How do I fix a damaged area on a part that I scanned to print in 3d?
I have a small gear that's has damaged areas, and the part is $48 at the dealer. I can scan the damaged gear and print it, but how to I fill in the damaged area for the part to print in working condition? Thanks for any help out there!
3 Answers
What exactly is it? A gear? make a scan with a refference scale next to it. Measure it with calipers and redo the gear from scratch. It's too much hastle to scan such a small and simple object and then to removve all random points from the surface you scanned onto, and then straighten the broken part.
You need clean geometry for 3d print.
Post here a detailed picture of the gear and some dimensions and I can provide you with a true gear model made in CATIA (i can export stl for 3dprinter).
Please provide number ofo teeth, OD, ID, height, and other details so i can model that gear.
Making a model of the gear won't be too difficult.
Scanning, and printing are where the problems are going to show up.
To accurately scan something of that size, you'll need a scanner in the $15,000 and up range.
Printing is a challenge because any printed material properties (not to mention tolerances) are not going to come close to matching the original part (assuming it is injection molded plastic).
Direct Metal, or a zinc casting from a wax pattern are good options, but will greatly exceed the cost of the new part from the dealer.
What are your time and materials worth to you?
