• sea_flyer
  
  

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  Posted: May 16, 2017 - 02:48 PM

  Hi all,
  
  I have a small aerospace business that has been using 3D printing to prototype aircraft parts, and with the recent purchase of my NACRA 5.7 and its subsequent restoration, I have started 3D printing parts that need replacing...
  
  My first project was the mast ball, and I printed a new one with 80% Nylon, and 20% carbon fiber...I'll be testing it out in the weeks to come, and I'll give you all some feed back on its performance!
  
  Any other ideas or suggestions for things to print or that others have made for their boats?
  
  
  
  --
  Eric
  1986 NACRA 5.7 #331
  I fly seaplanes...and a cat on weekends
  --

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• MN3
  
  

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  Posted: May 16, 2017 - 02:51 PM

  upper and lower castings
  tiller arms
  goose neck
  rudders
  centerboards
  fem-bot crew

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• tominpa
  
  

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  Posted: May 16, 2017 - 10:50 PM

  Beam end caps. Rudder adjustment screws.
  
  --
  Tom
  NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
  Pennsylvania
  --

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• tamumpower1
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 12:16 AM

  Yea beam end caps with like a 1/4" hole with a beveled radius so people can pass a downhaul line through the beam.

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• ctcataman
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 12:49 AM

  End caps with wing seat attachment points or holes.
  
  I 3D print all the time for work (medical implants), mostly PLA or 17-4 SS. I have heard of carbon becoming printable. Is is normally a robust material. What brand printer do you use? Thanks, John
  
  --
  John
  
  Nacra 5.0
  CT
  --

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• sea_flyer
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 03:02 PM

  Hi John,
  
  I've been printing with Kevlar, Fiberglass, Nylon, and Carbon Fiber for some time now, (with an Ultimaker 2+ Extended (with Olsson Ruby) and a MarkForged Mark One Professional) and they are extremely strong. The Ultimaker 2+ is my current printer I use and has been upgraded to an all-metal hot-end, and a special nozzle that can print abrasive materials, such as Nylon and Carbon Fiber. I've had quite a bit of success printing parts for my boat so far, and highly recommend that you look into it. PLA won't be up for the task in most of the things you need, but it's relatively inexpensive to upgrade to other materials!
  
  The end caps and rudder adjustment screws are a great idea guys and should be pretty easy to make...I'll print myself some, and then put up some photos of the end result, and give you all some feedback on testing!
  
  Example of the mast ball for post 1983 NACRA's...
  
  http://www.tempestaerospa…re/products/show/7475581
  
  
  
  Edited by sea_flyer on May 17, 2017 - 04:03 PM.
  
  --
  Eric
  1986 NACRA 5.7 #331
  I fly seaplanes...and a cat on weekends
  --

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• mikekrantz
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 03:37 PM

  FWIW, the standard ball will last forever if you bed it in the casting with Marine-tex.
  
  Wax the ball with a couple of coats of your favorite polishing wax. Mix up some Marine-tex, put a blob in the casting and press the ball in, and tape it into place. Before it hardens, scrape out the excess marina-tex that has oozed around the ball. You only need a smooth bearing surface on the top of the ball. After it has cured, pop out the ball, screw it onto the stud, and go sailing. Do this with a new ball, and you'll never have to replace it again.

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• ctcataman
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 04:25 PM

  I have an stl file for a Wave end cap for back rests. You could probably sell lots of those. I will forward it if you want to try to build one.
  
  --
  John
  
  Nacra 5.0
  CT
  --

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• sea_flyer
  
  

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  Posted: May 17, 2017 - 05:45 PM

  Hi John,
  
  Sure that would be great! If you want, you can email it to me: tempestaerospace@gmail.com
  
  I just made one for my NACRA 5.7, and it is printing right now, so I will let you all know how it turns out!
  
  --
  Eric
  1986 NACRA 5.7 #331
  I fly seaplanes...and a cat on weekends
  --

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• MN3
  
  

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  Posted: May 18, 2017 - 09:30 AM

  do you have the ability to scan stuff - then duplicate with the 3d printer?

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• tamumpower1
  
  

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  Posted: May 18, 2017 - 11:58 AM

  If you made rudder cams, I think there are 2 sizes. One for the 14/16 and one for the others you'd probably sell a bunch. The hole is always wallowing out from grounding. Probably the most replaced part. If you did that same nylon carbon mix or just something strong it would be legit. Don't make them hollow on one side like the current ones. Just beefcake

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• klozhald
  
  

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  Posted: May 20, 2017 - 05:56 PM

  sea_flyer is any of the print medium UV resistant? I had someone print up a bracket to hold my wind vane, and 8 months stored on the tramp broke it down. I had to make a replacement from UV stabilized Delrin, using the table saw and drill press.
  
  --
  Sheet In!
  Bob
  _/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
  Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
  Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
  AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
  (Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
  Arizona, USA
  --

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• aquaaddict
  
  

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  • Posts: 48

  Posted: May 21, 2017 - 02:54 AM

  Hi,
  
  I have been meaning to sort out making some end caps for a long time, I would really appreciate it if you could please share the design?
  
  Thanks
  
  Anthony

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• sea_flyer
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 11:25 AM

  Hey guys,
  
  I've actually had success printing the beam end caps, rudder set screws, and am working on some other components...I'll post some photos of my progress later today.
  
  Klozhald, as far as UV resistance goes, I'll be doing some extensive testing on this...NylonX is a new material, and there really isn't a ton of data for it, with regards to UV resistance...My boat is outside all the time, and is in Florida, so I should be able to give you some good feedback with time. I think that with the combination of both Nylon, and Carbon Fiber, it will probably do better than most, but how it compares with Delrin, remains to be seen...I'll keep you posted!
  
  --
  Eric
  1986 NACRA 5.7 #331
  I fly seaplanes...and a cat on weekends
  --

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• samc99us
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 12:12 PM

  MN3

  do you have the ability to scan stuff - then duplicate with the 3d printer?

  
  
  That rarely works out. Converting a point cloud to solid model that can be printed is time consuming work. I suspect the software and the scanning system will get better as time goes on so in even 2 years from now my comments could be out of date, but for most of the parts we are talking about a pair of calipers and some engineering paper work wonders.

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• tamumpower1
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 01:01 PM

  What about printing big stuff like rudder castings. Might have to beef up some areas or just design your own style that fits existing rudder mounts. They are pretty expensive on all boats and over time the supply is only getting smaller.

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• MN3
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 01:11 PM

  Quote

  That rarely works out. Converting a point cloud to solid model that can be printed is time consuming work. I suspect the software and the scanning system will get better as time goes on so in even 2 years from now my comments could be out of date, but for most of the parts we are talking about a pair of calipers and some engineering paper work wonders.

  
  Please 3d print a time machine - go to the future - bring back a REAL scanner so i can scan my boat parts for 3d printing - while you are there please grab me a Star Trek lunch computer so i can have lasagna or pizza within a few seconds at any time
  
  your assistance is appreciated - feel free to 3d print up some money as thanks from me!

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• MN3
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 01:13 PM

  Quote

  What about printing big stuff like rudder castings

  
  I just purchased a new set of uppers from Mystere (1 of them was poorly cast and i asked for replacement)
  
  funny - at the same exact date this thread was posted our friend Paul (guy who was camping with us last fall on the P18-2) sent me a text with images of his new 3d printer. I asked about castings - he said "no" lol

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• samc99us
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 02:07 PM

  Rudder castings are exactly as stated, cast parts done in aluminum. There are many issues with this (no casting is ever 100% the same as the next, and some contain defects), but its a relatively cheap method to fabricate parts in volume with reasonable consistency. As CNC machining has come down in cost, some manufacturers (Goodall) have switched to that, which leads to higher consistency in the parts as you start with a pure base metal. The reality is these parts are not that expensive. Go and price some custom machined parts, or even volume machined parts, with similar specs:
  
  Multiple holes located on different faces to under 0.005" location
  6061-T651 aluminum or equivalent
  Type II anodized finish
  
  Good luck at matching casting price from a dealer. Even a carbon filled plastic 3D printed part would fail in a new york minute the first time you tried sailing with one. You need titanium or maybe aluminum 3D printing and that is expensive with long print times. Even on a home printer you are looking at overnight runs.

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• tamumpower1
  
  

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  Posted: May 24, 2017 - 02:08 PM

  I used to work next to a company that had one of the metal printers that would laser a metal dust bed and essentially weld together the model. Something like that could probably make a product as strong as a cast. Even with the carbon printer if enough material was used it seems like a reasonable strength thing to make. Maybe use stainless sleeves where the mounting points are and I'd think it could hold

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