280z 3D printed fuse cover and other parts.

[kutukutu1]

Ok guys. Just tested the off yellow and it was a failure. The black background just consumes it. 
here is a picture of the orange from the first picture and it looks more brown and barely visible. 

 

I think it will have to be a really bright color to overcome the black background. 
milk try the bright yellow and see how it comes out. It’s one thing on the computer and another in practice. 

[gwri8]

I think the transparent (or translucent) material you are printing on is allowing too much bleed from the black plastic case..  You might try printing a test on a solid black matte material.  Once you get the right opacity of the ink on a solid color there should be no bleed through when applied, and if that works you could just use the black material and not worry about the clear stuff. Also, I don't know if it is the plastic cover itself or the glue backing on the printing material that is showing. I think a solid color  would eliminate that.  2 cents.....

[kutukutu1]

7 hours ago, gwri8 said:

I think the transparent (or translucent) material you are printing on is allowing too much bleed from the black plastic case..  You might try printing a test on a solid black matte material.  Once you get the right opacity of the ink on a solid color there should be no bleed through when applied, and if that works you could just use the black material and not worry about the clear stuff. Also, I don't know if it is the plastic cover itself or the glue backing on the printing material that is showing. I think a solid color  would eliminate that.  2 cents.....

Yeah. Will likely have to find another solution. 
thank you guys for the feedback. Will post back once I find something that works. 

[gwri8]

Now that I've slept on it, I believe @Captain Obvious has printed white type on a black surface on the fusible links labels?  Maybe he has a solution (he usually does).

[Captain Obvious]

Actually it wasn't that glamorous. It was actually black printing on a white background, but was done in reverse so the lettering was the (white) unprinted portion.

If I were doing this, I would change the design so that the lettering is recessed into the fuse block cover. Then when the printing was done, I would slather the whole top surface of the cover up with a thick white paint, making sure it got down into the recessed lettering "divots". Then I would sand the whole face carefully on a flat surface with some fine grit sandpaper.

That would do two things. 1) Take the paint off everywhere except the recessed lettering, and 2) take the printing lines off the top surface of the cover and make it look better because it's smoother.

Only problem is... It's a different cover printing for each different year.

[ensys]

Mr.1:

I don't know what your size limits are, but it occurs to me that a more popular (and rare) part might yield a better return, while satisfying a pent-up demand.

I'm thinking of the inner shell of the Factory console bin lid.  Everyone likes them and they are NLA in their stock form.

The beauty of the piece is that it is hidden (beneath the soft cover on the outside and a plate on the inside), so "finish" is not an issue, and that it could be re-engineered to provide much heavier screw-socket posts, the single biggest cause of death of the originals.

While finding a intact original will be impossible, even a dead one would provide the needed post locations.

Just a thought....

 

 

[kutukutu1]

On 2/20/2020 at 9:40 AM, Captain Obvious said:

Actually it wasn't that glamorous. It was actually black printing on a white background, but was done in reverse so the lettering was the (white) unprinted portion.

If I were doing this, I would change the design so that the lettering is recessed into the fuse block cover. Then when the printing was done, I would slather the whole top surface of the cover up with a thick white paint, making sure it got down into the recessed lettering "divots". Then I would sand the whole face carefully on a flat surface with some fine grit sandpaper.

That would do two things. 1) Take the paint off everywhere except the recessed lettering, and 2) take the printing lines off the top surface of the cover and make it look better because it's smoother.

Only problem is... It's a different cover printing for each different year.

Cap, I thought about this but my issue is the lettering is so small that I am actually unable to print them that small. I will try the inverted printing and see how it comes out. I am looking into a 50micron printer that would likely not have any issues with the lettering, but that’s still in the works. it would also likely cost more than if I got the sticker on this one simply because the raw material is almost twice the cost. Thanks for the feedback. 

On 2/21/2020 at 2:30 AM, ensys said:

Mr.1:

I don't know what your size limits are, but it occurs to me that a more popular (and rare) part might yield a better return, while satisfying a pent-up demand.

I'm thinking of the inner shell of the Factory console bin lid.  Everyone likes them and they are NLA in their stock form.

The beauty of the piece is that it is hidden (beneath the soft cover on the outside and a plate on the inside), so "finish" is not an issue, and that it could be re-engineered to provide much heavier screw-socket posts, the single biggest cause of death of the originals.

While finding a intact original will be impossible, even a dead one would provide the needed post locations.

Just a thought....

 

 

Hi, I am also working on a series 2 radio faceplate with another member, so this is not the only thing I am working on. I am unsure of what part you’re talking about. Please pm me with more detail if you like and I can probably look into designing something. Thanks. 

[Captain Obvious]

Gotcha. So the traditional options are silk screening and pad printing. I know very little about either one and have never done either personally.

Have you investigated someone who's business is to make stick-on labels? This should be a simple one for them.

[Patcon]

or could a T shirt company silk screen them for you?

[gwri8]

If you are considering stickers, there are plenty of online printers like this one.  https://www.48hourprint.com/sticker-printing.html?utm_source=mkt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=48hp_thm_200224a_cstr&utm_content=recm_prdt_img_3&eml=_w_48hp_ty_sched_sc_mkt_p_thm_cd_200224_v_a_co_recm-prdt-img-3_sg_cstr&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWkRSa1pHWTNNalUyTjJaaCIsInQiOiJSbzZQdDZjc0ZieGdUR2ZaNGhCdys0QUswelRGaXhEaVltQXo3Wjk3aVZtcXNlYjFIUDBJUmNZelRWSHBpVlQzSnU2VExnXC9ORStmajVuODlwXC9uZDNkcjR3XC9QSEZhXC9UejRicUlSM09paHJhTmlvcFVXb1dnWEt4VXNreXhTekEifQ%3D%3D  I'm not saying this one is the best or worst choice but a google search for similars would give you a price range that might be acceptable.

[kutukutu1]

6 hours ago, gwri8 said:

If you are considering stickers, there are plenty of online printers like this one.  https://www.48hourprint.com/sticker-printing.html?utm_source=mkt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=48hp_thm_200224a_cstr&utm_content=recm_prdt_img_3&eml=_w_48hp_ty_sched_sc_mkt_p_thm_cd_200224_v_a_co_recm-prdt-img-3_sg_cstr&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWkRSa1pHWTNNalUyTjJaaCIsInQiOiJSbzZQdDZjc0ZieGdUR2ZaNGhCdys0QUswelRGaXhEaVltQXo3Wjk3aVZtcXNlYjFIUDBJUmNZelRWSHBpVlQzSnU2VExnXC9ORStmajVuODlwXC9uZDNkcjR3XC9QSEZhXC9UejRicUlSM09paHJhTmlvcFVXb1dnWEt4VXNreXhTekEifQ%3D%3D  I'm not saying this one is the best or worst choice but a google search for similars would give you a price range that might be acceptable.

Thanks. I’ll look into this site. Cost seems reasonable. 

[Captain Obvious]

If you're going to order some stickers from a pro, PM me first. We might be able to work out a split cost.