V1 Brian's City Goblin-06/Crate MotorTC #61

[Brian74]

Dang, that's a lot of hardware! Just how many Goblins are you planning to build - two's the limit so far - but DF is working on three at once!

I’ve found my self working on a lot more than the Goblin lately, lol. This will be my only Goblin. Next car will be an off road vehicle. There are way too many side by sides out here that I need to go embarrass.

 

[Brian74]

Picked up another 3D printer used. It has a huge bed, which will be great for prototyping. I’ve been dialing it the last 2 days and its running quite well, printing from a 1mm filament nozzle.

Since the new one is up & running, I tore apart my 5+ and built up a new direct drive extruder, installed exoslides and a 200W silicone bed heater. I plan to use this one to print most of my Goblin parts is ASA. I still need to design a fume evacuation system for it.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

I’ve found my self working on a lot more than the Goblin lately, lol. This will be my only Goblin. Next car will be an off road vehicle. There are way too many side by sides out here that I need to go embarrass.

AT Goblin TC with automatic transmission from a HHR? That would probably do enough embarrassing for any SxS or Razor.

 

[Brian74]

AT Goblin TC with automatic transmission from a HHR? That would probably do enough embarrassing for any SxS or Razor.

I’m thinking more along the lines of a Hyabusa powered Rorty Shotgun or a retro Honda Odyssey style buggy with long travel suspension and a 600cc ZX engine.

 

[Brian74]

Well, the weather is about perfect to get back in the garage and get going on the Goblin again. Aside from that, work has been absolutely nuts too. Hoping to finally see a break mid November and take some time off.

I have the side panel mounts designed and ready to 3D print, and I have the 3M panel mount epoxy to mount them. Only remaining issue is that I need to print them. I plan to use ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate), as that is about the best stuff for strength and UV stability. The only issues with ASA is it puts off fumes, and it needs to be printed in a temperature controlled environment to minimize thermal expansion/contraction during the print process.

I will be printing it in an enclosure in order to minimize the fumes and maintain ambient print temperatures. In the meantime, I CAD designed a fume evacuation system that will remove the printing fumes once the print is completed.

It utilizes a 120mm fan driven through a pulse width modulated rotary knob. With this, I can run the fan low enough just to provide a tiny amount of negative pressure during printing, and turn it up full blast once the print is completed and cooling, in order to evacuate remaining fumes. It will utilize a 4” dryer vent hose into a window adapter to send the fumes outdoors.

I also added an LED to my extruder assembly so I can easily monitor the printing process.

I’m hoping to complete the Goblin by… this Summer? Just got told by work today I’m already going off to another training cert school in March, lol. I’m finding time is becoming one hell of a resource these days.

 

[Rauq]

3d printing parts for your 3d printer is so right that it just feels wrong. I love it.

 

[Brian74]

Finished the fume evac system. Works like a charm.

 

[Brian74]

Fabricated up a window vent yesterday to route the fume extractor outdoors. Should be good to print ASA parts now. I can finally start on my side panel brackets.

 

[DCMoney]

Very cool! How did the meeting with the patent attorney go?

 

[Brian74]

Very cool! How did the meeting with the patent attorney go?

Really good. He gave me a ton of great advice/direction just over the phone without any consult fees. Lately I’ve just been working with a friend on trying to determine a manufacturing process that would be feasible/profitable. Would like to develop a plan of action and have a trial run ready before executing a pending status. With all the variants I would like to eventually produce, its not going to be easy.

 

[DCMoney]

Really good. He gave me a ton of great advice/direction just over the phone without any consult fees. Lately I’ve just been working with a friend on trying to determine a manufacturing process that would be feasible/profitable. Would like to develop a plan of action and have a trial run ready before executing a pending status. With all the variants I would like to eventually produce, its not going to be easy.

That's awesome! A good organized fastener storage system outside the normal storage bins would be incredible!

 

[CodyP]

That's awesome! A good organized fastener storage system outside the normal storage bins would be incredible!

I've never been a fan of the open bins. Dust and debris always end up in them for me. And I like to be able to grab a bin/box and take it wherever I'm working. The best solution I've found is to use stackable crayon boxes. They have locking lids, but are a little small. I'd be interested to see what you come up with Brian.

 

[Brian74]

I've never been a fan of the open bins. Dust and debris always end up in them for me. And I like to be able to grab a bin/box and take it wherever I'm working. The best solution I've found is to use stackable crayon boxes. They have locking lids, but are a little small. I'd be interested to see what you come up with Brian.

I nearly went nuts trying to find a viable solution that didn’t take up too much space and still provided a closed container that was usable for small parts. This is the result of having to find a way to solve the problem myself, lol.

 

[Brian74]

Fully calibrated my enclosed 3D printer for ASA today. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. ASA is even easier to print than PETG and has a great finish to it. Definitely my new favorite. I don’t know what it is about 3D printing, but somehow I have a knack for it. I can usually get a filament dialed in within a few prints and I somehow know what settings to adjust to fix any issues.

I added a potentiometer to my fume evac system to control the fan speed. I was really excited to try it out. The fumes are very noticeable printing ASA; in fact there is even visible smoke at times. As I was trying out the fume evac system, I actually found it works the most effectively simply running it on hi during the print with a slight opening in the top of the enclosure. It doesn’t draw nearly enough air to affect enclosure temps, but it pulls plenty of air to remove the printing fumes. Super happy about that.

I started printing out my side panel mount brackets; trying to see how well they will turn out with a 1mm nozzle. So far, not too bad considering they were originally designed to print at a .4mm resolution and less than half this layer height. They wont be seen; so they don’t need to be sexy, just functional and within tolerance.

 

[Brian74]

I guess its been awhile since I last posted. I have been **************************** busy. Work has been crazy busy. I started an LLC as a side gig last month. Not sure exactly what it is that I do as this new LLC; but I guess I will call it consulting for now. I’ve already have a customer/partner and a design that we are trying to get to market. We are meeting with a patent attorney shortly (this is actually something completely different and IMO better than my own current patent project).

I’m almost finished reorganizing the garage. One of my biggest issues was hitting 3-4 pm on a weekend and then realizing I need to go to the hardware store for a fastener. I am currently trying to eliminate that requirement by developing a useful bench stock. I have the common SAE stuff sorted out. Not so much yet on the metric.

I’ve decided to forego powder coat on my frame; in lieu of Steelit. It seems to have some solid reviews, and the one of the two colors is very close to my powder coat choice. This will save me a **** ton of time and money and give me additional bragging rights. I need to do a bit more research on the prep requirements.

I plan to pick up a worm-drive compressor and a plasma table soon. Not spending the bill for powder coating will make the plasma table more affordable and immensely increase my small-run production capability in the future. By summer, I’ve just decided bite the bullet and install A/C in the garage, because I am f—- sick and tired of mother nature dictating when I can be productive.

Good to see all of the new builders in here.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Good to see you have the Expert sorting parts for you, as I'm certain that sorting has been a 'thing' since she was little - I had one of those myself who sorted everything and now has one of her own who is turning out to be a sorter even at 16 months old. Hopefully your LLC adventure turns into something positive.

 

[Torchandregdoc]

I’ve decided to forego powder coat on my frame; in lieu of Steelit. It seems to have some solid reviews, and the one of the two colors is very close to my powder coat choice. This will save me a **** ton of time and money and give me additional bragging rights. I need to do a bit more research on the prep requirements.

We used Steel-it on our chassis as well. I would still probably do it again just because of the money thing. It cost me about $100, and you can get spray cans to touch up with, but that being said, you will need to do touch up. In my opinion, the internet is making steelit something its not. I think the big YouTube channels are getting paid or getting it for free. We only used the poly topcoat 1012, and I will admit, we shot it on the upper end of the recommended ambient temperature and it was nearly impossible to keep the whole car wet. We had significant over/dry spray in some places. It also has scratched much easier than advertised. Levi buttons, zippers, and belt buckles all make their mark, hundreds of them. The good news, is that it is simple to retouch, and it blasts off like butter. As for being weldable, I'm crying BS. Its impossible to carry a consistent puddle with tig and mig e70s6 shielded with co2 looks like dog***t. It may have been slightly better with mixed gas, but I'm doubting it. I tried it on thinwall, so couldn't run a bunch of heat, but it really welded terrible. Like I said, I would still do it again, but just wanted to make you aware, it ain't what everyone says it is.

 

[Brian74]

I’ve decided to forego powder coat on my frame; in lieu of Steelit. It seems to have some solid reviews, and the one of the two colors is very close to my powder coat choice. This will save me a **** ton of time and money and give me additional bragging rights. I need to do a bit more research on the prep requirements.

We used Steel-it on our chassis as well. I would still probably do it again just because of the money thing. It cost me about $100, and you can get spray cans to touch up with, but that being said, you will need to do touch up. In my opinion, the internet is making steelit something its not. I think the big YouTube channels are getting paid or getting it for free. We only used the poly topcoat 1012, and I will admit, we shot it on the upper end of the recommended ambient temperature and it was nearly impossible to keep the whole car wet. We had significant over/dry spray in some places. It also has scratched much easier than advertised. Levi buttons, zippers, and belt buckles all make their mark, hundreds of them. The good news, is that it is simple to retouch, and it blasts off like butter. As for being weldable, I'm crying BS. Its impossible to carry a consistent puddle with tig and mig e70s6 shielded with co2 looks like dog***t. It may have been slightly better with mixed gas, but I'm doubting it. I tried it on thinwall, so couldn't run a bunch of heat, but it really welded terrible. Like I said, I would still do it again, but just wanted to make you aware, it ain't what everyone says it is.

Thanks, that is good to know. I may reconsider in that case. I certainly had my doubts on the weld-ability aspect.

 

[DCMoney]

Your Goblin is becoming the least interesting part of this build thread. I don't mean that in a negative way either.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Brian is waiting for me to catch up to where he is at in his build.