FE Power Cylinder Heads - More Test Results

[jayb]

Do you think this would hold up over time in a drag car or even a hot streeter? With G-forces and heating and cooling cycles harder on it than during dyno testing, I do wonder if it would be a long term piece.

Oh, and Jay. When have you EVER been sitting around?

I sit around sometimes.  Not very much, though...   I have my doubts as to whether this kind of intake would hold up on a vehicle, mostly because of potential issues with underhood heat.  The plastic I use holds up fine with gasoline, in fact I've soaked a few 3D printed parts in gas for several days and they don't seem to degrade at all.  But heat could be another issue.  It may be possible that on a drag car, which only runs for a short period at a time, it might hold up.  Guess I don't really know, and I think at any significant underhood temperatures all bets would be off...

[jayb]

Neat looking intake!

Is the texture at the bottom of the plenum intentional or a result of the printing process?  How much can texture be controlled in the printing process anyway?   I ask because texture is used in metal intakes.

thanks,

pl

Paulie, that texture is the result of the printing process, not by design.  Joe Craine emailed me shortly after I posted this and suggested that I round the bottom of the intake up, rather than leaving it flat as this one is.  I think that's a good idea to prevent fuel puddling and help the flow transition into the runner, and I'll probably incorporate that change into the next one I print.

[jayb]

Jay Jesus H man , whos 3D printer are you using ? Ive never seen anything with a  bed that big that wasnt commercial . And how much media did you have to feed the thing ? Thats like a truck load !!!

Kyle, the printer is a Gigabot printer, bought it a few years back as a kit.  It will print a cube 2 feet on each side.  I bought it because I wanted to make sure I could 3D print an entire block if I wanted.  There's about 13 pounds of plastic in that print, and it took 10-1/2 days to print.  The printer has paid for itself because I have a small group of customers in the foundry and pattern making business who need me to print parts every now and then, and their business has paid for the printer over the course of the last few years.  So for me, it's a freebee, just takes plastic and time 

[Blueoval77]

Thats pretty awesome . I could use a Mock up block .........You thought about selling them ? I take it this is a pellet model ?

[jayb]

Not a pellet printer, this one uses 3mm filament, comes in 2, 5, and 15 pound spools.  The problem with printing a whole block is that it would tie the printer up for a full month, and I can't afford to tie it up like that in most cases.  Not really practical to manufacture anything, it is mostly good for prototyping.

[Joey120373]

Jay, how about just printing up some “turtles” to put in the floor of that intake? Would be a much faster option I think. I am assuming you are printing in PLA? If so you are right about the temp issue. Nylon would probably hold up, but it warps pretty bad when printing, and the bigger the part the worse it gets.

Edelbrock 3D prints prototype manifolds, but I think they use the powdered media and deposited glue type printer, not sure exactly but I imagine it works similar to the machines that are used to print your sand casting molds. They say they can get a few dyno runs out of those.

[jayb]

Jay, how about just printing up some “turtles” to put in the floor of that intake? Would be a much faster option I think. I am assuming you are printing in PLA? If so you are right about the temp issue. Nylon would probably hold up, but it warps pretty bad when printing, and the bigger the part the worse it gets.

That's a good idea Joe, I might do that...

[Gaugster]

It will be great to see the results from 'The Great FE Power Intake Comparo'.  I am going for the cross ram induction system since it's the only stock hood option thus far. If a more traditional 4 barrel intake makes it to the market that would be cool too.

[Barry_R]

Jay, how about just printing up some “turtles” to put in the floor of that intake? Would be a much faster option I think. I am assuming you are printing in PLA? If so you are right about the temp issue. Nylon would probably hold up, but it warps pretty bad when printing, and the bigger the part the worse it gets.

If you're just making turtles you can carve then from a chunk of wood in about five minutes with the bench grinder.  A dab of 5 minute epoxy and make a pull.
This comes from somebody who has glued a literal 2x4 into an intake plenum.

[MeanGene]

Jay, how about just printing up some “turtles” to put in the floor of that intake? Would be a much faster option I think. I am assuming you are printing in PLA? If so you are right about the temp issue. Nylon would probably hold up, but it warps pretty bad when printing, and the bigger the part the worse it gets.

If you're just making turtles you can carve then from a chunk of wood in about five minutes with the bench grinder.  A dab of 5 minute epoxy and make a pull.
This comes from somebody who has glued a literal 2x4 into an intake plenum.

[Barry_R]

Never tried legos....heading to dyno now...

[JC-427Stroker]

Jeff, I'm going to respond here just so nobody thinks I've been sitting around

Beautiful .... Just beautiful.

I've been thinking about something like that for a prototype for a different Ford engine family. .... Great Job and good luck with it.

[JC-427Stroker]

Never tried legos....heading to dyno now...

Chop Sticks and popsicle sticks and some glue ....     

[Jb427]

Once you have your base prototyping done is it not cost effective to have the last form 3D printed in aluminium? before production?

[JC-427Stroker]

BTW

How long did it take to print ?