have not yet ordered anything from them. But I will let you all know as I just placed an order for on shroud. If it is nice, I will go ahead and order the second one. By Dec. 15th we will all see how it is. I will make an unboxing video.
Anthony

[riverrat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUSm5RxwQpM

Well Christmas came early! All I can say is holyfreakincrapitsawesome! This is just so cool, finally after all this time to see a completed part and it came out better than I expected it would. I can say with confidence that you can order these and they will work. The texture is about equal to 220 grit-400 grit wet sand paper. I have to do some research on the best way of sanding it smoother, if you even want to. I believe these are paintable, AND repairable if they crack. I will do a test fit this weekend, but confidence is very high.

[riverrat]

Tutorial on painting them:
https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/painting3dprintedsls

and gluing them:
https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/gluing_3d_printed_parts_tutorial

[Red Rider]

Very cool!

[riverrat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZV9moPJJwY&list=UU3acR71123fosSDTe6vm2Ww

Did a test fit today. Fits great!

[riverrat]

Shapeways is giving me a Christmas deal on my own designs. I can pass the savings on to you guys by ordering them and shipping to you. I also added a discount to be in the Christmas spirit. So $365 for a pair of shrouds shipped to the lower 48. PM me if interested.

[riverrat]

Again shapeways is giving me a discount if I purchase my own designs through May 22. I can do $390 shipped to the lower 48. You pay me and then order them using my discount. Its confirmed that both shrouds fit beautifully. Material is super strong.