Re: Awesome T2 for sale in nz!
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:05 pm
Now I've never seen wing mirrors like that before
Hrmm... the height of the poles mean quite a lot of leverage on the base. Could run into problems with the mirror cups up top buffetting around in the wind or getting smacked around by people being careless when walking near the car. Not so big an issue at the top of the cup, but could put quite a lot of strain on the base where it attaches to the fender.
Do the originals have some kind of metal reinforcement? I'm thinking it would need something like this (excuse bodged up paint pic)
with the pink parts being metal.
It would be possible to print the grey parts to snap on around the outside of a metal frame, that would give the mirror its shape, but I think without reinforcement 3d printed parts might snap off at the base... a fibre reinforced epoxy part might be strong enough for the base by itself, but that would mean making a mould.
If you have an original and wanted to avoid the complexity of a metal skeleton, I'd be tempted to try making a mould of the base then filling it with epoxy and chopped strand fibreglass. Would hopefully make a part strong enough that you can do away with the metal skeleton. Plus you wouldn't see the bottom of the base, so could avoid hassle of a 2 part mould, and just leave bottom rough, with a piece of firm rubber between it and the fender.
The top cup, thats a different beasty...guessing it would be quite thin, the heavier that gets the more weight you'll have bouncing around on the end of those arms. First thoughts are vacuum infusion moulding like we used to do at flexiglass for making ute canopies... but that'd need a 2 part mould and a lot of work for a small production run... what about a one part mould of the outside of the cup. Gel coat that, then a layer of fibreglass matt. Brush on the epoxy them vaccuum bag the whole thing? That'd be strong & light, and no-one will see the inside of the cup anyways, so a bit of roughness there wont hurt.
Could even do it in carbon fibre if you wanted to bling it.
Hrmm... the height of the poles mean quite a lot of leverage on the base. Could run into problems with the mirror cups up top buffetting around in the wind or getting smacked around by people being careless when walking near the car. Not so big an issue at the top of the cup, but could put quite a lot of strain on the base where it attaches to the fender.
Do the originals have some kind of metal reinforcement? I'm thinking it would need something like this (excuse bodged up paint pic)
with the pink parts being metal.
It would be possible to print the grey parts to snap on around the outside of a metal frame, that would give the mirror its shape, but I think without reinforcement 3d printed parts might snap off at the base... a fibre reinforced epoxy part might be strong enough for the base by itself, but that would mean making a mould.
If you have an original and wanted to avoid the complexity of a metal skeleton, I'd be tempted to try making a mould of the base then filling it with epoxy and chopped strand fibreglass. Would hopefully make a part strong enough that you can do away with the metal skeleton. Plus you wouldn't see the bottom of the base, so could avoid hassle of a 2 part mould, and just leave bottom rough, with a piece of firm rubber between it and the fender.
The top cup, thats a different beasty...guessing it would be quite thin, the heavier that gets the more weight you'll have bouncing around on the end of those arms. First thoughts are vacuum infusion moulding like we used to do at flexiglass for making ute canopies... but that'd need a 2 part mould and a lot of work for a small production run... what about a one part mould of the outside of the cup. Gel coat that, then a layer of fibreglass matt. Brush on the epoxy them vaccuum bag the whole thing? That'd be strong & light, and no-one will see the inside of the cup anyways, so a bit of roughness there wont hurt.
Could even do it in carbon fibre if you wanted to bling it.