If you do not have CAD software, you can view the STL file in Windows with the Microsoft 3D Viewer available in the app store. STL attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login
All that is really needed is 4 sleeves of the proper length that fit over the screws. Super glue them to the shifter box to hold them in place while assembling. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sure. I am hoping that someone will offer to print them for members at a low cost. And/or help to refine the file to match the OEM part. The extra exposure should only help with that effort. Thanks for asking.
Didnt see the update to the thread until today. I will test print one of these in the morning. Happy to print a couple and mail to someone to try out. If they work I can buy some higher quality resin to print them with. The resin I use daily is pretty strong and has a very good suface finish. Beige in color. Hopefully it will fit on my build platform. Just PM me if you want to test some out. My 355 is currently packed into my garage and on a lift and hard to get to. great job Ken.
Right, why not just go to the hardware store, get 4 nylon sleeves/spaces of the desired length with an ID just big enough to slide over the mounting screws and call it good. If this OEM part is nothing more than a spacer this problem can be solved for about $3
Exactly. And if you are concerned that plastic piece might be damaged because of the localized stress, put a washer between the end of the tube and the plastic to spread the stress out. Or make a similar piece out of 1/2 MDF.
Just ran the numbers and the cost in materials for me to print a spacer is roughly $8. I have one printing now and will post up a picture later today.
The OEM part was designed to fill the entire void between the shifter housing (part 1) and the shifter plate (part 17). The desired outcome was as much about sound deadening as it was to blackout and eliminate openings where sound could exit or debris could enter the shift housing. You would get neither benefit from nylon spacers. As far as the suggestion to use MDF in any capacity in a Ferrari, I can only assume this was a joke.
Or, alternatively, put our heads together and 3D print the correct part for apparently eight bucks. Did you realize you can see this piece when installed? Without it you would be able to see the inside of the console and all the wires etc. Not to mention the white PVC or the wood trim that you're installing. What else have you done on your car like this?? I'm still convinced the bezel would crack, and has nothing to do with how tight you make the screws. The gate does take a little abuse when it guides the shifter around. Hence that beautiful clicking sound that we all love
Image Unavailable, Please Login Print came out fine. I used the only resin I have, which is Dental Model resin. It is very accurate and detailed. Strength is pretty good. Heat may be its enemy long term. If this fits and there is interest, I could buy a batch of high temp resin. Does that area get very hot? If not, maybe another type will work better.
That looks amazing! Its not touching anything engine related, So I imagine just sub 150F temps if the car was subjected to sitting in the sun.
And to add to Ken's comments, I'm pretty sure that the part is designed to take some stress off the plastic center console trim piece that sits between the stainless steel shifter gate and the thick plastic spacer/gasket (or whatever it's called). The trim piece's plastic is quite thin/brittle and likely would crack faster than it already does without the spacer to tie the assembly together. The spacer likely distributes the fore-aft and side-to-side loads and as mentioned alleviates some of the stress from the trim piece. Fwiw, I received an email from Superformance this a.m. telling me that the part is back in stock (I have no idea reg'd available quantities) and if I still wanted it. Despite having made a successful replacement from black Delrin that is working great, I confirmed that I still wanted the part for originality sake. So for those who want oem, you might be in luck if you reach out to Superformance soon.
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) may be a good choice over MJF or Versatile plastic for the 3d print material since TPU is a more flexible, rubber-like product for elastic use. I read that it uses Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), is very durable but prints in a natural color which would warrant painting (flat black) after the print. The more rigid 159389 is the more stress is transferred to the console plastic thru the aluminum shift gate. And the switch surround housing is by far the most expensive, connected part. Reducing stress on that component via a softer 159389 gasket should be a priority. Personally, I think Ferrari produced it in a more compliant material for this very purpose and overall this contributed to a breakdown in the product over two decades (not unlike sticky coatings breaking down).
Ken, I know very little about resin material. If you have time check out Formlabs website. The have a lot of different materials with various properties. If someone sees a material that they think will work well for this application, let me know. I will buy a liter and print up a batch of them for folks on Fchat. One liter should print close to 20 prints.
I'd cnc them out of nylon, ABS or even better black Delrin myself and skip the 3d printing. Local shops do runs for me, I design stuff in CAD all the time for them to machine. Including for my car.
From the choices on the Formlabs website, I think the standard Black Resin is the best choice for this. It is probably too rigid to be the ideal choice but it is the best starting point. The Flexible 80A or even Rebound materials would protect the switch surround better but these are more expensive, may require specialized prep and the remainder of the material cannot be reused in a general capacity. Image Unavailable, Please Login
As a point of reference, here is some pricing from i.materialize.com (cannot recommend though as I have never used them). I do think the MJF would yield a better result though. For this part, I think it only makes sense to print your own or have another Fchat member print one in order to keep the cost down. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sees like an awful lot of analysis for a spacer. Its a spacer for a gate, its not an engine bearing. It there an issue using 6061, I assume the OEM one was plastic due to cost? Do you have a DXF file, I cant use stl files for machining, and have a local shop quote a run if you wish.
I suspect a run of these in 6061 in a CNC lathe is going to cost quite a bit more than plastic in a 3D printer. I suspect it's plastic because they wanted a black trim piece in that spot for cosmetic reasons.