3D Printing, port trim rings

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I mentioned the 3D printer for the trim rings a few years back.

Here in Fredericksburg Va you can use the 3D printer at our local library; after you take a few hours of classes on how to operate it!!   

A thought   

[Noah]

I believe it would take MANY hours to print 6 trim rings.

[Roland Gendreau]

I checked with Rick Wallace, the gentlemen I recommended earlier,  who has provided me 3d printed parts for my autohelm . 

His reply is below:

Roland,

Sorry, none of my 3D printers are large enough for those.  I have the same trim on my own Beneteau, so I know their size.

My largest printer does 12" x 12" x 18"H, not even large enough for the smallest of those trim rings.   I could look at sending them out to be printed, but I imagine the cost may be prohibitive and also the colours are very limited in that event.  Print costs for outsourced printing are usually based on the bounding dimensions of an object, not the volume of plastic used.  And, I'm not even sure if any of my outsourcing companies can do parts that large.
Good idea though, but not possible at this time.

Merry Xmas,

Rick.

[glennd3]

Thank you, although the outcome was not what we wanted, we did learn about 3d printing!

[womble]

Hi Glen,

This is Mark from Endeavour.

What are you trying to fabricate?

I made replacement trim rings for my C25 out of cherry (interior) and PVC board (coaming pocket trim).

For exterior trim I used PVC board, which when painted, looked very good. I only painted them because the PVC has a granular texture when machined and I was concerned that this would trap dirt.

Here's a picture of an interior trim ring.

We could use HDPE but making a ring out of a single piece is very wasteful. We could make straight sections and separate "ends" which would be much more economical.

[Noah]

It is a much more complicataed "trim ring" than that. It is a hollowed-out cap/cover that snaps over the frame and the latches of an opening port and is secured by velcro on the back inside the hollow recess.

[Jim Hardesty]

Saw this ad in the Jan/Feb issue of Good Old Boat pg 58

Jim