Hello, I have been messing around with Autodesk Inventor for years, 4 years of it in high school, and I now have Inventor 2016 that I mess around with. I've always loved designing and fabricating. I am by no means a professional, and can't for example tell you how much force or how heavy a part will be, but I have toyed with 3d designing parts that often break for possibilities in CNC reproduction (hood pull handles, Hatch hinges)
If there is one thing that is needed by Eagle owners, it would be stronger hatch hinges. However, until the used supply runs out, I don't think many would be willing to pay what it would cost to make a set.
Yeah, I just did some preliminary design on the upper hatch part out of cnc aluminum 6061 I believe, and it was running $45 a part. That's without the bolts or hinge pin. I didn't have any dimensions for the hinge itself as I only have a sedan, but I imagine it would run around $80 a hinge. There is a possibility of cheaper if I fiddle with things. But I'll have to get my hands on a hinge to get a more accurate cost analysis.
did my fiddling and found it more expensive lol. but I did add a finish and what not to the part.
(https://image.ibb.co/nifCPJ/hinge.png) just for reference this is based on a 3.7"x4.7"x1" part that is copper and zinc plated costs around $72 per part for an order of 25 parts. so I can imagine that it would be a steep price to pay for half a hinge.
A couple years ago I came across a pretty good set of rear bumper ends for an SX/4 and looked into getting them 3D scanned for ultimately getting them 3D printed someday. The price just to scan them was going to be on the order of $300-400, not including time to "clean" up the scans. I'm not sure what the cost of actually printing them would have ended up being but I decided it was not a good investment for me. Yes, there are quite a few SX/4 owners that need bumper ends, but don't know how many are willing to pay several hundred dollars for them.
Yeah I've heard about that issue many times, that would be something that would be very difficult to reproduce accurately due to all the complex angles and multi-part mold requirements for mass production, 3d printing has come a long way but I'm not sure it will give fast and smooth results. Best idea I can come up with is building a new design out of metal since it seems easier a material to work with.
The hinges aren't flat and square, they have some angle or twist to them and on top of that, they are handed. A few years ago, a member made a set on a CNC and said he would have to charge in the $250 range for a pair, if I recall.
Yeah, I imagine they are a bit more complicated than what I designed. That was using "emachineshop's" cad program just to see what they would charge for something resembling the part
I believe the sunvisor hinge pivots could be a thing to look at. There was a gm version that shared it, idk what anymore. Just a thought.
done and done.
(https://image.ibb.co/hVAADo/fultonlineup.jpg)
XD but seriously, I am looking into what other types of sun visors would fit the screw pattern.
lol those are great visors, would love to have one of those on my Eagles lol.