Fabricating a little plastic doo-hikey....where? 3D printing?

[bamboozled]

I'm looking to fabricate a little plastic piece; it's about 2 cm in length/less than an inch. This would be more than a one-off. Perhaps 100 of them or maybe more, depending on the price. It has to be somewhat transparent as it's a high-beam indicator so light must pass through it. It seems like a perfect item for 3D printing though I have never even seen a 3D printer or its product so this is just my fantasy.

At any rate, I don't care how it's made. It just needs the right price and the right quality. If anyone has experience making or having made little plastic doo-hikeys please let me know.

And forgive me if I've misspelled "doo-hikey"....!

Cheers, Bam....

[eyecatcher]

It sounds like colloquial language.

I am English, don't have a clue what you are wanting but maybe describe it better and we may recognise it as something else.

Currently I have a tampon coming to mind!

[eyecatcher]

Ok didn't see the photos as I write......now I see the photos surprisingly still doesn't help.

What is it for

[bamboozled]

Doo-hikey is just a catch-all term describing something small of little value, when lacking the appropriate name. It says in my post actually what it is: a high-beam indicator for car head lights. The pics are of an old used one that has some scratches and glue on it.

[mallmagician]

3d printing is in it's infancy. I'm not aware of transparent materials useable just now, but they may be available on higher end printers.

One option, depending on how many times you've sat around wanting to make doo hickeys, you could always buy a cheap 3d printer yourself.

If you don't have the doo hickey all designed in 3d on a computer, you would either have to find a 3d scanner or model it in a 3d program, or pay someone to model it for you.

Regardless, materials aren't cheap yet for mass production. Depends on what you want to charge for what size if you intend to resell these things.

A small run could cost the same as a big run from china with a specialist company.

Anyway just some thoughts. Not sure if they're big enough to be out on their own, but there you go. Hehe.

[bamboozled]

It doesn't have to be super transparent. It just needs to glow so one knows the high beams are on. It could also be made of glass. Not sure if that makes things easier or harder. Don't they make doo hikeys in Thailand? Who makes all the resin Buddhas we see in the tourist shops? Only China makes doo hikeys these days? I almost feel it could be carved out of some soft plastic/resin that is then heated to firm it up. It's not a very complicated design. I will do some more research....

Thanks all...

[Daffy D]

How about making a mold from the sample using kids modeling clay or filler from building suppliers and use fiberglass resin to pour into the mold?

Depending how big the doo hikey is you could also use transparent epoxy glue instead of resin.

[canuckamuck]

Yes you could cast it in plaster or latex, and then make the item out of epoxy, which is clear. What you need to find is someone who can make you a cast, or do some Youtubing to find out how to do it yourself.

[Spoonman]

I get a few thing printed, I tried to have them done in Thailand but every company that qouted wanted between Bt.1000 and Bt.1500 to print the part. I gave up and get them done in Australia for Bt.270 per piece.

[bamboozled]

Good ideas. Yes, you tube is your friend! I will take a look and see about making a mold. In my head, I'm thinking I need to make a replica in wax over which to put the clay. I know that is one method but that leaves me to fabricate a copy in wax, probably not easy for a beginner like myself. Well, as was noted I'll check you tube. Fiberglass resin might be a great material.

Spoonman, I was just thinking this morning, and not for the first time, that many things are indeed more expensive in Thailand than back in Farangland. My friends and family still think it must be costing me $5 a day to live like a king and that my rent must be $60 a month.

[Greenside]

Here's a good resource: http://www.shapeways.com/

The community will give you the answers you need about transparency etc. Resin is is probably easier here in CM but 3D printing a lot more interesting.

[NeverSure]

Those kinds of things are typically simply molded with plastic. A two piece mold is made and heated polystyrene plastic is put in it and a bit of pressure applied. It's called plastic injection molding. I promise that's what you're looking for.

[bamboozled]

Cool resource, shapeways, thank you. Neversure...where? where? where?

[Greenside]

Yes, but proper injection molding tools are way too expensive for a run of 100 pcs, let alone the cost of set up on a machine. You'd spend hours before switching it on for about a minute.