3D printing a fuel cap
More plastic crap
I've had a fuel container that needs fixing for a while and I finally got around to fixing it.
Most people would have thrown the fuel container away and bought a new one but I decided to keep it and save myself a few Australian Pesos.
The old cap had a design flaw, where the grip lugs ended had created a weak point in the cap and it had separated by itself one time when the fuel container expanded in the heat. So I compensated for the stress fracture line and redesigned the new cap slightly differently to hopefully prevent it from happening again. I extended the grip lugs up to closer to the top of the cap to where there will be a lot more plastic to hold the new one together.
Here's the broken cap
And here's the new improved design
I designed it in two pieces to make it easier to print, if it was in one piece it would have required more scaffolding and more time cleaning all the scaffolding off the print. 
This is how it turned out
I was a bit disappointed with the surface finish. I've just changed over to a new roll of filament and it's behaving a bit differently to the last roll so it will take a few prints and a bit of trial and error to get the settings dialed in but the end result is good enough to do the job it's intended for. It fits the fuel container slightly better than the original one.
I printed these using PLA plastic which is supposedly biodegradable but one youtuber said the stuff won't break down after months in a compost heap. I know it's resistant to acetone but I'm not sure of how it's going to handle petrol and petrol fumes long term. If it turns into a lump of mushy crap I'll try printing one out of another material.
This was modeled using Onshape CAD software after a half a carton of Rivet beer last night and printed today on a Tevo Tornado.
Thanks for looking.
Sweet job in the cap please let us know how it goes after a few weeks.
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Thanks mate!
I'll probably only think of it the next time I mow the lawn which hasn't been very often lately, a run of 40+ degrees days has turned it all into a crunchy wasteland.
Yep my lawn is very dead looking saves mowing though haha.
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Really cool stuff. I have a 3D printer with spools I was given by a friend who was moving I haven't touched yet. I don't know the first thing about how to use it, how to get the drivers, etc.. I may just try to sell it for parts since it takes up a bit of space. It's in a wooden frame. Keep up the good work.
You don't normally need drivers @steemmatt , they have an onboard arduino MCU and its firmware handles most of it.
On the PC you use a program called a slicer (I use a free one called Cura) which slices the 3d model into single layers and you send that to the printer as G-Code and the printer does the rest.
A lot people never design anything to be printed they just go to thingiverse or shapeways and download 3d files of things other people have designed and print them.
I'm finding lately that nearly everyone has something with a missing knob or a broken handle that they can't get & they come to me looking to get one printed. So I've been trolling through ebay listings looking for rare and hard to get knobs and parts and trying to find a niche there. A lot of people throw things out because something is cracked, broken or missing too, so it will give me a few opportunities to fix them and on sell them like you're doing.
Very clever. I've seen people 3D print high end stroller parts like brake levers and undercut the authentic stuff. More power to you and them! That's a genius idea as long as there are no infringement issues. Make that money!
Hello @khufu, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!