Parts Wanted Wanted "1972 Fastback front windshield A-Pillar plastic Trim"

[TheDude]

I'd love to try and get a good scan and see how well these would 3D print, but of course you need a good set to be able to pull that off. It would no doubt be a tough print, but I'd really like to try that out.

 

[72MustangSprint]

I'd love to try and get a good scan and see how well these would 3D print, but of course you need a good set to be able to pull that off. It would no doubt be a tough print, but I'd really like to try that out.

I thought the same thing, I have a good set of sportsroof A pillar trim. Who has a 3D printer

 

[detritusmaximus]

I thought the same thing, I have a good set of sportsroof A pillar trim. Who has a 3D printer

Better question is who is a really good scanner for 3d printing?

Remember, the A pillar trim has that texture to it.

 

[TheDude]

I thought the same thing, I have a good set of sportsroof A pillar trim. Who has a 3D printer

I have a couple printers, including one that's a bit larger. This is why I was asking as I've had my eye on this and a few other interior parts for awhile now. Any chance you can get some basic dimensions of it, I'd be curious to see if it'll even fit either of my printers.

Better question is who is a really good scanner for 3d printing?

Remember, the A pillar trim has that texture to it.

Yep this is very good question as well. While I have a scanner and I think we could get the shape down, that texture may need to be added to the model after the scan. It's very fine texture and printers can do very fine detail now so no doubt it would take some trial and error to get something that looks close or at least not glaringly wrong on that texture, the print and even the plastic colors.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Roughly 30" with the lower legs and the upper tabs that slip under the metal window trim.

On the Opel forums we have someone that has been trying to scan and create files for dash defroster vents. They are a fairly complex two piece compound curvature with air vanes inside. The big issue is that unless you want to spend $$ for a highly skilled (and equipped) person to scan and create files (or know someone with access), the cheaper scanners just can't cope with the complexity. Lots of cleaning up of the files and filling in whatever parts dropped out.

The texture could be a problem. That is a lot of detail to comb over and make sure it is all there. You'll examine them closely ten times, and if it isn't perfect, somebody will find it the first time they glance at them and then the word is out. Smooth might be better.

I'd be pretty certain the current repros of the A-pillar trim are cast in molds taken from originals, so silicone or urethane molds will reproduce the finest detail with the finest accuracy. But it is labor intensive and the molds only last for so long.

 

[TheDude]

Thanks, yeah 30" is pretty large for a a regular printer, but still doable. And I hear that, complex shapes can be maddening to get a decent scan.

On the texture, I'd look at doing that a couple different ways. First thought is don't bother trying to get a good scan of it, just focus on the object then create the texture. It would take some trial and error but I'm guessing it's possible to get close.

The other one would be to do a very high res scan of just the texture in a small area. Then make a pattern out of it and apply it to the whole part. I have access to a pretty high res scanner, that might be able to grab the texture, but it would have a hard time with the whole part as it's made for very small objects.