@3Dave - I've done my first useful thing with my new 3D printer ...

The other day I noticed the brake lights were on in my car. I went out there and couldn't figure it out right away (it was fairly late), so I put a piece of cardboard between the small pad on the brake pedal and the switch, which shut it off. I didn't know if the issue was the switch or what, but this worked for the time being.

I went out again today to see if the switch needed adjusted, but it wasn't the case. I discovered there was a hole in the pad which was allowing the switch plunger to go through and not turn the brake lights off.

I was like, this is totally weird! Why would Honda make it this way with a hole and why was it working before, but not now?

I started thinking about how I could fix it ... I went and fired up Solidworks and quickly discovered since I hadn't used it in a while, I needed to relearn most of it, lol.

It didn't take long and I had a working model of what I wanted. I got it saved out to a STL file, then sliced it in Cura. The prints of it only took from about 2 mins to 9 mins, and that included an adhesion base. It took me four iterations to get what I wanted. Here's an image of those iterations from left to right.

How I came up with what I needed was to measure the plunger size, which came out to 6mm. I used that as a starting point for the part which would stick down into the hole.

After printing it, I realized it was too thin, so immediately made it thicker. I took second print out to the car and realized the size of the shoulder portion would be just about right as it slid through the hole without too much of an issue.

The third one from the left is what I then printed. The center portion is 8.5mm and the shoulder is about 12mm in width. When I test fitted it, it was just a hair too big. I mean, I guess I could have forced it, but why. The fourth attempt all the way on the right was just a scad too loose, as I made it 8mm (I should have made it 8.25mm) while leaving the shoulder alone. It fit in there just barely loose. I took some glue and affixed it into the hole. I don't think it's coming out.

And I don't think I'll have any issues.

After I got it installed, I found what was in the hole in the first place.

Looks like it had self destructed and had fallen down onto the floor. I didn't see it before I started this ... wish I had as it sure would have made prototyping the piece a lot easier! Anyway, car is fixed once again and good to roll!

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Cool!

@3Dave - I can't say this single thing has made it worth it to buy the printer, but hey, little wins, right?

I'd say the entertainment value is worth it.

@3Dave - Loving most things mechanical, you are definitely right!

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 The third cup holder on the Solstice - pops out of the console on the passenger side, up close to the shifter - is something that just breaks all the time, and costs about $250 to replace. It's always the same silly piece of plastic that breaks.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 A couple of guys on the Solstice forum designed a better one and 3D printed it.

For awhile they were selling them for shipping and materials costs.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Now they're gradually building a database of printable things to replace parts that are gradually getting hard to find.

@3Dave - If they aren't crazy to print, show me where I can find them and I can see about printing you some :o)

Right now I only have four colors though: Black, white, green, glow-in-the-dark (light green).

I'm thinking you'd be wanting them in black, but don't know, lol.

I'd take fuchsia.

@3Dave - You'd have to buy me some filament, but I'd do it ;-)

What's cool is, it's really easy to transfer something out of Solidworks and make a printable part out of it.

I wish I had a solidworks license. And the expertise. I've been making due with Fusion360, which is not the greatest piece of software.

It's very, very powerful, but OMG is it a pain to use. Multiselect seems to be a feature that's completely unnecessary in the eyes of the developers.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 The file has disappeared from Thingiverse. I emailed someone who probably has it. I'd be thrilled if you could print one.

I'd LOVE a 3D printer, but I really don't have the space for it. I need a bigger shop.

@3Dave - They really don't soak up that much space ... but then again, I've seen pics of your workshop, lol.

My 3D printer takes up about 2'x2' footprint

By "multiselect" are you saying a way to capture a bunch of parts/pieces/lines/things drawn all in one fell swoop? Or just the ability to press the shift button and click on more than one thing?

Yes, SW is very powerful. I think I told you I'm using the school edition, which I get for being a veteran.

Only costs me $20 for the license. The only thing I can't do with it is use it to create professional things (sell what I've created). The 2d printed version has a watermark on it saying "so sorry Charlie, you can't sell this" or some such.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Hmmm... I hadn't seen a cheap license before; I'll have to search the tubes.

@3Dave - There are two that I'm aware of: Educational; Military (or Veteran).

To put this in perspective: My CNC mill takes up about 2' x 2', and I have to tuck it under my work bench when not in use. To use it, I have to move the gantry on the 3'x4' CNC router out of the way so that I have somewhere to set it. Too many tools in a 12x16 space, with a desk on one end and a 3.5'-wide workbench taking up the other end, and a tablesaw.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 need more space.

Axe the table saw, obviously.

:o)

@3Dave - Next best option? Build another workspace ... add-on to what you have. Another 16x12 space would be awesome, eh?

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Thought about hanging it from the ceiling but I don't see that ending well.

I just wish I had a work space. I have my office which is actually just a converted dining room (which we'd never use).

Would be... but anything new needs to be on a slab. This one is on pier-and-beam, the crappy lowest-bidder kind

lol

The door, on one of the long walls, is now difficult to open because of the weight on both ends

It's bent.

Like a sad face. :(

Need to get someone out to fix it; my floor jacks aren't up to the challenge.

wow, something is blocking me from posting.

LOL

oh, there we go. No clue

We've thought about building an addition with a garage and some up-stairs space. Going to have 4 teenagers here in a few years, and we have two bathrooms. It's already causing collisions.

Out to turn the ribs.

Have fun!

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 some days I wish mine was a dining room. I have AC, but it's a bit undersized given my shitty insulation job. I thought about covering the roof with aluminum foil, but it would probably wind up setting a tree on fire.

... and my neighbors would not be thrilled about my utter lack of aesthetic sensitivity.

@3Dave - They have that in Texas?

AC? Aluminum foil? Neighbors? Or Aesthetics?

And, yes. :/

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 I think I found the STL. Can you send me your email (firstname lastname @ gmail, no periods spaces or other nonsense.)

lively

@3Dave - sent

@3Dave - I'm looking at it now.

@3Dave - I don't think it'd be an issue ... is black your color?

Cool. The rest of it is black, so, sure, why not. Happy to pay for the filament. If you drank, I'd send beer.

i could probably cut it on the CNC, but it's been having issues. Two motors running the Y axis (Y and A, really), and they like to get out of sync and turn the whole gantry into a rhombus.

It's certainly not a rush, but if could find the time I'd be grateful.

@3Dave - I don't know what the "other guys" were charging you, but it's only 2 meters of filament, lol. The biggest thing is time. It takes about an hour. I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. I'll let you know.

Ah. Thanks very much

Time is the only thing you can't get back.

Going to change my profile pic to TJ Miller so it can accurately represent my arrogant, pretentious self.

(Characters, anyway - I'm sure he's a great guy in real life.)

@3Dave - It's no big deal. I'd just be dorking around on the internet anyway ... or folding laundry. Meh. I'll probably be doing that stuff anyway as this stuff can print in the background

:)

Thanks.

It should like like the white part in this: youtu.be/OsBuXn3hKGY

Oh, I can see it just fine ... I've started printing it. i've not used "Generate Support" before, so it I'm not too sure of the stability of the print. It looks rather flakey right now, but I'm going to let it run and see what happens.

... and you have exceeded my 3d printing expertise, which mostly consists of blabbering about it at parties like I'm expert.

Which is pretty much the foundation of my entire career.

blabbering, not parties.

If it's not going to work, no huge loss. Thanks for trying.

@3Dave - The only thing I'm really worried about is what it's made out of. The material I have is PLA, which is an organic. It will biodegrade. I'm wondering how long it will last if someone spills stuff on it or what have you. Not sure, but hey, no big deal.

It appears to be printing correctly, so we'll see how it turns out.

I'll survive.

It's a cupholder. Why on earth would someone spill something on it? :)

If it looks good I'll buy you a spool of good stuff.

ROFL!

buy "looks good" I mean "structural integrity field is holding."

Like I said, it's no big deal. I'm still learning how to run this thing. If I can actually generate something useful, it makes the purchase of it seem like I didn't waste my money. The thing I don't want is another "toy".

@3Dave - Correct.

Which makes sense: why wouldn't they use force fields to reinforce the hull? I mean, what are the odds that the warp core would ever go offline

?

Glad I could help, then.

three out of my last five chess matches have ended with the other guy resigning for absolutely no reason. I mean, I'll take the points - but, rather annoying.

@3Dave - If they didn't have force fields, I'd bet the warp core would rip right out of the hull ... but hey, I'm a Star Wars fan, what would I know?

@3Dave - Yah, I'd rather win with a win and not a withdrawal. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall?

Do you play online? If so, where? I've not played chess in a long time. I've played some computer based chess (against my computer and phone app), but not against a human opponent in a long time. I'm sure I'd suck tremendously!

This guy says he does them in PETG ... I don't know much about that filament, lol.

Sure, there's the warp field, but they use force fields just to keep the ship from falling to pieces at any given time. Sort of like modern jets being designed to be unstable - without the computer, they sort of crumble.

I'm happy with anything you have, and am totally okay with drop-shipping your filament of choice.

Star Wars. Meh. I like it, a lot - but I have a brother-in-law who dresses up as Darth Vader and goes to Comic-Con every year despite his lack of gainful employment.

He is NOT in his 20s or 30s.

In one game, we were only 5 moves in. A lot of people like to just stop playing in the hope that you'll just get frustrated and leave the game.

Pretty bad sportsmanship.

@3Dave - You mean they do that so you won't play the game at all? Against anyone?

If so, what a bunch of losers. Literally. In more ways than the obvious.

And about Star Wars, Star Trek, Galaxy Quest, (the new) Lost in Space ... what have you ... I like it all!

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Yes, and yes.

The print is at about 70% right now

There's a button for that; there account gets flagged. If it happens more than three times (I think) in a month they get suspended.

Cool. Post a pic.

I'm enthused.

And I play on chess.com. it's free, nice app and site.

Ads are not obnoxious.

They even have crap built in now to detect people cheating by oh, say, running a chess program in another window and just having the computer decide their moves for them.

It's insane. I mean - it's a GAME. What's the point in winning if you didn't earn it?