3D Printed intake manifold test tool

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TMIB
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3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#1

Post by TMIB »

I made a tool to test my intake manifold for leaks, and thought I'd share the source files in case anyone has access to a 3D printer and wants to print their own.

Files are hosted here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5517966

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It's a straightforward 3D print. The raised area fits snugly inside the intake manifold opening and when bolted in place is airtight. I used these schrader valves from Amazon and it worked well.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#2

Post by Hogey »

What Material is that made from?
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#3

Post by Raytag »

Excellent :!:
Mongrel505558
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#4

Post by Mongrel505558 »

That's great! A friend and co-worker 3D printed a couple of air cleaner adapter spacers; one to go from Super B to stock round backing plate and one for Super E. I like your tool even better. I currently use a big rubber stopper drilled with a quick connect air hose barb jammed into it.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#5

Post by TMIB »

Hogey wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:59 am What Material is that made from?
This is made from PLA plastic, 25% infill on the print.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#6

Post by TMIB »

Mongrel505558 wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 11:08 am That's great! A friend and co-worker 3D printed a couple of air cleaner adapter spacers; one to go from Super B to stock round backing plate and one for Super E. I like your tool even better. I currently use a big rubber stopper drilled with a quick connect air hose barb jammed into it.
How do those hold up with heat from the engine? I realized when I printed this that it’d be easy to also make an insulator for the carb the same way. It’d have to be printed from nylon to handle the best though.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#7

Post by Mongrel505558 »

These spacers go on the outboard side of the carb, between the air filter backing plate and the carb, so there's not a lot of heat there compared to the manifold side of the carb. So far so good. Not getting brittle or cracking.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#8

Post by TMIB »

Mongrel505558 wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:36 pm These spacers go on the outboard side of the carb, between the air filter backing plate and the carb, so there's not a lot of heat there compared to the manifold side of the carb. So far so good. Not getting brittle or cracking.
Gotcha. I am going to take a wild guess and assume they were printed from ABS, rather than PLA. I use both pretty often, but the PLA gets a bit brittle when exposed to heat. (I made some parts for my dishwasher out of PLA that lasted only about a month, for example). For stuff that doesn't get hot, it works really well. I have fly fishing reels I printed both from PLA and ABS, and they are nicer than some of the expensive ones I have purchased that are made from metal. (plus they are so light that the cork on my fly rods are enough to make the whole assembly float.)

That side of the carb doesn't get that hot, but if they were PLA rather than ABS, I'd still keep an eye on them. How long have you been running them?

I print a few tools for doing bike work if I need things that are not terribly durable. For example I made a threaded fork cap with a hole in the middle to accept a tube for filling fork oil. This makes it easy to set it up to fill and walk away, knowing it won't overflow.

I've got some nylon filament with kevlar in it that is supposed to be really strong, but I haven't tried it yet. It might be useful for custom wrench adapters so long as they are not really high-torque applications.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#9

Post by CC Rider »

Great job! We have a 3D printer in the engineering dept. at work. I'll see if I can get someone to make this for me! :)
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#10

Post by Mongrel505558 »

Regarding my air cleaner spacer my friend printed - I'll have to ask him exactly what he used. I told him the requirements up front. We're both engineers, so he understood the requirements. He built his printer a few years ago and is always perfecting it. He just added a new laser. Writes the code in machine language. Being that it's not commercially bought, it may be set up for different materials than ABS or PLA.
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Re: 3D Printed intake manifold test tool

#11

Post by chuckthebeatertruck »

You also can print in various metals today.

I just had exhaust flanges made for a prewar bike by a gent in Argentina. Arrived two weeks after I sent and approved dimensions. Material strength is similar to 1018, which is fine for this application.

So, lots and lots of options are becoming available at surprisingly inexpensive prices.

A nos flange was $35-50, the print cost me $15 with shipping.
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