3d printers for making stuff for the RV

Company I used to work at used 3d printing for proof of concept and engineering mockups for some of their new products..

Works great for that.

However, strength and desired finish can be less than stellar at times since the plastic is applied in layers rather than all at once.

Because of that, they had actual traditional injection molds made for actual production runs for parts that strength and looks were critical.

But, hey, you have it, you like it, may as well use it.

I have made numerous items for my tow vehicle but not really for the RV's. I have made a few stereo bezels, a replacement tuner knob, a divider for the pocket in the dash to separate my phone from my readers. I do plan to try to create some corner pieces for my popup roof as they are no longer available.
Here's a few items.
New stereo in the tow vehicle made the rear audio controls obsolete. So I removed the controls and 3d printed a plate that now holds a USB outlet and an inverter powered 120v outlet.



The previous owner of my Bronco did a horrible job installing a stereo. So I had to custom print a new bezel to fit the new stereo and cover the hole.



But honestly the one item that I have created most often is "chip clips" to hold my potato chip bags closed.
Link

For those of you who are experimenting with 3D, are you using other folks' designs, or are you programming your own?

And for whatever it's worth, someone asked about the appearance -- my son (a tech expert) is a 3Der, and his products have looked terrific -- not layered at all. They look like molded gray plastic -- very crisp and professional.

He also has wood grain plastic -- it does not look quite like wood, but very close to it.

He has made a few items for his camper, but so far mostly for household use.

I doubt that this process is cost-effective, at least not yet. But it is only in its infancy -- who knows where 3D will go next??

At one time, MaxxAir made a line of "Window/Maxx" window covers that allowed sliding RV windows to be opened without letting in rain.



Even though they aren't being manufactured any more, they're still in high demand on the used market.

This is something that could probably be 3D-printed - perhaps even in customer-specified lengths for an exact fit. (The original MaxxAir design required some trimming to fit most windows).

Skibane wrote:
At one time, MaxxAir made a line of "Window/Maxx" window covers that allowed sliding RV windows to be opened without letting in rain.



Even though they aren't being manufactured any more, they're still in high demand on the used market.

This is something that could probably be 3D-printed - perhaps even in customer-specified lengths for an exact fit. (The original MaxxAir design required some trimming to fit most windows).

I wouldn't mind having some of those, would be nice to be able to leave the windows open some and not have to worry about rain..

However, given the size, it would take a huge 3d printer, consume a lot of filament and take more time than feasible to be cost effective.

This is a product that would lend it's self to be more cost and time effective via vacuum formed methods. A lot of sign companies which make outdoor lighted signs often have vacuum forming equipment.. Just need a form made up in the size and shape you want and the plastic sheet is heated and then vacuumed down over the form.. Once formed cut out the openings.

I just resealed my filament bag about 20 minutes ago. My son got an Apple Watch a few weeks ago and asked me to print a Baby Groot charger stand he found on thingiverse using wood. I just printed a paint palette out of PLA to use to paint the moss on the groot.

I don't recall printing anything for the camper though. I made a gasket for my thermos using flex, a doorknob out of ABS to replace a broken T handle on my shed roll up door. Made all the mounting hardware to build the printer enclosure out of PLA. I have some nylon but can't recall what I made with it

The nylon was for ball bearings for bearing blocks.

I store all my filament in a large Hefty vacuum seal storage bag. The type you connect to a vacuum cleaner to pull all the air out. This keeps the moisture from ruining my filament.

As you can tell, I'm all ate up on this 3D printing stuff.

I bought an original Prusa about 6 years ago and upgraded it to a MK2 maybe 3 years ago

For those of you that want to create your own stl designs, PTC has a free student version of CREO Parametric. A little bit of a learning curve if you never used a CAD application but once you understand the basics it's a very usable tool

Skibane wrote:
At one time, MaxxAir made a line of "Window/Maxx" window covers that allowed sliding RV windows to be opened without letting in rain.



Even though they aren't being manufactured any more, they're still in high demand on the used market.

This is something that could probably be 3D-printed - perhaps even in customer-specified lengths for an exact fit. (The original MaxxAir design required some trimming to fit most windows).

That would be a product I would buy, the old trailer had the wind out widows that could be left open a couple inches in the rain, not the new sliders.