Dear readers:
Some of you may find this post especially complex; however, I consider it the minimum necessary to cover such an interesting topic.
Internal combustion engines, whether diesel or gasoline-powered, are essential for homesteaders. Ensuring their continued optimal performance hinges on the accessibility of spare parts, a significant portion of which are imported. This dependency can become problematic, especially when sourcing original parts proves difficult or expensive.
Therefore, this can become a headache, especially when original parts are difficult to find or expensive.
Sadly, engine manufacturing companies have made their designs increasingly hard to repair year after year. When you could previously use a flat gasket, we find that it now has a different geometry of the transverse section. Cutting a gasket by hand as mechanics used to do back in the day, and it’s not as easy as it seems! Many gaskets are metallic nowadays, which need good precision when cutting.
In this article, we will focus on the use of 3D printing machines for some gaskets, seals, and other components we find in an engine bay.
Fortunately, affordable technologies such as 3D printers or even the complex and versatile CNC machines have opened many possibilities for the homemade manufacturing of essential components. With the right material and the means to cut it precisely to shape, we can create functional parts that keep your engine running. In this article, we will explore four commonly used parts in engines that are susceptible to being manufactured with 3D printing, offering an ingenious and economical solution.
Gaskets – Custom Sealing for Optimal Performance
Gaskets are crucial for ensuring a hermetic seal between the different parts of the engine, preventing leaks of oil, coolant, or combustion gases. Manufacturing gaskets with a 3D printer offers the advantage of precise customization.
Benefits of 3D Printing In Gasket Making:
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- Custom design: You can create gaskets with complex geometries that perfectly fit irregular or modified surfaces.
- Specialized materials: Filaments like TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) offer good chemical resistance and flexibility, which is ideal for sealing. Other materials, like nylon with fiberglass, can provide greater resistance to temperature and pressure.
- Rapid prototyping: This allows you to create prototypes and test different designs before final manufacturing.
- On-demand production: Eliminates the need to store an extensive inventory of gaskets of different shapes and sizes. Build on demand what you need.
Considerations:
- Material selection is fundamental to ensure resistance to the specific temperatures, pressures, and fluids of the engine. It is crucial to research the properties of the filament before printing.
Sadly, I don’t have the equipment (yet) to test any of these by myself; however, a guy in this video made tests and found it quite self-explanatory.
TPU for making gaskets offers good results. Especially gaskets that wouldn’t be possible to cut out by hand, like the ones that have some sort of raised lip, or other 3D shape to them. This other mechanic also made a test and found interesting results, too. Sure, those going old school can manufacture a cork gasket that will last for a lifetime. But when the gasket profile happens to be more complex, like an “O”, “U” , “L”, or whatever other shape, it’s good to have a machine tool and a method that ensures good results.
Seals: Preventing Leaks in Shafts and Connections
Seals, including oil seals and valve stem seals, are vital components for preventing leaks in moving parts such as crankshafts, camshafts, and valves. 3D printing can offer temporary or even semi-permanent solutions for certain types of seals.
- Benefits of 3D Printing
- Complex geometries: Allows you to create seals with specific lips and shapes for efficient sealing.
- Flexible materials: TPU and other thermoplastic elastomers are suitable for creating seals with the necessary flexibility for a good fit.
- Emergency repairs: 3D printing a part can be a “quick” solution (depending on how much time the printing itself lasts) to replace a damaged sealing component for a while.
- Considerations: Durability and friction resistance are important factors. For high-demand applications, the lifespan of a 3D-printed seal may be limited compared to an industrial seal. However, for temporary solutions or low-demand applications, it can be a viable alternative.
O-Rings: Versatile and Printable Sealing Rings
O-rings are toroidal rings used to create static or dynamic seals in a wide variety of applications within the engine, from hose connections to sealing internal components. Their geometric simplicity makes them ideal for 3D printing.
- Benefits of 3D Printing:
- Custom size and profile: You can print O-rings of specific diameters and thicknesses according to your needs.
- Elastic materials: TPU filaments with different Shore hardness grades can be used to create O-rings with the required elasticity for effective sealing.
- Prototyping and testing: Facilitates the creation of prototypes to verify the fit before larger-scale production (if necessary).
- Considerations: The chemical and temperature resistance of the printed material must be suitable for the specific application. Make sure to choose a filament compatible with the engine’s fluids and temperatures.
Brackets or Diverse Supports: Custom Fixture and Organization
Brackets or supports are used to fix and organize various components within the engine compartment, such as air filter boxes, fuse boxes, sensors, pipes, and wiring. 3D printing offers unparalleled flexibility in the design of these elements.
- Benefits of 3D Printing
- Completely custom design: You can create supports with exact shapes and dimensions to fit any configuration.
- Integration of functions: It is possible to design supports with clips, cable guides, or specific mounting points.
- Resistant materials: Filaments such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified), and Nylon offer good mechanical and temperature resistance for most support applications in the engine.
- Considerations: Vibration and temperature resistance within the engine compartment are key factors when choosing the material. For components that support significant loads, consider using more resistant materials or reinforcing the design.
Other Components Susceptible to Homemade Manufacturing
In addition to the examples above, other engine components that could be manufactured with 3D printing include:
- Air filter or fuse boxes: Allows for the creation of custom housings for these components.
- Small pulleys or gears (for low-load applications): With friction and wear-resistant materials.
- Connectors and adapters for hoses and pipes: Allow for the joining of components with different dimensions or shapes.
- Protectors and covers for sensors and wiring: Offers protection against heat, humidity, and physical damage.
- Specialized tools for engine maintenance: Extractors, custom wrenches, etc.
Disclaimer:
Although 3D printing is a powerful tool for the homemade manufacturing of spare parts and components for internal combustion engines, some applications are still in development. It may not always replace original parts in high-demand applications, but the offered solutions are valuable for customization, emergency repairs, and creation of auxiliary elements.
Materials Selection
The key to success lies in choosing the right material and a clear understanding of the application’s demands. As 3D printing technology and materials continue to advance, their potential for engine maintenance and modification will only grow.
There is a lot of trial and error regarding this, and a lot of room for development, indeed. But, like airless tires, the practical aspects of the technology, added to low prices, will impose themselves.
It’s a scenario under constant evolution, with tons of secondary branches that will lead to interesting ways to support the rebuilding of old rigs and to keep the not-so-old in decent conditions.
There is still a lot of trial and error to perform and results to evaluate.
I foresee a future where you will only get a computer model of your part, and chuck it in your 3D printing machine.
This list summarizes such an extensive topic; however, it is worth time to be informed about it as we may need it someday. I know that given the conditions with the scarcity of parts down here back in 2014-2022, with the right printer and materials, a side business would have resulted back then.
- High Thermal/Chemical Demands:
- PEI (Ultem) or High-Temp Resins for gaskets near exhaust/turbo systems.
- Cost-Efficiency Balance:
- Nylon (PA12/PA-CF) for valve cover gaskets or oil seals.
- Flexibility & Dynamic Sealing:
- TPU for low-temperature, low-pressure systems.
- Rapid Prototyping:
- Reinforced PETG or Polycarbonate for functional testing.
⚠️ Note: Always verify material compatibility with specific engine fluids (gasoline, synthetic oil, coolant). Conduct thermal and chemical stress tests before final use. As I mentioned, there is a lot of fabric to cut here.
Please keep in mind this is nothing but a theoretical study put out there to inform entertainingly about how we can use the new tech in our homestead.
Just as many villages in other times had a local blacksmith, I envision a 3D printing workshop in modern times. Very likely next door to the blacksmith, indeed. Some things never change.
Thanks to those kind souls who are sending some sponsorship. These days are getting tougher, and keeping a few days’ worth of food in the fridge and pantry, and some meds for my elder parents gives a little peace of mind.
Are you willing to experiment with this 3-D printing of engine components? Why or why not?
Let’s hear it in the comments!
Jose
About Jose
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has an old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Jose and his younger kid are currently back in Venezuela, after the intention of setting up a new life in another country didn’t go well. The SARSCOV2 re-shaped the labor market and South American economy so he decided to give it a try to homestead in the mountains, and make a living as best as possible. But this time in his own land, and surrounded by family, friends and acquaintances, with all the gear and equipment collected, as the initial plan was.
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One Response
Where I live, there is an interesting “Makers” group, which owns a bunch of equipment. For a moderate monthly fee one can access those tools and use them to create crafts or other items. I do not currently belong to my local group, but I have considered it for a long time. This post might just encourage me to join and be trained on the various pieces of equipment. I currently don’t even have a day off to pursue crafts like this, which is why I have not joined. Look in your town or nearby to see if you can join a makers club. It will offset the need to purchase your own equipment, you don’t have to store it, you don’t have to purchase bulk materials, and you can try out things to see if you like it or have an aptitude for it.