Standalone Jack/Lift-point "Puck" (DIY 3D Printed)

[AEtherScythe]

thanks for info.... I was curious how the cost stacked up against retail price of Tesla pucks at $20/set, which require a 5-minute 'trim' with a saw to fit correctly.

Well there's that. ;-)

3D printing is mainly for protyping, not going to market. So, were my design to be commercially produced it would most likely be handled as an injection molded process. The cost per part for injection molding would be far far less; however, there is the up-front cost of making a mold (which itself can be a bit of a costly iterative process), and there are minimum quantities per run.
The mold / setup costs can take some time to re-coup, depending on the popularity of the product.

If a set of four of these could draw a $30 MSRP it would still likely be a big profit, provided enough sold to pay off the mold + setup and all the units in the run do sell. On a small scale, it might be harder to be profitable at below $40 MSRP.

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[AEtherScythe]

PLA won't do the job?

For PLA to work, the little flanges that keep it in place would have to be changed out for a separate part printed in something flexible. Doable. But I am not sure I would trust PLA to hold the weight even at 100% infill. There is some peace of mind with the TPU being rubbery and having some give and really pretty much impervious to breakage.

 

[dtbaker61]

Well there's that. ;-)

3D printing is mainly for protyping, not going to market. So, were my design to be commercially produced it would most likely be handled as an injection molded process. The cost per part for injection molding would be far far less; however, there is the up-front cost of making a mold (which itself can be a bit of a costly iterative process), and there are minimum quantities per run.
The mold / setup costs can take some time to re-coup, depending on the popularity of the product.

If a set of four of these could draw a $30 MSRP it would still likely be a big profit, provided enough sold to pay off the mold + setup and all the units in the run do sell. On a small scale, it might be harder to be profitable at below $40 MSRP.

nothing against your re-design and prototyping.... I just wanted to zero in on the lowest cost practical solution that the average DIYer without access to a 'make' shop is likely to try.

 

[dtbaker61]

For PLA to work, the little flanges that keep it in place would have to be changed out for a separate part printed in something flexible. Doable. But I am not sure I would trust PLA to hold the weight even at 100% infill. There is some peace of mind with the TPU being rubbery and having some give and really pretty much impervious to breakage.

how does that stuff to with UV exposure? salt+water+freezing?

 

[AEtherScythe]

how does that stuff to with UV exposure? salt+water+freezing?

TPU holds up well, although I've seen the white turn yellow. Totally depends on the filament manufacturer and exactly what they're using for the dye.

For this part I'm not at all worried about exposure to salt, water - freezing... Unlike the bolt-in "gasket" version, this new standalone version is not intended to be left installed long-term.
Why have the extra aerodynamic drag 24/7, when these are only needed twice a year when switching between summer and winter tires? That was my thinking.

 

[Stormtrooper]

For PLA to work, the little flanges that keep it in place would have to be changed out for a separate part printed in something flexible. Doable. But I am not sure I would trust PLA to hold the weight even at 100% infill. There is some peace of mind with the TPU being rubbery and having some give and really pretty much impervious to breakage.

Thanks for the quick reply!

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