3D Printed Ford Battery Case Help

[Karl Wescott]

I have had very good results using PRUSA mini's, though I have worn a couple out. I am currently using a PRUSA MK4 with excellent results. I had a Sovol SV06 that worked OK for a while, then bricked.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Originally Posted by 35fordtn

what is you layer thickness? .12mm?

If you want a slightly larger printer that doesnt break the bank, I'd highly recommend the Qidi brand.

You're doing a EXCELLENT job!

Thanks! I have the layer height at 0.08 and the line width at 0.4, which is the lowest I can go with the .4mm nozzle. I can drop that down to .04 and .15 with the .2mm nozzle.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Some more slow progress... I remade the top cover from scratch with the new measurements. It's accurate to .01mm or less (everything is millimeter when it comes to 3D printing).

Here's a look at the top with the caps and the plugs in it. I have it turned yellow right now just for visibility. As you can see, I have the optima sitting inside with the terminals poking through.



Speaking of the optima, I ended up buying one so I rebuilt that entire battery from scratch to be exactly the size of the one I have.



Looking underneath, and getting the angle perfectly aligned so everything is even, even though it doesn't look at due to the illusion, but it is all even... It fits really nicely inside the top cover. This gives me hope that the rest of the battery will fit as is and I'll actually not have to modify any dimensions to get this optima to fit.



Taking the plugs and the caps off, you can see I'm using two studs that will correspond the holes under the caps to perfectly position those, and I decided to actually make it so they plugs can screw in just like the original case. I even offset the screw threads so when the plugs are tightened they are at a 45° angle like the original case.



But one issue that could potentially be a problem, is the terminals sticking out. Because the original case has these three cells that rise up above the top flat area of the battery, the terminals might not rise high enough. I'm going to measure the CW moss battery cables tomorrow and see how tall they are to make sure there's enough clearance. And the photo below, you can see the top flat area of the optima will stop at the red arrow, and the top of the terminal is the green arrow. So you can see how much is covered by the yellow top still.

[Karl Wescott]

Originally Posted by WarbirdPhotog

Thanks! I have the layer height at 0.08 and the line width at 0.4, which is the lowest I can go with the .4mm nozzle. I can drop that down to .04 and .15 with the .2mm nozzle.

Try lying to the printer... use the .4mm nozzle and the .2mm presets in the slicing software. I do something similar with my PRUSA's, .6mm nozzle (I use a metal filled filament) with the .4mm presets.

[35fordtn]

Originally Posted by Karl Wescott

Try lying to the printer... use the .4mm nozzle and the .2mm presets in the slicing software. I do something similar with my PRUSA's, .6mm nozzle (I use a metal filled filament) with the .4mm presets.

Karl, are you using the Protapasta filament? I have always wanted to try it. It might look neat for him to use such on the "lead bars" of the battery.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by 35fordtn

Karl, are you using the Protapasta filament? I have always wanted to try it. It might look neat for him to use such on the "lead bars" of the battery.

I don't think I can use the . 2mm nozzle with that, which is needed If I want to mimic that super fine detail of the caps Ford stamping. I'm thinking about spraying it with a textured paint and then grey to make it look more cast.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Update! Due to the rain in SoCal this weekend, I had two days to work on it. I mostly finished the side walls. Took a lot of work.

Here's the Ford logo side (the red sections are for the lid to slip on top of and then for the walls to slip into the bottom tray)



I'm using some pegs in the longer side walls to attach then together. I have some ideas to also add supports to make the box more structurally reinforced. I also have the sidewalls come together where the seams are on the original battery. So perfectly will match.



Pushing them together digitally, we can see the walls taking shape.



I then put the top cover on. Starting to really look like the battery!



With the cover on, I could check the optima with the walls. Turns out, the feet WILL be a problem after all. Bummer. You can see two spots where they poke through. But only the feet and only one small corner.



Making the battery walls transparent, we can see the optima fits beautifully inside vertically, in fact, I'm going to have to make an elevated stand on the bottom tray to keep it raised up to the correct height. So that's good!



Finally, I got the .2mm nozzle for the printer and printed out the plugs again. Doubles the printing time compared to the .4mm nozzle! Took 3.5 hours for one plug... But the results are amazing. You can easily read the U.S.A. with the periods! Here is the .2mm printed plug with an original (original is left). I'll paint the new plug and it should be just about a perfect match. And it screws in still to the original case!



Next up: I need to design the tray, reinforce the walls, figure out the best way for the tray to attach to the walls for stability and strength, and then the toughest thing of all... The darn chaotic star texture on the side walls. That one I'm struggling with a bit, but I have some breakthroughs.

[Model51]

I appreciate your persistence on this effort. Making the case to the level of precision you are doing is not a trivial effort. Thanks for sharing your processes and results. You are doing a great job on this project! Can't wait to see the end product once you are done.

I had the same issue with the height of the Optima battery posts that i think you may be having. I used 3/32" thick plastic on the top to maximize the terminal post height.

Also, at least for a Type 40 battery, the distance between the centerlines of the post was a bit longer so if one were to look closely, the posts don't quite align with the lead connectors and the caps, but it's a trivial thing and one that can't be avoided.

[Seth Swoboda]

Great work. I'm tuned into this project.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Another quick update...

I finished the bottom tray. Here's a look at the mostly complete battery put together!



I added the USA to the Ford logo, missing from nearly all repros that I've seen.



I made the tray thicker to support the optima height. This actually works out in two ways, first it makes the optima the correct height to the top lid, and also adds a lot of strength to the tray at the bottom.



I'm going to cut up the top cover and the bottom tray so they also come together at the sides continuing that seam line just like you see on the sidewall, which is on the original. This is an unnecessary step, as I could print the entire top lid and bottom tray in one go, but this will add a little more authenticity.



I'm still battling this darn Star texture, it's been such a pain in my side the last few days. There's been some progress here and there, but nothing that I've liked much so far. I wish some of these 3D programs made it easier to extrude in certain ways (often it's just vertical or horizontal).

[WarbirdPhotog]

Quick update. I still am trying to figure out the star texture on the sides, but I've begun deconstructing the battery design to figure out how best to print it and put it back together. Getting there!

I've printed the caps, and after a few failed prints trying to figure out the best settings for the incredibly tiny .2mm nozzle, I've got a good set. And speaking of those, I know several of you have mentioned trying to make the caps look cast. I experimented with some paints and actually got a pretty good looking cast on one of my bad cap prints that I used to test:



As you can see, it definitely doesn't look plastic anymore, especially on the side! What I ended up using was a combination of three different spray paints. The first was a textured spray paint from Rust-Oleum, then I gave it a medium coat of stainless steel high performance enamel Rust-Oleum, and then finally I dusted it with some high heat primer just for the darker gray color. The results really look good.



Here's a look at one of the bad caps before I painted it, compared to the original cap. The reason it's bad is the Ford logo didn't adhere well to the cap, so it broke right off after this photo, and the tail of the d at the end is broken. But you can see the dimensions are spot on.



I'll post some more probably later this week as I start to work on printing the body and painting the good caps (which I haven't photographed yet).

[WarbirdPhotog]

Another quick update...

The project has switched from design to printing. I've started testing different printing samples to get the best quality for the main body.

Here's a look at the battery and all the parts exploded. I've been continuously refining it and even as I print the tests, I'll go back and add a support here and there.



With the battery inside, it looks like this.



So here's the parts that make up the battery and how I'm splitting it all up to mimic the original battery seam and make printing easier since i can't print the entire thing in one go...

The top cover is three pieces that fit together.



The side walls are five pieces... The four walls and the Ford oval logo. Having the Ford logo printed separate means I can paint it the gold on the outside face.



For the bottom tray, it is also three pieces. There will be three large dowels that will be glued to the two smaller sides that insert into the large center tray base. This is very beefy because the battery will be sitting on it, and it's also tall to lift the battery up to the top.



And then we finally have the caps and plugs. The plugs will screw into the top cover and the caps pressed down onto studs on the top.



And as far as that star texture goes, I finally have been making some good progress with it. Here's a look at the 3D version of the Star texture done in a way I can repeat the texture on the left and right and it will seamlessly tile. Now I just need to get to work applying it to the sidewalls. The hardest part will be where the battery curves on the edges and the texture curves with it.



That's it for now! Hopefully I can share some photos of some of the test printing soon. Starting to see the distant light in the tunnel.

[Kens 36]

WOW! Great progress.

[tubman]

This looks great! And a lot more work than I would have imagined.

[rich b]

I know it would be mixing technologies and not what you are intending to do; but due to that complicated pattern wouldn't it possible to pull a mold off an original case and cast the side and end panels out of resin and in the same light cast the cell connectors out of lead.

[Dec211975]

Vary impressed with your project.

[deuce_roadster]

Probably others don't have the Ford logo is maybe you have to Pay Ford to use it.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Originally Posted by rich b

I know it would be mixing technologies and not what you are intending to do; but due to that complicated pattern wouldn't it possible to pull a mold off an original case and cast the side and end panels out of resin and in the same light cast the cell connectors out of lead.

I could go that route, heck, now that I have the cell connectors (I've been calling them caps) printed I could even cast those. But I've never cast anything lead or resin, so that's a whole other can of worms and expenses. the idea here is trying to be cost-effective with things people might already have at home, IE a 3D printer. A spool of filament costs around $15-$25 depending on the filament, and one spool could probably do almost the entire case, two for sure. Then it's just time to print it.

[WarbirdPhotog]

Big update! It took 39 hours to print (I had it on high quality and 75% speed with slower PETG filament), but the top cover is done! I need to sand it smooth to remove the micro lines and some stringy fibers (typical of PETG), but I'm happy with the result. Perfectly fits nice and neatly on top of the optima. For the photo here I just taped the two sides on, next step will be to gorilla glue the sides so it's all one piece. As you can see, the plugs perfectly screw in and the cell connector caps go in little studs so they perfectly sit on top. The sides are just taped on, so they're not perfectly flush with the top centerpiece. But they will be once I glue them. And the seam lines will be just like on the real deal.





Next up, the side walls over the next week! Finishing up on the star texture.

[40Bud23]

Looks Great! Thanks.