My plan is to put the design out for people to print for themselves for free. I don't need to sell anything.
CK5
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3D Printing Projects - Truck parts and tools
- Thread starter kennyw
- Start date
Besides, if I tried to make money, I would probably need to charge more than anyone wants to pay. 16 hours of machine time, $10-20 in material cost, plus profit. My wife charges $125/hr for laser engraving machine time at the machine shop which is the closest equivalent I know about. No one would pay $1k plus for these.
However, Xometry is quoting me $225 for the pair printed in blue ABS, one color or $208 printed in black ABS, one color.
If I were to do anything, I would take pre-orders until I got 10+ people lined up and order a batch. Then, charge 20% markup for my time to ship them out. I could update the lettering to snap in a an insert and be an extra option. But, I'm not convinced people would pay around $250/pair. Not when the concept I improved is selling for $100/pair.
However, Xometry is quoting me $225 for the pair printed in blue ABS, one color or $208 printed in black ABS, one color.
If I were to do anything, I would take pre-orders until I got 10+ people lined up and order a batch. Then, charge 20% markup for my time to ship them out. I could update the lettering to snap in a an insert and be an extra option. But, I'm not convinced people would pay around $250/pair. Not when the concept I improved is selling for $100/pair.
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Yes they will. The bigest complaint I hear at the local C10 Nation events is the lack of cool cup holders. The pockets are useless after a few years. Doing the custom insert would raise the price.
People who 3d print themselves will scoff and bitch at the price but most have never considered the costs of manufacturing, time, and R&D to churn out products.
Some people might buy these at over $200/set, sure. There wouldn't be a huge market but some would sell.
If you were serious about that business, you'd patent them and send the files off to some companies that can do this via injection molding and get some quotes on volume orders, buy a few hundred sets, then start retailing them out of your garage. The retail cost would be significantly less but your up front investment would be considerably higher.
If it were me, i'd just drop the files on printables and let people do what they want. Getting into the manufacturing biz for one product seems like a nightmare.
Some people might buy these at over $200/set, sure. There wouldn't be a huge market but some would sell.
If you were serious about that business, you'd patent them and send the files off to some companies that can do this via injection molding and get some quotes on volume orders, buy a few hundred sets, then start retailing them out of your garage. The retail cost would be significantly less but your up front investment would be considerably higher.
If it were me, i'd just drop the files on printables and let people do what they want. Getting into the manufacturing biz for one product seems like a nightmare.
These trucks are beginning to be collectible. Some of the people restoring/modifying them like the Novas, Chevelles, Vettes, Tri-5’s will happily buy these around the price you mentioned.
Personally, on a very clean original or resto mod i’d rather spend more money for a clean finished product that looks near factory to the untrained eye and doesnt look like a jc whitney accessory.
For a beater or wheeler - different story
For a beater or wheeler - different story
Can these be swapped side to side to move the cup holder closer to the seat if it has knee interference? Or just for personal preference? Or are they only able to install one way?
Yes, you can swap side to side as the bolt pattern is symmetric. I didn't like the cup holder hitting my knee on the first try either.
And I started a new version to make the badge a separate piece. This will also greatly minimize color change loses. I need to work on the cup holder geometry, I'm not happy with how my coffee mug fits yet. That may be drop in inserts to adjust geometry though.
Added an adapter to reduce the 3.5" diameter cup down to 3" at the bottom for my favorite coffee cup.
Pics after printing. And the first part was a simple cylinder , but it wasn't easy to pull out if needed.
I just know the width of this part will exceed my build plate by like 20mm or something. Enough that it can't be fudged and i'm going to have to buy a bigger printer. 
I just know the width of this part will exceed my build plate by like 20mm or something. Enough that it can't be fudged and i'm going to have to buy a bigger printer.
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V3 finished printing overnight. I'll check fit in a few. these were still printed in PLA as test parts.
So did you remove the edges so it can be done in one piece?
Remove badges? I removed the badges so they can be customized without affecting the base part. The badge section is then printed flat for better detail and less waste from changing colors. Then you can glue on the badges.
Test fit works for both left and right hand. I also moved the cup down an inch for better clearance to the hand crank, but my tall cup still needs to be removed to crank the window.
View attachment 20251227_103834.mp4
View attachment 20251227_103834.mp4
It wasn't a typo.
In the beginning you said it was too big to fit as one piece in the printer.
What changed?
It looks like a one piece to me.
explanation in this post:
3D Printing Projects - Truck parts and tools
That is the concept that I started with. But it was too large for my printer. love his custom wood stoves he has built .
ck5.com
And I just got some Christmas money and went ahead and bought one.Buy Bambu Lab P1S: Your Best Budget 3D Printer with Enclosure and Filter
Bambu Lab P1S is an affordable, reliable fully enclosed 3D printer with fans and carbon filters, ideal for advanced filaments and odor-free FDM 3D printing.
$550 currently and back in stock.
