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AEtherScythe

AEtherScythe

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..snip..

I tried to add the part to my "shop" on the Shapeways site, but they don't yet make TPU an option when doing so. I wrote them about it.
That won't stop you from downloading the V.1.N part from Thingiverse and uploading it yourself to Shapeways.com, but be absolutely certain that you do choose TPU for the material.

Using Shapeways may be an advantage for people in Europe, since Shapeways has a printing location in the Netherlands.

5E5E42D3-CF78-4F61-AB25-81CAC25D209E.jpeg
Shapeways got back to me about hosting this in their "shop" and they can't do it with TPU yet and didn't offer any hints as to whether/when they'd be working on it. It means if you want a high quality part via SLS process, you'll have to manually upload it and place an order.

The other service I am trying says my part is printed, but since I asked to have it vapor finished (so it's smoother and less "powdery"), they had problems in the finisher and had to reprint it. Now it's delayed. My most recent update is they hope to ship it to me on the 17th.
 
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AEtherScythe

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My Printer friend sent me his first copy should have it in a day or so. Will test it and respond.
IMG_20210513_071610.jpg

IMG_20210513_071617.jpg
Quality looks good. IIRC, your friend has the same printer as mine. If he is printing the TPU directly on glass he may from time to time experience some bed adhesion problems at the skinny end that is the actual wedge. I uploaded a version with an in-built partial brim, which solves the problem without making it hard to clean up (vs. a normal slicer generated brim, that can sometimes need to be razor-knifed off).
 

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I'm finally home and started working on printing this morning. It's been a year since I printed TPU and I've changed slicers, so having to get things dialed in again.
 

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I tried 4 or five variants today, this part is a little trickier to print with a 0.8mm nozzle due to the thin walls. Also the thin walls made it impossible to use PETG or PLA as a support since it kept just melting together since the TPU is so runny. I finally found something I'm pretty happy with, just need to iron out the retraction setting to get it a little smoother. I split the model in half and printed it with no supports, then I used a 3D printer pen to weld the two halves together. It prints much faster with no supports and welding it together is quicker and easier than cleaning up the supports. Once welded I couldn't yank it apart and it's working perfectly in the wife's car right now.

I put on a half dozen red ones to printer over night and will start on black ones next.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution Split
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution Welded
 


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I tried 4 or five variants today, this part is a little trickier to print with a 0.8mm nozzle due to the thin walls. Also the thin walls made it impossible to use PETG or PLA as a support since it kept just melting together since the TPU is so runny. I finally found something I'm pretty happy with, just need to iron out the retraction setting to get it a little smoother. I split the model in half and printed it with no supports, then I used a 3D printer pen to weld the two halves together. It prints much faster with no supports and welding it together is quicker and easier than cleaning up the supports. Once welded I couldn't yank it apart and it's working perfectly in the wife's car right now.

I put on a half dozen red ones to printer over night and will start on black ones next.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution Welded
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution Welded
I would looooooove a red one
 
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AEtherScythe

AEtherScythe

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I tried 4 or five variants today, this part is a little trickier to print with a 0.8mm nozzle due to the thin walls. Also the thin walls made it impossible to use PETG or PLA as a support since it kept just melting together since the TPU is so runny. I finally found something I'm pretty happy with, just need to iron out the retraction setting to get it a little smoother. I split the model in half and printed it with no supports, then I used a 3D printer pen to weld the two halves together. It prints much faster with no supports and welding it together is quicker and easier than cleaning up the supports. Once welded I couldn't yank it apart and it's working perfectly in the wife's car right now.

I put on a half dozen red ones to printer over night and will start on black ones next.
Did the two versions of the part with in-built support not work for you?
They're definitely not optimized for a 0.8mm nozzle, but might still work, although maybe questionable re: removal of the support under the top 1mm ceiling.
The latest version has an in-built partial brim to help deal with some bed adhesion issues I was having.

What filament are you using?
I have a little more difficulty with the NinjaTek NinjaFlex 85A TPU shown in the video, but it works okay. Just requires razor-sharp nippers or an exacto blade to help separate the in-built support from the top 1mm ceiling.

PolyMaker PolyFlex 95A TPU is much easier to print and is plenty flexible enough, just a little harder to install the retaining wings/tabs. For the support, you can use PolyMaker PolyDisolve S1, which works GREAT with TPU. If you grab the part while it's still hot you likely would not even need to use any water; the PolyDisolve separates very easily for me. I mainly elected to go with the in-built support to speed up the print time; otherwise the TPU + PolyDisolve combination would have been my first choice.
 

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I'm using an off brand TPU I picked up last year for respirators, it printed those really well but they didn't have the thin walls this part has. I was not aware that any of the dissolvable supports would work with TPU. I will pick some up and try it for the black covers, which are on hold until next week because I had to travel today for a funeral.
 

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Back home and printed a test black one using the dissolvable supports, it worked very well. I'm printing a batch of 8 now so the black ones that were requested will start shipping tomorrow. Red ones went out Saturday.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution BlackDissovable
 

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Back home and printed a test black one using the dissolvable supports, it worked very well. I'm printing a batch of 8 now so the black ones that were requested will start shipping tomorrow. Red ones went out Saturday.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution BlackDissovable
Awesome. Just let us know how to "wire" you the money for them.
 
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AEtherScythe

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Samples from Jawstec.com just arrived! These are the best quality yet and the black "vapor polish" is super swish!

I'll post a link for how you can order them direct from Jawstec, as soon as they make it available.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution 0DF9A0E5-C906-4D45-8BE0-BEBC59CABBE1
 

ChasingCoral

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Back home and printed a test black one using the dissolvable supports, it worked very well. I'm printing a batch of 8 now so the black ones that were requested will start shipping tomorrow. Red ones went out Saturday.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution 0DF9A0E5-C906-4D45-8BE0-BEBC59CABBE1
Thanks for sending one of these along. Here are some photos I took of it.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution IMG_9557

Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution IMG_9558
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution IMG_9559
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution IMG_9560
This last one is a bit fuzzy but just points out is is pretty solid but with some porosity.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Charge Port Cover Dent Prevention – 3D Printed DIY Solution IMG_9561

I found one edge to be pretty smooth but others have a bit of a "rough" texture. Of course, it is a very soft rubbery material.

I installed and tried it.

Good news: It does seem to prevent the charge port door from impacting the car body.
Bad news: It seems to bind a little as I closed the door, increasing resistance and making it harder to close the door. I'm wondering if the "rough" texture is causing it to catch as the hinge arm slides into the car body.

@AEtherScythe: Do you have any issue with yours (original or new one from Jawstec.com) making the charge port door harder to close?
 

AjzRide

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I suspect that the tough to close has more to do with my print running on an 0.8mm nozzle instead of a 0.4mm nozzle, which results in a slightly thicker part, that with the texture. I did notice it was a little harder to close, but not enough that my wife complained. If your's is unusable as is, let me know and I can have my buddy print them on a 0.4mm nozzle just so I can test the difference for myself.
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