The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest 3D printed Emergency Brake Rod Guide

Hi guys,

So I'm not sure to post the below, but since its related to my Parking Brake, I figured I'd start here and if someone suggests a better place I'll post it there too.

In the process of removing my old parking brake rod, I found a plastic type "guide" on top of the frame, between the frame and the rod. Turns out it was broken in half and had missing pieces. Scouring the internet, I found 2 sites that listed the part, but no stock... and also found out that it was for vibration and noise (to keep the rod from clanging on the frame).

Not being able to find one, I decided to finally pull the trigger on a 3D printer I had been eyeing. It was only about $250 on Amazon Prime Days and after just a couple of trial prints, I was able to reproduce this pad in tact as 1 piece (only needing to drill the hole). I am expecting that for a number of my older classics that this will come in very useful... but wanted to pass along that these things are relatively easy to use with just about a day's worth of learning. Here's an example of what I got by simply taking pictures with a 3D app on iPhone, and then sending it to the 3D printer software... pretty amazing.

Joe, that's pretty cool, although you reproduced a worn-out part with another "worn out" part (same contours of the broken, worn out one). With a little tinkering with that 3D printer you could adjust your pattern to get closer to the contours of an original non-worn part. The groove in it should be just a bit larger than the rod.

I didn't know there was a 3-D app for the iPhone. I may have to mess with that.

[on edit] With your permission, I'll change your PDF attachments to photos, which appear better on the site.

It may be better discussed here in the Tool Chest forum. I'm sure that there are guys who would be interested in more detail.

Feel free to change the photo type... no preference given for any type and pdf is usually smaller so I chose that.

I didn't have any representation of a new part, at least in 3D to be able to reproduce better.... but at least what's there is adequate :-), and a whole lot better than the broken one that was there before... haha..

The apps you are talking about, use lidar to produce a 3D image. Lidar stands for "Light Detection and Ranging," and it is a technology that uses laser light and measures the time it takes to bounce back creating detailed 3D maps of the object. This feature is only available on higher end cell phones like the iPhone Pro.

I agree, pretty amazing stuff, and nice job on your part!

Correct. The apps I used allowed both Lidar and photometric modes (whereby you take like 200 pictures) and it stitches them together to create the 3D image. You then scale the image inside your printer software to the size desired, keeping the proportions constant. So while I have an iPhone Pro, I'm pretty sure this 2nd method is able to be performed with any reasonably new smartphone camera (wouldn't guarantee it, so check if anyone is interested, before buying the 3D printer.. ha).

I will say, it's easy enough that it's truly fun to play around with. I've had my printer now for like 4 days and so getting used to it, its software, the image capture and finding the best/easy-to-use 3D CAD software is a bit much.... but I'm just one of those guys that has to jump "all in" :-). The average person could have everything going in a day to just get a job done.

What is "new" part made out of? I assume the old one was rubber?

Joe, you can find thousands of files that you can send directly to your printer thru several 3D sharing sites. I use Thingiverse and have printed several dozen of their files. From iphone charging stations to holders for battery powered drill and their batteries. There is literally thousands of files. You’ll spend several hours just looking at whats available go print.

I also use Fusion360, a free CAD program if you are a hobbyist. A bit of a learning curve but it unlocks a whole new world. Being able to design and print pretty much anything is really satisifying.

PDF files don't display directly on here. They're supposed to be viewable with a click on them, but that's not working, and the only way someone can see them is to download them and view them separately.

JPEG or other photo formats do display directly, so are a better choice.

Hey Joe,
I recently modeled and start producing these for some of the suppliers. I started out by pulling about a dozen from trucks and bare frames I had in the salvage yard and comparing the dimensions and material properties. Here's what they look like. Shoot me a PM if your interested.
~Mongo