I got into 3d printing because of the need to replace the sill plates on our 1953 Chrysler New Yorker Convertible.
After waiting the better part of a year to see how the next generation of 3D printers would progress. With the failure of the kickstarter for a printer that was convertible from a traditional layout to the infinite Z axis style I selected the Creality CR 30 belt printer to complete my project.
This printer retails for $1049 and with Christmas sales I was able to purchase one along with the extension rollers for just under $1000. Although this printer does not have some of the advanced features of my Prusa Mini, it was not difficult to setup. Unlike the Prusa printer which provided a very easy to follow manual with setup and printing guidance the Creality printer has a very limited paper manual and a similarly limited video installation guide included on the SD card it came with. General assembly is straight forward. The most critical step is setting the level of the belt/bed. Although this took several attempts it took only an hour or so to complete. Once properly setup printing was straight forward. The interface on the Creality printer is not as user friendly as the Prusa product but it is functional. Within a day of setup I had started printing my 1st sill plate. After printing for about 37 hours the printer indicated it was about 50% done. This exposed a relatively minor flaw in the Cura based slicer used with the CR 30 which indicated that the complete print would only take 46 hours as opposed to the 74 hours it would take. I could also tell that I was going to be thrilled with the outcome.
Note that although these are the correct size and use the same general layout as the originals, they also have the 1953 Chrysler script on them which I believe makes them better than the originals.
As I write this it still has another 27 hours of printing to do, but I’m thrilled and looking forward to installing it and exploring what else I can create with my new tool.
Here’s a photo of the sills at 60% complete. I’ll add more as the project proceeds.
I suffer from hubris.
I was so pleased with the progress that I had to post. Unfortunately overnight with less than 6 inches to print, the filament failed to extrude, and I awoke to the printer having about 4 inches that failed to print. The material I am using is a relatively new product, flexible PLA.
My past experience with PLA includes similar failures on my original printer. To avoid this problem, I have to set the printer nozzle temperature close to or over the maximum temperature specified by the filament manufacturer.
It looks pretty good, but not complete.
A close look at the Chrysler script shows a lot of stringing and while it looks fairly good at arms length, it is not good close up.
I also found that the details of the Chrysler script did not meet my expectations so I will update the design and remove it.
Latest Update:
After removing the Chrysler script and setting the printer nozzle temperature to 200 degrees C, after 5 and 1/2 days I have a completed sill plate that looks great!
I’m not giving up on getting the Chrysler script into the sill plate. For now I have a great replacement for my failed sill.
