Carpokes

Currently drive a 981 CS. But my GTS 4.0 is currently in production. It would be nice to have a Gentian Blue cover to snap on when I go to pick it up. This is really cool.....thanks for doing this.

Word is getting around about Carpokes!

I have not sent any of these out yet, so thought I'd share what I've been obsessing on...

I was printing these bezels at a 100 micron layer height, which is 1/10th of a mm. To the eye, that makes for a nice smooth part. But when I painted it, I was seeing the layer lines. It wasn't terrible, but to me, it was kind of a 'tell' that they were 3D printed, even if they still looked good as installed. Sanding helped, but it would start to look wavy if I sanded enough to get all the layer lines out. I then started adding thicker paint, which started crinkling, etc.

Fast forward through several iterations, and I think I have a good approach now. I'm now printing them at a 50 micron layer height, which is less than 2 thousands of an inch per layer (about half the thickness of printer paper). As a result, the layer lines are virtually undetectable, especially after a pass or two with 600 grit sandpaper. I think the results speak for themselves....


Here is an original 100-micron version and the new 50 micron version side-by-side. Both look good and ready to go, and once installed most people would ever notice the difference when viewed from the driver seat....

But here is a close-up....

I can't guarantee they will all look this good (they won't) but once you see them look like this, it's easy to obsess on making them all look like this.... That paint is dry to the touch in case you're wondering. This isn't your father's 3D printer!
Edited to correct 5 and 10 microns, which are actually 50 and 100 microns....

@Tom Wow! What a difference in the close up. I'm sure the 10 micron version would have been fine to the naked eye but, the 5 micron version is outstanding. Truly looks oem.

Now....what version number are we on...#99? Definitely no longer need to be concerned with my aversion to installing version #13.

Wow, that is amazing and both look great!!! Tbh I don’t think anyone could tell the difference once installed - I sure couldn’t!

When I look at both closeups carefully, it ‘seems’ the cross-hatch grooves are slightly more pronounced on the 10mm version… is that just an optical illusion?

Well, it's actually the same CAD model, which we'll call V14 The knurling on the sides is the same, as it the whole thing.
In person, I need to look under a magnifying glass to see the difference -- at least until the paint goes on. The model is created in CAD software (Fusion 360). And then that model is imported over to the 3D printer software (Preform), where you set it up for printing. That's where you set the layer height and support structures and print orientation, etc. There's a whole trial and error aspect to that too. A lot of that isn't something I'd fuss over if just doing one part for myself, but if I end up making dozens or hundreds of these, it really helps to start with a print that lends itself to the paint.... Here is the current set up on the printer, which seems to be the keeper....

Tom wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 10:53 am Well, it's actually the same CAD model, which we'll call V14 The knurling on the sides is the same, as it the whole thing.
In person, I need to look under a magnifying glass to see the difference -- at least until the paint goes on. The model is created in CAD software (Fusion 360). And then that model is imported over to the 3D printer software (Preform), where you set it up for printing. That's where you set the layer height and support structures and print orientation, etc. There's a whole trial and error aspect to that too. A lot of that isn't something I'd fuss over if just doing one part for myself, but if I end up making dozens or hundreds of these, it really helps to start with a print that lends itself to the paint.... Here is the current set up on the printer, which seems to be the keeper....



preform view.jpg

Tom, your attention to detail and commitment to quality is extremely admirable. My 65 year old eyes probably wouldn't have noticed any difference between the 5 and 10 micron versions. Blown up, your 5 micron version appears nothing short of OEM and will blend perfectly into our Racing Yellow interior....can't wait to install.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

Treemagnet wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:05 pm
Tom, your attention to detail and commitment to quality is extremely admirable. My 65 year old eyes probably wouldn't have noticed any difference between the 5 and 10 micron versions. Blown up, your 5 micron version appears nothing short of OEM and will blend perfectly into our Racing Yellow interior....can't wait to install.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

Thanks. That said, the yellow is a different type of paint (base/clear) so I'm not expecting to get quite as glassy the red. I have not tried to optimize my process for it yet, so stay tuned. With the bezels, racing yellow is by far the most difficult color -- even more so than white for some reason. However! Yesterday I found a Rustoleum yellow can that should dry to a glass finish like the red. So we shall see. I did some test pieces on the same plastic and, while not absolutely identical to the Racing Yellow I had mixed, it's remarkably close. Without color-matching to a specific car, both are probably as close as the other to any given car. Left is Racing Yellow I had mixed; right is Rustoleum JD Yellow....

BTW Tom, is there a name of the "Red" you are using? Thinking of getting a key to match. Thanks for the hard work on this!

Tom wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:19 pm

Treemagnet wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:05 pm
Tom, your attention to detail and commitment to quality is extremely admirable. My 65 year old eyes probably wouldn't have noticed any difference between the 5 and 10 micron versions. Blown up, your 5 micron version appears nothing short of OEM and will blend perfectly into our Racing Yellow interior....can't wait to install.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

Thanks. That said, the yellow is a different type of paint (base/clear) so I'm not expecting to get quite as glassy the red. I have not tried to optimize my process for it yet, so stay tuned. With the bezels, racing yellow is by far the most difficult color -- even more so than white for some reason. However! Yesterday I found a Rustoleum yellow can that should dry to a glass finish like the red. So we shall see. I did some test pieces on the same plastic and, while not absolutely identical to the Racing Yellow I had mixed, it's remarkably close. Without color-matching to a specific car, both are probably as close as the other to any given car. Left is Racing Yellow I had mixed; right is Rustoleum JD Yellow....



yellow-hello.gif

Thanks, I certainly trust your judgement. The shade difference probably could not be detected if our interior only had the extended Racing Yellow Stitching on everything, but I'm afraid the Racing Yellow Belts and Gauge faces would tell the tale.

Thanks again for your diligence!

Is there a way we can donate for cost of materials etc? I know you're trying to help bring people to the site. But I have to imagine the trial and error of paint matching and the process itself probably starts adding up.