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looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

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Old 01-06-2021, 02:44 PM
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looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

First off I know zero about this art of 3D printing/scanning I have an Accel Throttle body that had some of the plastic what I will call "Washers" one is missing and other is a little melty around the edges good news is I have a NOS throttle body with new parts I'd like to get scanned and I cant find anyone local or reasonable to do this they are like 2" in OD and maybe 3/8" in overall width. Long story short is anyone willing to help me scan them?
we have 3d printing at my local library but no scanning any help would be appreciated !



Old 01-06-2021, 04:07 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

Pretty sure there is an app... I think it's available for newer iPhones, possibly android.

I'm lucky I have access to a scanner at work and can use it for "training purposes"
Old 01-06-2021, 06:12 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

Do these look good for training?
Old 01-07-2021, 08:26 AM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

I have a 3D printer here at my house that I have since I work from home.

For something like that I would normally use a pair of calipers and CAD (Solidworks) to model the part and print it.

Not fast an easy though, but you can ensure it is perfect. Scans are only as precise as the dot resolution of the scanner. Usually only ok-ish.

I also need to modify my ID and ODs to compensate for my desktop 3D printer. It tends to make IDs to small by 0.020" or so. ODs are off by a similar amount too. Strange. I adjust my CAD model to compensate.

Not sure how I could help. Maybe buy a pair of calipers and model the part in some free CAD you can find online.
Then print the part at the library. Simplify it if you can to make your life easier.
Old 01-07-2021, 11:49 AM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

thanks Dennis I'm not that good with computers for Cad but I do know a guy! for the moment I'm going to try silicone molding and cast what I need or try anyway first. I did measure with calipers its 1.5" dia and 3/8" wide
I really didn't think finding scanner would be that hard
here's pic of rear spring retainer above are the outside


Old 01-07-2021, 01:12 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

To be honest, I have used some 3D scanners in the past, unless you were to find a nice one, and I mean really nice, you won't get resolution good enough to capture those thin deep wells between the walls.

That is a pretty simple part. CAD and a pair of calipers, measuring every single dim would take an hour or so, and it would be perfect.

Maybe try an engineering department at a college or something. (Would have been a fun project when I was a student, I'm a mechanical engineer now)
Old 01-07-2021, 02:52 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

i've had good luck using Sketchup to model parts. you can export an STL file and have someone print it for you. from what i've seen, modeling the piece is the time consuming (expensive part) of having something 3D printed. if you are able to provide a file to print from, things get much cheaper. i recently modeled a non-A/C heater box nut because mine were broke and i couldn't find replacements anywhere. turned out pretty good. first picture is the part in Sketchup and the second is the actual 3D printed piece.





Old 01-20-2021, 02:33 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

thanks guys looks like I lucked out found a no longer neededTB that I destroyed getting apart but the factory RP spring retainers worked fine and fixed the Accel TB
Old 01-21-2021, 03:46 PM
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Re: looking for some help scanning a part for 3D printing

For future reference, you're somewhat barking up the wrong tree:
  • 3D scanning is something that I'd bet less than .5% of people into 3d printing have the ability to do (well maybe some primitive photogrammetry using a phone app), and is not really accurate to that kind of scale, at least not enough to easily reproduce that part
  • Once you have a 3D mesh you need to import that into CAD and if you want to do anything with it you need to "trace" it's features out reproducing it natively in the CAD software. There are other ways but this, like there is software out there that can directly edit the mesh, but tracing in CAD is typically the most reliable.
  • Even if it did work, it would be simpler to measure it out and model it in CAD by hand, you'd get better results, more accurate results (you wouldn't have to fix the imperfections in the original part), and from trying this kind of thing it's less work to just measure and model for this kind of object (something more complicated/harder to measure that could be different). There's also issues with how/where certain features show up in 3D scanned models, and scale becomes an issue again (the location of a hole being .5 or 1mm off is not a big deal in something the size of a car or a transmission but in a bushing that's less than 2" across it becomes an issue)
  • It's really cool what you can 3D print, but there are also big limitations. A 3D print typically doesn't have a lot of strength in the Z-axis, overhanging details are a problem (both of those affect how you position something to print, and they rarely work well together), small details can be problematic, and it is not heat tolerant (use in an engine bay is very limited if at all).
In the case of your example, It would be easy to measure and model in CAD and to get a good looking print accurate to the original, but I don't think there is any FDM material that will withstand either the stresses put on it by the spring long term or the heat of being on an engine in an engine bay for the short term. Honestly, between the spring pressure and the temperature, I'd bet that the part would fail with the car parked in the sun on a hot sunny day, even without starting the car.
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