I´m currently in the process of printing this shifter that I designed. The goal in my design is to keep it simple with all parts printed in PLA except a few nuts and bolts and two small micro switches. If it turns out well I´ll probably post the files on thingiverse.
Here is the printed pieces. The knob is already sanded and polished and mounted on the shaft using two M8 nuts and a 80mm M8 threaded rod. The housing is made of three pieces with one side containing the rod for the shaft and also has five M5 nuts pressed in from behind. The red pieces are the "springs" with the ones in the middle being side loading which holds the shaft centered and gives some inital force to overcome to give some mechanical feel as good as the plastic material can give. The micro switches are small 12,9x5,9mm with R-shaped lever. Here it is assembled while testing out side springs with different thickness and infill density to give it a good centering force. They have to be greased or they have a tendency to make the shaft stay in its end positions. The design is inspired from the all metal shifters using ball plungers to give that mechanical gear engaging feel.
wow looks good. now the same with a CNC machine and a turning lathe :-D I wait for the day you get these in small formats like 3D printers.
Thank you! The purpose of my design is that every simracer that got access to a 3D-printer can build this shifter and not have to buy the more expensive options to get a better sequential shifting immersion. As it is now it requires some initial force to shift gears, just have to mount it to my rig and hook it up to the BBI-32 and see how it holds up to some abuse. It feels really solid!
still the same print principle. i cannot imagine it's as durable as cnc cut steel or aluminium. Also I don't like how you see the layers
When you want to print your CV (or something else), and you choose the wrong printer, you will get your CV printed on a metal sheet
Yeah...you probably won't wanna use those parts in tractor pulling contests. Still, I think it might be able to withstand the average simracer's strength.
It may well be as durable as cnc machined parts but not as durable as forged steel. Using sls technology (laser sintering) you can print in the toughest stainless steel there is. Mercedes-Benz Truck division has taken the step to start 3D-print spare parts for their older models. In the not to distant future things like sand casting aluminium will probably be outperformed cost wise by 3D-printing. The consistent quality and the elimination of much of the now needed processing and machining are big reasons to jump on the train.
Tomorrow night the shifter will probably be mounted and connected to my rig for testing and a little video to show how it works.
I had to print to print a special mount to make it fit in the little space I had left so it won´t get in the way when using the H-shifter. 3 M5 screws and nuts into the mount and one 5mm wood screw in the lower left corner. Up and running!
Turn up the volume to hear it. It could use heavier side "springs" to get more gear engaging feeling.
As a not so big surprise the notchiness in the spherical cutouts on the sides of the shaft got a bit rounded so the 3mm thick side springy things didn´t gave much resistance. I printed 5mm thick ones since I already made room for that in the housing. If it don´t get any more significant wear i´ll leave it as it is but if it does I´ll redesign it with another shape instead of the spherical shape. After an hour of driving it feels just as heavy as when I first put in the thicker 5mm side springy things! Almost a bit too heavy, ofcourse not the mechanical feel of an all metal shifter (haven´t tried one, just seen on youtube) but the initial force threshold is there and that is what I was after. Let´s see if it feels consistent for a few days and I can upload the files and maybe do a shorter shaft for those with a smaller buildvolume on their printer.
I made a change in the design of the side loading springs and the shaft since the spherical shape was a bad idea to begin with, I was blinded by the metal ball plunger system I´ve seen other use. I came up with this design which feels way more "notchy" in the initial force they apply. Just have to see how they wear after some use. Now it feels like how it sounds in the video. I Also printed the springs standing on the side to give them a smoother profile so they don´t grind the surface like the previous ones did! Edit: It looks as this design of the "sidespring" works. I settled on a 4mm thick spring that is a bit to much for the first few shifts and then seem to settle when the plastic is stretched a bit.
Wow! Great job man, looks top notch! Are you thinking of uploading to Thingyverse? Would love to try and build this.......
I'm going to upload it to thingiverse when I'm satisfied with it. As it is now the side springy things tend to snap after a while when printed in PLA so I'm exploring other materials and designs, maybe petg would work better. The "endstop springs" holds up just fine. I will also make a short version of the shaft so it fits printers with a smaller bed.
The shifter design is now uploaded to Thingiverse! https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2806037 A few changes in the "Sidespring" design and using PETG fro Sidesprings and inserts in the Shaft seemed to make the trick!