Parts Availability, Post-ICE Era

[slowdude]

7s are hodge podges of vehicles. The K series has been out of production for 15 years and I can go buy a new block.

 

OEMs keep parts for 10 years or so. I'd expect them to have planned further out given the EV transition instability.

 

The vehicles are thankfully very simple. Very few caterham produced exclusive parts. Theyre parts bin vehicles. Uprights have been made for how long? 50 years? Only caterham specific items I can think of are A arm, wishbones, ARB, de dion and steering. 

 

Sets us up to be in a good place. I'd be worried about how many race tracks will be open in 20 years.

[rider]

On 11/26/2024 at 3:27 AM, Croc said:

 

 

To be fair the metal parts are fairly simple so far - ..........

 

Up to now, engine bits are always 3D milled as opposed to 3D printed - .........

 

Thanks. What's the build/print time, from simple part to complex? Do you scan a part to generate a CAD file and print from it?

 

 

On 11/26/2024 at 8:30 AM, wdb said:

On the 3D topic:

 

https://www.czinger.com/model-21c

 

Looks super cool. Is this fully developed using 3D printing? Appears so, reading between the lines and scant details.

 

 

On 11/30/2024 at 10:55 PM, slowdude said:

...........Very few caterham produced exclusive parts. Theyre parts bin vehicles. Uprights have been made for how long? 50 years? Only caterham specific items I can think of are A arm, wishbones, ARB, de dion and steering. 

 

Sets us up to be in a good place. I'd be worried about how many race tracks will be open in 20 years.

 

Thanks; this is useful info. So, these Caterham-specific parts can be custom-built (3D-printed)? And others can be sourced from a variety of vendors?

 

 

 

[Croc]

4 hours ago, rider said:

What's the build/print time, from simple part to complex? Do you scan a part to generate a CAD file and print from it?

 

I was not there for the process so am relaying what I heard later from the mechanic who was there.

 

It was either scanning or relying on another owner's previous scan.  In most of my cases I was using the CAD file of a certain well known California owner of an Espada who had done this the year before me.  For the new part it was scanning the part to get a 3D CAD file then then print. 

 

Using the wiper mechanism as the example since we had to print both plastic and metal - the plastic gears and buffers took less than a day then a little smoothing of the edges. 

 

The two metal arms were longer as this was a first time for them.  Arms were essentially a long flat pieces of 2 feet each with rounded ends that originally had been stamped out with a divot along the full length to provide strength.  Sorry don't have a photo handy to help you visualize.  They were printed in 12 inch lengths and joined later.  They were done in two weeks from providing the file and getting the completed part back but the actual print time was far less.  I understand there was a lot of pick up and put down as they managed their orders.   The three inch diameter metal gear wheel took a week. 

[rider]

18 hours ago, Croc said:

 

.............They were done in two weeks from providing the file and getting the completed part back but the actual print time was far less.  I understand there was a lot of pick up and put down as they managed their orders.   The three inch diameter metal gear wheel took a week. 

 

Thanks, Mike. Appreciate the details. Build time is definitely longer than traditional manufacturing. But, this form of building is a huge asset when dealing with very low volume. I'm working on an idea; will contact you later to bounce it off for your thoughts.

 

[Croc]

5 hours ago, rider said:

 

Thanks, Mike. Appreciate the details. Build time is definitely longer than traditional manufacturing. But, this form of building is a huge asset when dealing with very low volume. I'm working on an idea; will contact you later to bounce it off for your thoughts.

 

 

 

The conclusion we all had later was we should have stamped the wiper arm out then shaped the divot manually.  It would have been cheaper and quicker.  I did not pay any extra as it was an experiment for the folks to make a part that was three times longer than what they had previously done - opportunity to stretch the envelope.

 

The team that did this, manage hundreds of classic cars in a collection.  So you can imagine their need as they are missing parts all the time and spend huge hours searching to find a used original part. 

[Marek]

Mike - I am curious the motivation to seek an alternative to the services of a traditional restoration fabricator.