Gauging interest in Easy Door Panel Swap Bezel E-Series

[Mikerson]

Originally Posted by boywonder

A few suggestions......

If you can find a Chinese molder that can do a single cavity aluminum tool that may be the best way to go.....check out Arrk, they do soft tools and urethane off of silicone..discussed below....I've got a few parts with them for work and the molder is in China.

www.arrk.com

You can also talk to rapid prototypers about making urethane parts off of silicone molds; that's usually good for 10-30 parts or so per mold. Urethane may or may not be robust enough for these panels.....

These days you can find 3D printer services that can do ABS or ABS-like materials for prices not much different than urethane parts when you need small quantities greater than 10 pieces or so.

Yeah, I have used urethane parts from soft tooling before. Not thrilled with them, but they can be workable.

Several have mentioned 3D printing. Yes, this is one option. FDM is definitely not a good solution, but there is a reasonably local powder bed nylon supplier I could work with. I have been hesitant because of surface finish. The thin geometry of these parts is a little bit tough from a strength perspective for 3D printing with lesser materials/technologies, but maybe it’s time for me to try harder. My preference would be to have real molded parts out of an automotive grade ABS. I have a couple simple textures I like from my mold-tech book that should look great and require zero post processing unlike a printed surface.

Thanks for the suggestion on arrk. I would bet they have a partner that they recommend for injection molding when the quantities are right.

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Looks great Mikerson & I'm still interested - will continue following in hopes you manage some type of production agreement.

Great! Glad to see there is still interest.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Mikerson

Yeah, I have used urethane parts from soft tooling before. Not thrilled with them, but they can be workable.

Several have mentioned 3D printing. Yes, this is one option. FDM is definitely not a good solution, but there is a reasonably local powder bed nylon supplier I could work with. I have been hesitant because of surface finish. The thin geometry of these parts is a little bit tough from a strength perspective for 3D printing with lesser materials/technologies, but maybe it’s time for me to try harder. My preference would be to have real molded parts out of an automotive grade ABS. I have a couple simple textures I like from my mold-tech book that should look great and require zero post processing unlike a printed surface.

^^^^^My thoughts exactly.....can you squeeze in a few stiffening ribs?

Have you tried any of the websites where you upload your .STL file, pick your process, lead time and material and they get you a few quotes from different vendors??

Sometimes it's crazy cheap from China......but YMMV and good luck on the surface finish......but you have the luxury of not needing them in days.

I haven't done this in a few years but sometimes prices for parts that are say $50 each from Protolabs, Quickparts, Forecast, etc are around $12 from offshore rapid prototypers.

[Timerider]

Please count me in for a set!

FWIW, someone else on this forum suggested using SEM Color Coat flexible coating #15763 STORM GRAY as a near color match for the OEM Ford gray interior vinyl and plastic parts.

I've used this SEM coating to cover up the ghastly green that my speaker grilles turned after 18+ years. It bonds well to plastic, and is tough and resilient while still being thin enough not to hide the original texture, and it looks just like plastic/vinyl - not spray paint. It's also tough enough that I haven't needed to re-coat the speaker grilles for the past two years despite things rubbing against them while getting in/out through the front and side doors.

Honestly, it's a few shades lighter than the OEM gray, and a camera makes this color difference more noticeable than it actually is, but it is definitely a shade or two lighter than the OEM color. With so many different shades of gray already sprinkled about the interior, the SEM coating really doesn't stand out in real life.

Here's a picture of the interior of my side door:



A little dirt on the grilles will probably only help the color match . . . and besides: "A Sportsmobile in the garage is safe - but that's not what Sportsmobiles are built for." (humble apologies for my adaptation of the words of John A. Shedd)

[Mikerson]

Originally Posted by boywonder

^^^^^My thoughts exactly.....can you squeeze in a few stiffening ribs?

Have you tried any of the websites where you upload your .STL file, pick your process, lead time and material and they get you a few quotes from different vendors??

Sometimes it's crazy cheap from China......but YMMV and good luck on the surface finish......but you have the luxury of not needing them in days.

I haven't done this in a few years but sometimes prices for parts that are say $50 each from Protolabs, Quickparts, Forecast, etc are around $12 from offshore rapid prototypers.

I have reinforced the clip rib to the point where it just about won’t fit in the corresponding slot on the door. Still broke one on the drivers side with my print at 100% infill. I could mess with the settings some more to get the abs a bit stronger, or try the annealing oven method.

My first quote a few posts back was from protomold with Al tooling. That pricing seemed to put a damper on things these our quantities. I can check quick parts and forecast when I get a bit of free time. Thanks for those names.

[Steve Hunt]

Any new news on these, I’m still interested for sure.

[leedhambly@mac.com]

Sorry this post is a bit old, but can you share any details of how you used the relays? I’ve done this swap and have everything working except the door locks. I actually put two relays into the driver side and have it working, but can’t seem to get the passenger side to work nor the keyless entry.

[ScrapIron]

I dont think he is using the new style switches. He is making switch panels that utilize the old style switches with the newer style door panels.

[Steve Hunt]

Anything new, I'm still interested in a bezel that would use the existing switches.