3D printing, kevlar & carbon fiber

huck_finn

Been Around the Block
I took a new job at a local community college, and they have a grant for community development...which was spent on a 3D printing/laser etching/CNC shop. They only charge for the materials used...which is amazing. And the shop is run by two drafting/design & machinist instructors, who really know what they are doing.

So I am starting to think about building out a few parts for my bike (74 CB360), starting with a new seat pan - cafe style. Does anybody have any CAD drawings that I could fool around with?

The machines that can print using kevlar & carbon fiber aren't large enough to make the pan in one piece though - so I would have to find a way to join them, or mount them separately. They do have a printer that can crank out objects as tall as 3 feet...see the picture attached.

They also have a smaller machine that can carve out a block of aluminum...which means that I could possibly print out a new triple tree, or gauge mounts. I am so freaking excited.
 

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Hey, I'm tagging along for this ride since I'm in a similar boat as you. I have a loaner makerbot replicator 2X from a friend that I'll be getting back up and running in the next month. I plan on using AutoDesk Fusion 360 which is available for free if you've got a .edu address (and working for a community college you should). If you're not familiar with the CAD software, there is a great tutorial with it that apparently should make it pretty easy to create things when you've run through it. I will be using the 3D printer for making molds for carbon fiber layup though. I figure I can rapid prototype with the printer in smaller bits, glue them up and use it to make nice and strong carbon fiber bits, without ever having to cut any foam or deal with that crap. Plus, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to add design elements or strengthening ridges etc in the prototype than to carve into a foam mold.
 
I'm in as well. Ive been fooling around with 3D printing for prototyping parts. Unfortunately I dont have the use of one, so I found a local guy on 3DHubs.com.

I initially modeled this on TinkerCad. I wasnt going to print all of it, just to get an idea of what the program could do.


The grey gauge mounts are 3D printed and are an early prototype. Not perfect but im learning along the way. Im not a designer/machinist/engineer, so just fumbling along. Udemy and Youtube are how ive learnt so far.

I should note though, the bike isnt back on the road yet, so these parts have NOT been tested. I have know idea how they'll go with the vibration. Ive also designed a headlight mount that I dont think will handle the abuse. Im looking to get that CNC'd.

*Oh and I have a CL350K5
 

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