Topic: 3D printed gas tank??

[plab]

anyone involved in 3D printing ?? is a gas tank possible ?

plab

[Restoration Fan]

Sure, it's possible (actually pretty easy) to make it print out the tank if you have a printer large enough to do it.  The question will be are you using the metal or plastic printing medium?  If plastic, how will that hold up if you end up using Ethanol-containing gas?  I know that ethanol affects one of the two fiberglass epoxies more than the other but I have no idea how it affects the plastic used in 3D printing.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

There are members that have access to 3D printing (I'm not one), and 3D printing a gas tank is possible as a model.  I do not believe that a resin/polymer 3D printed tank would be able to hold gas without degrading and leaking.  A metal 3D print may work, but it might be pricey.

Recently, a high-end professional builder had a gas tank machined out of blocks of billet aluminum that was INCREDIBLY expensive and time consuming.  It was not 3D printed.  I doubt you would want to go that route. 

[Restoration Fan]

There have been some breakthroughs recently in 3D printing with stainless steel, aluminum and other metal types.  Most of the devices doing this are in college labs right now but almost all of them are open sourcing their findings so you can replicate the machines yourself if you have the skill.  Or if you wait a few months, I expect we'll see some device manufacturers creating some of these devices and offering them on the market.

[calj737]

One solution to a resin printed tank for fuel resistance would be to use Caswell liner. My greatest concern would be structural integrity as most plastic printing is done with non-structural plastics. Despite being a tank to hold fuel, it should have some strength to it for fuel expansion, impact resistance, and physical load (objects or persons leaning on it).

Food for thought-

[Restoration Fan]

One solution to a resin printed tank for fuel resistance would be to use Caswell liner. My greatest concern would be structural integrity as most plastic printing is done with non-structural plastics. Despite being a tank to hold fuel, it should have some strength to it for fuel expansion, impact resistance, and physical load (objects or persons leaning on it).

Food for thought-

Cal,
How does Caswell liner work with fiberglass?  I have given thought to making a fiberglass tank for Logan's bike and using Caswell liner on the inside to eliminate the threat of ethanol problems.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

One solution to a resin printed tank for fuel resistance would be to use Caswell liner. My greatest concern would be structural integrity as most plastic printing is done with non-structural plastics. Despite being a tank to hold fuel, it should have some strength to it for fuel expansion, impact resistance, and physical load (objects or persons leaning on it).

Food for thought-

Cal,
How does Caswell liner work with fiberglass?  I have given thought to making a fiberglass tank for Logan's bike and using Caswell liner on the inside to eliminate the threat of ethanol problems.

Caswell does work with fiberglass. Fiberglass is fine for racing, but does not deal well in crashes resulting in cracks and fuel spillage. If Logan were ever to have an off, you would not want him doused with gasoline.

In contrast, aluminum may survive the crash with a repairable dent.

[Restoration Fan]

Very valid point.  Thanks for the advice before I went to all the trouble of making a fiberglass tank.

[calj737]

In fact, Caswell is about the only liner suitable for Fiberglass tanks. I'm less concerned with using a fiberglass tank (if lined) on the street than Don. If lined, it is far more likely to withstand the impact and not leak.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

In fact, Caswell is about the only liner suitable for Fiberglass tanks. I'm less concerned with using a fiberglass tank (if lined) on the street than Don. If lined, it is far more likely to withstand the impact and not leak.

Interesting point -- that the fiberglass may crack but the Caswell liner should not crack or leak.  The Caswell is epoxy and dries to a pretty sturdy finish.  Frankly, I do not know enough about the properties of the epoxy used and how well it will absorbs impact. Cal, you may be on to something there. 

Will the Caswell provide enough structure to a 3d printed tank, however, to support a rider's pushing on it from above as well as gas expansion forces from heat and volatility? 

[calj737]

Expansion, yes, load, dunno. Retain the fuel in a crash, depends upon the force of impact (ground vs handlebar). It's the "piercing" type of impact that would be a danger.

Oddly enough, with ethanol in the fuel, a leak may not even ignite with this watered down dog-p!ss of a fuel these days 

[lajos]

anyone involved in 3D printing ?? is a gas tank possible ?

If you are thinking thermoplastic FDM 3d printing like reprap/makerbot, then no, it's not going to work.

There are several issues. FDM printers usually have small volume, measured in a couple inches. The printing process is very slow, so even if you found a printer that can make something this big, it would take days if not weeks to print. Plastic is deposited in layers and it's pretty hard to get perfect fusion between the layers. I've printed toys for my kids and they usually don't even hold bath water. The materials used soften and melt at very low temperatures, for example PLA is printed at 180C, and can get soft just sitting out in the sun on a nice summer day. I don't know how the plastic would hold up against fuel, for example ABS melts in acetone.

Thermoplastic 3d printers are useful for making prototypes, but I would not make any functional part for a motorcycle where lives depend on it.

As others have mentioned there are different processes like laser sintering where they melt small metal particles together. It's also pretty slow and would cost more than outfitting a shop with all the tools necessary to make an aluminum tank.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Here's the write up on Moriwaki's 40th Anniversary CB1000 with a billet aluminum tank -- machined from 3 massive billet blocks on a 5 axis CNC.  Can you even IMAGINE what it cost to machine that???

http://www.bikeexif.com/moriwaki-cb1100