Category: 3D Printing

DIY – Carbon Fiber

paschmann

After years of dreaming and ideating around making carbon fiber products of some sort, I finally had a need to build some custom parts for my triathlon bike. After spending a considerable amount of time reading, watching and listening to tutorials online, I took the plunge and purchased some starter materials. My initial plan was to work with 3D printed moulds and do wet layup.

I purchased a 3D printed started kit from Easy Composites. The shipping was a little expensive (they are based in the UK) but seemed to have the best products, prices and matching material requirements for my needs.

My first project was a simple chain ring cover (which would be the next version of the 3D printed aero cover I 3D printed here). The purpose of this cover is to streamline airflow over the crank while in motion to reduce the bikes Cda (Coefficient of Drag). aka. More slip streamed. read more

Aero Bottle Holder

paschmann

Another 3D printed bottle holder for my Canyon Speedmax. This is a raised bottle holder for between your arms and mounts a traditional water bottle cage.

The typical distance between for the mount holes on cages are 64mm. 2 100mm M5 bolts keep the mount attached to a custom made carbon fiber base plate.

SRAM Rival Crank Aero Cover

paschmann

After reading about some aero gains from Crank covers, I decided to try and 3D print one to fit on my SRAM Rival crankset on my TT bike. The curves and irregular shape/profile of the crank made it difficult to model, so I printed a flat surface, and used heat to mold it to match the profile. It is held on via zip ties.

The design was done using Fusion 360 and a front and and side profile reference image. I printed this on a Prusa MKII.

This was one of my first prototypes. Due to the low melting point of PLA, a heat gun pretty quickly warms it sufficiently to get it to mold into the correct shape.

This was the final version.


EZGains testing results regarding covers and their benefit: read more

3D Printing Project – *Another* Bike Storage Box

paschmann

My 3D design skills and understanding of modeling around a physical object have come a long way since my first bike storage box, this one fits my 2022 Canyon Speedmax CF (Medium). The reason for designing and printing these is that while the bike has built in storage, it’s seldomly enough to be self sufficient during long rides. For full distance Ironman events, I take the following: (After mishaps, trial and error) 2 x Tubolito spare tubes, 2 x CO2 Cartridges, 1 x Dart puncture tool, 1 x Mini Pump, a Multi Tool and a Chain link.

Design: Autodesk Fusion 360
Printer: Prusa Mk2
Material: PLA
Print Time: 12 Hours

3D Printing Project: F1 Sim Wheel

paschmann

I have always enjoyed the concept of being immersed into a virtual world. One of my first experiences with VR was in roughly 1993 when our local arcade introduced a game from one of the OG gaming founders John Waldron called Dactyl Nightmare on a 1000CS. After that experience, I have always wanted to build a motion sim which gets you as close to reality as possible.

Last year I took the first steps and decided to put the initial blocks in place and start with sim platform that I could eventually add motion to. I purchased a Fanatic wheel base and thought it would be a great learning experience to build the steering wheel from scratch. Many of the components can be built versus bought which is what is keeping me motivated to eventually get the entire system together. read more

DIY – E V E R Y T H I N G

paschmann

Designing, building and then using something you have made, has been one of the most rewarding and personally satisfying activities I have found in my life so far. I was born a tinkerer, always disassembling, trying to understand and improve or recreate.

My favorite TV show is “How it’s made”.

I have way too many expensive tools, printers, cutters and machines, and not a single one has made a significant return on the investment … but, what I have learned using them has been 10x …

Its not just the tool, its the tools to use the tool, the software to design the product, the process to start, run or finish the machine or product, the prep work, consideration and the functionality. read more