Spyder owners: Anyone bothered by the holes...

[Tom]

I have a resin printer. There are different types of resin depending on the application. For this application, I would probably try something like this https://siraya.tech/products/tenacious- ... ible-resin or other resin with high temperature deflection.

If memory serves, I used Formlabs basic grey, but have since moved on to their 'engineering' resins, which are much more durable. I've also learned that printing on good angle dramatically reduced the tendency to warp. Takes longer, but worth doing for a final part. I will have to find the .STL file and am happy to share it. It's literally nothing more than the outline of the opening extruded to whatever thickness is needed. If memory serves, I did them in a number of thicknesses...

[Bob Z]

I was going to post about this as well since I have noticed that mine are warping, for lack of a better word...they are curling up at the ends. Is there a different material that could be used to print these?

There is. And a different process. Since printing yours, I've come to better understand how to print large flat surfaces like that, and have graduated to a much stronger plastic. That said, I'm wondering if the better approach would be to have them waterjet cut out of a flat piece of aluminum? I used to get pieces like that cut all the time by The Big Blue Saw, but I saw recently that they were bought by one of the big online machine shops. If there were enough interest, I could have my machine shop CNC cut a batch. Wild guess, but I'd say we need to cut at least 20 or 30 to make it worth while. Want me to check?

That would be great Tom so yes, when you have time please look into it. I am sure we can gather that many folks here to make it worth while!

[Tom]

I was going to post about this as well since I have noticed that mine are warping, for lack of a better word...they are curling up at the ends. Is there a different material that could be used to print these?

There is. And a different process. Since printing yours, I've come to better understand how to print large flat surfaces like that, and have graduated to a much stronger plastic. That said, I'm wondering if the better approach would be to have them waterjet cut out of a flat piece of aluminum? I used to get pieces like that cut all the time by The Big Blue Saw, but I saw recently that they were bought by one of the big online machine shops. If there were enough interest, I could have my machine shop CNC cut a batch. Wild guess, but I'd say we need to cut at least 20 or 30 to make it worth while. Want me to check?

That would be great Tom so yes, when you have time please look into it. I am sure we can gather that many folks here to make it worth while!

Anodized black would look great and hold up for years. Remind me how thick is ideal?

[Bob Z]

There is. And a different process. Since printing yours, I've come to better understand how to print large flat surfaces like that, and have graduated to a much stronger plastic. That said, I'm wondering if the better approach would be to have them waterjet cut out of a flat piece of aluminum? I used to get pieces like that cut all the time by The Big Blue Saw, but I saw recently that they were bought by one of the big online machine shops. If there were enough interest, I could have my machine shop CNC cut a batch. Wild guess, but I'd say we need to cut at least 20 or 30 to make it worth while. Want me to check?

That would be great Tom so yes, when you have time please look into it. I am sure we can gather that many folks here to make it worth while!

Anodized black would look great and hold up for years. Remind me how thick is ideal?

UPDATE: They appear to be 1/16" thick but I am using velcro to attach mine so that makes them thicker albeit they are flush with the surrounding area so perfect for my car!

[Tom]

That would be great Tom so yes, when you have time please look into it. I am sure we can gather that many folks here to make it worth while!

Anodized black would look great and hold up for years. Remind me how thick is ideal?

UPDATE: They appear to be 1/16" thick but I am using velcro to attach mine so that makes them thicker albeit they are flush with the surrounding area so perfect for my car!

So if they are cut out of flat aluminum, we should use aluminum that is 1/16th inch thick?

[Bob Z]

Anodized black would look great and hold up for years. Remind me how thick is ideal?

UPDATE: They appear to be 1/16" thick but I am using velcro to attach mine so that makes them thicker albeit they are flush with the surrounding area so perfect for my car!

So if they are cut out of flat aluminum, we should use aluminum that is 1/16th inch thick?

Yes, that is what I would recommend.

[Bob Z]

As a reminder to all, I tried several ways to attach these and this has been working well:

[808c2s]

That would be great Tom so yes, when you have time please look into it. I am sure we can gather that many folks here to make it worth while!

Agreed

[Spyder Scott]

I got some of the original plastic inserts Tom sent me. And yes, mine warped and became unusable. Other than that, they fit perfectly. I already thought of the idea of anodized aluminum powder coated black to match the surrounding plastic. I had contacted Rennline several months ago with the idea of having them make them, since they already make quite a few custom Porsche parts. They expressed an interest in doing so. However they have been slow to respond. I dealt with Sam there, and after sending him one of my plastic pieces as a template, he sent me back a version he 3D printed that did not fit properly. Too large in a couple spots. He asked that I send him photos of the fit issue. I was a bit confused on his approach, since I sent him a part that fit perfectly.
Also, as a side note, I had taken a flat file and filed a slight notch in the plastic version to have a way to easily remove them. Especially if they were made out of aluminum which would have virtually no flex. That way a person could take a small flat screwdriver blade to initiate removal. In an ideal situation, it would be better if there was a plastic tool to do that, so that the metal screwdriver wouldn’t damage the surrounding plastic.
If a solution arises elsewhere, I’d be a buyer for at least 3-4 sets. In the meantime I’ll stay in contact with Rennline, and hope they can come up with a properly designed and fitting solution.

[Spyder Scott]

Photo of notch:

56DEE525-6D65-4D53-BD20-7BE8BA66A1B9.jpeg (2.88 MiB) Viewed 1414 times