3D Scanning Side Covers

@Vern Nelson 's work on 3D printing some parts got me thinking again about trying to get to the point where we could get side covers 3D printed for various models. I have collected a few examples of XJ650 Maxim and XJ750 Seca side covers to use as a starting point.


The first hurdle is actually getting the CAD file that we could send to a contract manufacturer or use at home (assuming you have a large enough printer).

I have spoken with a contract manufacturer about having them scan and develop the CAD for me, but that is pretty expensive.

I'm wondering:
First, does anyone have or have access to the kind of high-quality 3D scanning equipment so that we could make CAD files for larger parts such as side covers?
Second, if it needs to be done by a contractor, would anybody be willing to pitch in to get the CAD files developed for at the right (and possibly left) side covers for the XJ650 Maxim and/or the XJ750 Seca and/or others? Maybe do a Kickstarter campaign?

I think ultimately it would be great to have a library on this site of all kinds of parts that could be made at home or contracted to a manufacturer to get replacement parts made.

 

I've played with Photogrammetry with limited success. Sometimes it works, but there is usually defects and holes that are hard to fix.
There is free software available called 3DF Zephyr. I haven't found the secret sauce to getting good results. Lots of light helps.
I've also played with Autodesk MeshMixer to try and fix up some of the models. There is definitely a learning curve to all these software tools.

I've been thinking about taking some of the Turbo body panels in to work to get them scanned in our lab. More of a time thing than a permission thing.
Traditional methods of laying up fiberglass in a plaster cast mould might be easier for one or two small pieces.

Here's a rubber mirror cover I tried to scan with 3DF Zephry Free, and then used as a base to build a model over.
As you can see, the model is the right general shape, but, kind of lumpy.

I'm working on these things this week because its -25F out and my garage isn't heated.

 

That's interesting, @Vern Nelson , maybe I'll play around with 3DF Zephyr in my copious spare time.

 

if you could lock down the mounting points of the side cover you could do custom designs of side covers

is there a color that works best for scanning?

 

I think a medium brightness flat textured paint would work best for a reflected light scanner.
A glossy surface just reflects the light in a different direction.

Anyone got a new iphone?

 

Thus far my efforts to use photogrammetry have been a disaster.

 

Saw this thread while looking for a xj650 right side cover CAD file. Anyone good with Solidworks/AutoCAD tried to design it yet? It would be difficult and probably take some trial and error but I may take a stab at it. If anyone knows of links/manuals with the cover dimensions (or chassis snap-points) that would help too.

 

I could provide actual measurements if that would help.

 

Yes, this would be very helpful. I'm going to try with an xj650 right panel. The critical measurements would be the distances and angles between all three snap points, the hole diameter and the 2 clip-on rod diameters, as well as the lengths/depths of all three. I'm going to measure my bike as well, but if you have measurements on hand to verify that would be great. If it works I'll try to post a CAD file for anyone w access to a 3D printer (of necessary size).

 

@Nick S , I don't have any measurements at my fingertips, but I could certainly work on it.

If you are serious about working on the CAD but don't have an example handy to use as a model then perhaps we could work something out and I could let you borrow one to use.

 

An old cohort of mine is an absolute wizard at 3d printing and scanning. I doubt it'd be a problem for him. I'm going to ask him to scan and print on of my radian side covers.

 

That's cool, @Jake750. Keep us posted on the Radian project. I'm curious what sort of lessons you might learn that will be helpful for this project.

Of course if your buddy wants to take a shot at an XJ cover, I'm sure we could find a model for him to use!

 

Hey Everybody! There is now a place on the site dedicated to the topic of 3D printing, scanning, sharing, and storage of Yamaha XJ STL files!

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/forums/xj-3d-printing-stl-files.40/

 

Hi everyone. A little update on my project with @Dan Gardner 's righthand panel. I got a basic 3D print file made and was able to print and test it out- it's not the sleekest piece (yet) but it fits! Here's a photo of it on my xj650 Maxim:

It could use some type of weather-proofing spray probably... It attaches nicely, and as I said I hope to have another update with a more realistic design soon. For anyone who wants to print one on their own I'll also upload the solidworks (.sldprt) file and the printer (.stl) file with this post. I used the .stl file to print on an Ultimaker S5 (large printer bay) with PLA plastic. The total cost of the plastic for my print was $11.68. 3D printers are expensive (the S5 wide bay even more than others) and if you don't have your own I'd recommend researching libraries or universities in your area which might have them publicly available. I was able to print mine in the makerspace at my university. If anyone with some solidworks knowledge wants to make their own starting from this you can use the .sldprt file to do that. The attachment points are already good so no need to mess with those. I'm going to post this message to 3d print thread mentioned above as well. Thanks again to Dan for making this possible by lending me his panel! Hope people get some use of this.

 

As a follow-up to that last post, the ultimaker s5 was the only printer I could find with a big enough bay. There may be others - you will need a printer bay of at least 19 cm x 26 cm (7.5 x 10.2 inches).

 

It seems like the whole idea of photogrammetry is becoming more accessible now too.

This is pretty cool:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-openscan-arducam-update

Still just for some pretty small stuff, but maybe someone will scale it up someday.

 

I wish I had a few hundred bucks I didn't know what to do with. One of these little scanners would get us a long way if it works as well as advertised. Supposed to be good for parts up to 50cm^3.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ini-3d-scanner-with-002mm-precison?ref=2tdvch