Metal 3D Printing a Shift Knob

I have always had an issue with leaving well enough alone since the day I bought my Subaru. I have altered everything from the crank pulley to the exhaust, the wheels and tires to the steering wheel. I’ve even 3D printed parts for my roof rack to increase its functionality. One of the things that I have altered multiple times has been the shift knob. It’s something that I use every time and all the time when I am driving my car, as it is equipped with a good ol’ manual transmission, a feature that is unfortunately lost on most cars in this day and age.

prevknobs

I have had plastic shift knobs, a solid steel spherical shift knob, a black shift knob, a white shift knob, and of course some weird factory equipment shift knob that came with the car. What I have yet to have is a 3D printed shift knob. For this project, not any old plastic will do, so with the help of Concept Laser, I’m going straight for some glorious Remanium Star CL!

One of the great things about metal 3D printing is that during the design process, I was not bound by the traditional need for a staple of design engineering, Design For Manufacturing (DFM). The metal 3D printer uses a powder bed which is drawn over the build plate and then locally melted using high-energy fiber lasers. The build plate is then lowered, another layer of powder is drawn across the plate, and melted again. This process continues until the part is complete.

The design for the knob was based off my previously owned shift knobs, mainly the 50.8 mm diameter solid steel spherical knob. I then needed to decide how best to include features that would render traditional manufacturing techniques, especially for a one-off part, cost prohibitive, if not impossible.   I used ANSYS Spaceclaim Direct Modeler as my design software, as I have become very familiar with it using it daily for simulation geometry preparation and cleanup, but I digress, my initial concept can be seen below:2016-10-18_16-19-33

I was quickly informed that, while this design was possible, the amount of small features and overhangs would require support structure that would make post-processing the part very tedious. Armed with some additional pointers on creating self supporting parts that are better suited for metal 3D printing, I came up with a new concept.

2016-10-18_16-24-24

This design is much less complex, while still containing features that would be difficult to machine. However, with a material density of 0.0086 g/mm^3, I would be falling just short of total weight of 1 lb, my magic number. But what about really running away from DFM like it was the plague?

2016-10-18_16-23-31

There we go!!! Much better, this design iteration is spec’d to come out at 1.04 lbs, and with that, it was time to let the sparks fly!

img_7602

Here it is emerging as the metal powder that has not been melted during the process is brushed away.

untitled

The competed knob then underwent a bit of post processing and the final result is amazing! I haven’t been able to stop sharing images of it with friends and running it around the office to show my co-workers. However, one thing remains to make the knob functional… it must be tapped.

img_7762

In order to do this, we need a good way to hold the knob in a vise. Lucky for us here at PADT, we have the ability to quickly design and print these parts. I came up with a design that we made using our PolyJet machine so we could have multiple material durometers in a single part. The part you need below utilizes softer material around the knob to cradle it and distribute the load of the vise onto the spherical lattice surface of the knob.

img_7765 img_7764

We quickly found out that the Remanium material was not able to be simply tapped. We attempted to bore the hole out in order to be able to press in an insert, and also found out the High Speed Steel (HSS) was not capable of machining the hole. Carbide however does the trick, and we bored the hole out in order to press in a brass insert, which was then tapped.

img_7873

Finally, the shift knob is completed and installed!

IMG 7870 2

Want to learn more, check out the article in “Additive Manufacturing Media.”

 

Categories

Get Your Ansys Products & Support from the Engineers who Contribute to this Blog.

Technical Expertise to Enable your Additive Manufacturing Success.

PADT’s Pulse Newsletter

Keep up to date on what is going on at PADT by subscribing to our newsletter.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Share this post:

Upcoming Events

11/15/2023

2023 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards

11/15/2023

Twin Builder Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

11/01/2023

Webinar: Additive's Role in Factory 4.0

10/25/2023

Ansys LevelUp 2023

10/25/2023

Nerdtoberfest 2023

10/25/2023

Mechanical Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 (3) - Webinar

10/18/2023

2023 Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo

10/18/2023

Fluent GPU Solver Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

10/09/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 (2) - Webinar

10/02/2023

Colorado Life Sciences Innovation Forum 2023

09/27/2023

2023 AZ Bio Awards

09/26/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Houston

09/22/2023

AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Technical Symposium 2023

09/22/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Dallas, TX

09/21/2023

Accelerating the Energy Transition through Simulation

09/20/2023

3D Printing vs. CNC Machining - Webinar

09/13/2023

Maxwell Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

09/12/2023

Sandia Science & Technology Park 25th Anniversary

09/12/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Tempe, AZ

09/08/2023

26th Annual New Mexico Flying 40 Awards

09/08/2023

New Mexico Tech Summit

09/07/2023

New Mexico Tech Summit

08/30/2023

Structures Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 (1) - Mechanical, Post & Graphics

08/23/2023

Improved Injection Molding with Additive - Webinar

08/22/2023

SPIE Optics & Photonics Exhibition 2023

08/16/2023

Fluids Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

08/04/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Salt Lake City, Utah

08/01/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Denver Colorado

07/26/2023

Solving Supply Chain Issues with Additive - Webinar

07/25/2023

Arizona Tech Leadership Golf Tournament

07/24/2023

Arizona Tech CEO Leadership Retreat

07/19/2023

System Automation & Optimization Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

07/13/2023

2023 AEROSPACE, AVIATION, DEFENSE AND MANUFACTURING CONFERENCE

07/12/2023

Materials Updates in Ansys Granta 2023 R1 - Webinar

06/30/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/29/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/28/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/28/2023

Revolutionize Packaging Design with Additive - Webinar

06/27/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/27/2023

2023 E-MOBILITY AND CLEAN ENERGY SUMMIT

06/26/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/21/2023

Optics Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

06/07/2023

LS-DYNA Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

05/31/2023

Driving Automotive Innovation with Additive - Webinar

05/24/2023

Hill Air Force Base Tech Expo

05/24/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 (3) – Structural Optimization & Ex

05/23/2023

CROSSTALK 2023: Emerging Opportunities for Advanced Manufacturing Smal

05/10/2023

Signal & Power Integrity Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

04/26/2023

Additive Manufacturing Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

04/20/2023

38th Space Symposium Arizona Space Industry

More Info

04/19/2023

38th Space Symposium
Arizona Space Industry

04/19/2023

Additive Aids for Manufacturing - Webinar

04/18/2023

38th Space Symposium
Arizona Space Industry

04/17/2023

38th Space Symposium

04/13/2023

Venture Madness 2023

04/12/2023

Fluid Meshing & GPU-Solver Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

03/29/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/29/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Composites, Fracture & MAPDL

03/28/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/27/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/26/2023

8TH Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/24/2023

Arizona BioPreneur Conference | Spring 2023

03/22/2023

2023 Arizona MedTech Conference

03/22/2023

Optimize Jigs & Fixtures with Additive - Webinar

03/15/2023

3D Design Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

03/08/2023

Competitive Advantages of 1D/3D Coupled Simulation - Webinar

03/01/2023

High Frequency Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

02/22/2023

Additive Advantages in Aerospace - Webinar

02/15/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 (1) - Webinar

02/09/2023

IME 2023: MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

02/08/2023

IME 2023 MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

02/07/2023

IME 2023 MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

01/27/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/26/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/26/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/26/2023

Venture Cafe Phoenix Talent Night - Job Fari

01/26/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/25/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/25/2023

Building A.M.- Utah: Kickoff!

01/25/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/25/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/24/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/24/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/18/2023

2023 AZ Tech Council Golf Tournament

12/21/2022

Simulation Best Practices for 5G Technology - Webinar

12/14/2022

Digital Twins Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

12/08/2022

Tech the Halls - AZ Tech Council Holiday Mixer

12/07/2022

Electric Vehicle and Other Infrastructure Update Panel

11/30/2022

SPEOS Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

11/23/2022

Simulation Best Practices for Electronics Reliability - Webinar

11/16/2022

Discovery Updates in Ansys 2022 R2

11/10/2022

VentureCafe Phoenix Panel: Venture Capital in AZ

11/08/2022

2022 GOVERNOR’S CELEBRATION OF INNOVATION AWARDS + TECH SHOWCASE

11/03/2022

VentureCafe Phoenix Panel: Angel Investment in AZ

11/02/2022

High & Low Frequency Electromagnetics Updates in Ansys 2022 R2

10/26/2022

Simulation Best Practices For Chip-Package-System Design & Development

10/20/2022

Nerdtoberfest 2022

10/19/2022

2022 Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo

10/19/2022

LS-DYNA Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

Search in PADT site

Contact Us

Most of our customers receive their support over the phone or via email. Customers who are close by can also set up a face-to-face appointment with one of our engineers.

For most locations, simply contact us: