Has anyone looked into 3d printing/maching flipper bushings and plunger links? This parts are hard to get for capcoms and alvin g's. Not practical to do in bulk, but since coil stops and plungers don't tend to wear out as quickly it might save some people from swapping over to williams.
Anyone given this any thought? Are there any plastics that are printable/machineable that would be suitable?
Spooky 3D prints the plunger links on at least the ball through kicker. I don't remember if of the others are 3D printed or not. Let's just say that part didn't last long on my friends game. We wound up modding a Williams link to make it fit. It's doable but you will need to make sure it's as strong as possible.
I am sure there is always a way to design and make parts that are fairly durable. I have designed and been playing 3d printed flippers and posts so I am sure other components are doable.
https://www.shapeways.com/search?q=swinksflipper&sort=newest
3D printing is an excellent medium for prototyping and proving things work (or not).
It is, currently, just not suitable for mechanical parts as the strength simply isn't there. Flipper links would be about the absolute WORST thing to try and 3D print. Think about the flogging they cop when in use. Go and print something 3mm thick and see how easy it is to pull apart/break.
We injection mould our links in house using a nylon like material called POM and even then I am suspicious of the overall strength despite our rigorous testing.
Maybe in the future someone will develop a better method of 3D printing that uses a material that bonds together better but right now forget it.
You would be better off getting some plastic sheet and fabricating the links you can't easily find or making them from a bakelite sheet type material.
If that is the case, anyone know what the originally flipper links are made out of? Perhaps they could be cut out on a cnc if the material (or a suitable substitute) is available in the right thickness?
Quoted from dung:If that is the case, anyone know what the originally flipper links are made out of? Perhaps they could be cut out on a cnc if the material (or a suitable substitute) is available in the right thickness?
They could easily be cut on a CNC if you have access to one or most people just hacksaw a part and file/grind it to final shape and fit.
I'm not sure where you would source the material but maybe try an industrial supplies place?
In the past I have made them from the cheapo kitchen cutting boards from a $2 shop and they worked very well.
Quoted from Homepin:They could easily be cut on a CNC if you have access to one or most people just hacksaw a part and file/grind it to final shape and fit.
I'm not sure where you would source the material but maybe try an industrial supplies place?
In the past I have made them from the cheapo kitchen cutting boards from a $2 shop and they worked very well.
Going to have access to a makerspace so I can fix my radical. Hence why I was asking this. Cost per part would be expensive for me, but beats not having parts.
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