“The transmission works exactly like most manual transmissions found in any car or truck,” explained Harrell. “However, I can barely explain how it works. It’s fairly hard to grasp unless you assemble one or see an animation of one opened up.”
Last year, I wrote Concours d’Angst as a vision of what small-scale manufacturing might bring to the automotive enthusiast landscape. While I was busy imagining the future, however, someone else was busy making it.
It’s a 3-D printed Toyota transmission made of plastic, for use with a similarly small-scale Toyota 22R engine. You can see it work here:
Obviously, this is neither full-sized nor ready to install in any engine of any type. What makes it important is that it was reverse-engineered by someone who was in no way involved with Toyota, or even with transmissions. As 3-D printing transcends technical limitations and becomes a lingua franca for small-scale fabrication of all types, it will become possible for hobbyists to immediately produce full-sized steel transmissions and other complex parts themselves. It will also become commonplace for those designs to be shared. Imagine a world where you could obtain almost any out-of-stock part for any car through this process, and you’ll see the possibilities.
There will be problems of course — how will you be able to be absolutely sure that the transmission in that hundred-year-old ’77 Celica you just paid two million New Dollars for was machined from tool-grade steel? — but those problems will also be solved as time goes on.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wait for somebody to build me a new four-speed 1990 Fox.
Why 3D print when you can CNC for much cheaper with known quality feedstock?
The design files used to “print” this transmission can be sent to a suitably-enabled CNC machine for full-scale one-off production of more durable parts. That’s the great thing about it.
My local public library has a maker lab with enough equipment to prototype on a 3D plastic printer and also build metal or wood parts once happy with the design. It’s incredible.
http://www.chipublib.org/maker-lab/
I’m going to guess that future 3-D printers will be able to print high quality parts with little to no need for extra finishing, and will be easy to program by just scanning parts to be made. (Or downloading specs)
So the cost savings will be for small batch runs where a 3-D printer will be able to produce a wider variety of complex pieces
That all exists currently those machines are just out of the DIY price range, though there are some basic combo units that combine a 3D scanner and printer in a single unit for the DIY’er. Of course those don’t have the quality and precision of the professional units that can cost 100 times as much.
Our neighbor at our vacation home in Northern WI is a shop teacher at the tiny local high school; his shop has several high-end 3D printers, etc, and apparently for some nominal fee ($75? $200?), taxpayers can use the shop whenever school is not in session (though you must provide your own materials).
Pretty cool.
it has been happening for as while now. I own a Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 which has mechanical fuel injection. part of the injection pump is known as the 3D cam. These wear over time causing all sorts of running problems so when I was able to get ahold of one of the last remaining unused cams in the world I found a guy who had a scanner to digitise the part. This was some years ago.Printers were still their infancy and the cost to print out a cam was way to much. Now ,A friend in Germamy has taken my old disc ,tidied up the code and printed off a few in plastic which we will try in a spare pump on the bench to see if we can modify the fuel delivery. As the name of the part suggests,this is a cam with 3 dimensions in it;s operating surface and even Bosch(who made the originals) have no idea of how they were made and only scant knowledge of the design. I think they made the last cams in 1972 ,and the various pump specialists around the world used up their stock decades ago .In the meantime Bosch had disposed of any information tyhey had regarding the cams.
A 300 SEL? I’m so jealous…
+1
Sounds like a part that would be better produced on a 4 or 5 axis CNC mill rather than on a 3D printer.
I want to build a scale V2 rocket….
Aw, c’mon, build one full-size! All or nothing.
Looks bullet proof. Should be good for 200K miles
Has lifetime fluids.
Yep, never have to change the ink, I mean transmission fluid
Torque rating is kinda low. Might want to avoid dumping the clutch and doing holeshots.
3D printing still has a VERY long way to go before it can be used for metal parts requiring high durability/wear. You simply can’t get the same strength squirting material in little drops out of a nozzle vs. casting or injection-molding.
Now, as a means of creating one-off casts (or the initial mock-up to make a cast) for metal parts? I can see that working a lot better.
Nope, been done. A company printed a 1911 style hand gun not long ago. Yeah, it’s rough and required post production finishing and is far from what even a cheap cast gun is but it is a working metal 3d printed machine.
This doesn’t sound like proof of “durability/wear”. Does this printed 1911 still work today? Has it lasted as long as a traditionally made gun? I’m going out on a limb to say… No.
See laser sintering below. With titanium the parts come out incredibly strong and durable. For plastics it is all about the particular material and how the layers are oriented. You can align it so the strength is highest in the direction the load will be applied.
Despite what the press would have you believe 3D printing is a mature industry. It is just up until this point there haven’t been a plethora of equipment priced at DIY levels, which is why you are seeing so much press coverage now.
Back in the mid ’90s, my children had a set of K’nex building toys. One Christmas morning, I decided to show my daughter how a transmission worked and we used the gears and other parts to make a simple gearbox with which I demonstrated ratios and how it was actually a mechanical calculator.
Ten Christmases ago, I decided to teach my kid how to pull my finger.
We repeated it several times until we both had the hang of it, and I hoped the exercise would help him better understand thermal dynamics and realize the body is really just a giant air pump.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Despite our efforts he couldn’t grasp the concept. I don’t know why, he’s just not that bright.
But that does not mean my kid will be working for your kid. No sir. Quite the opposite will be true.
My kid will be on welfare. I’m sure of it. So your kid will be working for my kid. Each night I sleep soundly knowing my kid will have that going for him.
Thanks.
Why does the output shaft stop spinning between shifts? Is that because there are no drive wheels actually being driven? Also no syncros?
3D printing is going to be great for various interior bits, as long as the CAD drawings are saved new parts can be “printed” in short order by melting plastic. And since all car interiors are black these days the shop only has to stock one “ink” color.
Between shifts no gear is locked to the output shaft. So without rolling wheels attached to an axle, attached to a driveshaft connected to the output shaft, it won’t spin without power applied through the gearbox.
Where are the flappy paddles?
Here’s the next step: direct metal laser melting.
http://www.ge.com/stories/advanced-manufacturing
http://generalelectric.tumblr.com/post/66798922385/hot-off-the-3-d-printer-is-this-jet-engine
3D printing isn’t magic. I’m working with a 3D printing shop on a project of mine so I’ve learned a little about it. While it can make some shapes that cannot otherwise be made by conventional molding or machining, there are limitations. Making cantilevered or bridged parts without some kind of to-be-removed support structure is difficult.
In terms of hard metal parts, there is at least one company making a machine that combines 3D print powder deposition and laser sintering with a machining center, with the work moving between the two processes as the product is built up.
The laser sintering looks awesome, but it’s still too slow for production quantities. I say this as a completely unbiased proprietor of high volume progressive die stampings. :)
Definitely to slow and expensive for high production quantities but great for prototyping. I know a number of companies that use for just that purpose. I know the soon to be former owner of a company that sells a number of different lines of 3D printers who’s clients run from aerospace, truck, to vehicle HVAC manufacturers. He also carries a line of 3D scanners. In his conference/showroom he has for example a 3D adjustable wrench. It was done in one print using soluble material to fill in the area between the thumb screw, body and jaw so it comes out already assembled.
“It was done in one print using soluble material to fill in the area between the thumb screw, body and jaw so it comes out already assembled”
OK, now that’s really cool.
Sounds like model car plastic casts where you have to trim and remove the excess stuff and pieces that hold them all together.
The support material is not a big deal, many of the companies have a water soluble support material so once the part comes out of the printer you stick it in an agitated heated water bath and a few hours later the support structure is gone. At my local HS they have a professions grade unit that has dual cartridges, one with the support material in it and the washer to remove it.
One summer years ago I rebuilt the T-5 in my ’91 Mustang. I was careful labeling the zillions of little parts, and I had a book to guide me. Amazingly it all went back together and worked like brand new. That experience enlightened me as to how the manual transmission works. But even if I hadn’t gotten it reassembled, I still would’ve had the education.
Did the 2-3 shift improve and what kind of oil did you put in it? (According to the prevailing fanboi wisdom of the mid-1990s internet, Redline MTF was the oil of choice for these.) Just curious.
You’re testing my memory, but I think I used ATF as specified. Probably generic since I’m cheap. I know that I replaced all the synchros, and one of the gear sets. I think 2nd gear was the most damaged, and thus 1-2 showed the most improvement. I also added a B&M shifter (?) which helped the 2-3 shift. This is from at least 15 years ago.
That’s how I started my education on manual transmissions, except it was an ’88 model. I destroyed the 3rd gear synchro on an ill-timed power shift.
I think the 3-d printing revolution is slightly overblown with regards to printing cheap (illegal) copies of damn near anything. As Ron B. pointed out earlier his attempt at createing a now non-existant part only came about because HE COULDN’T FIND AN EXISTING OFF THE SHELF REPLACEMENT. Now I respect Ron’s tenacity and enthusiasm but most folks don’t own classic cars with out of production replacement parts and they also don’t share his DIY etho (but I do Ron – I do!).
I think this whole 3-d printer revolution will ultimately lead to us back to a tiered part structure separated by quality. Those of us who don’t want to build our own parts and simply want to buy a high quality replacement will gladly spend the money on a part with some kind of pedigree or “papers” which document it’s quality lineage. Those who are more adventurous and of the DIY bent will either print their own stuff or buy from a 3-d print shop. Of course the 3-d print shops will ultimately be segregated by price/quality.
This ties back to Jack Baruth’s recent article describing old school car “quality”. It’s really an exciting time for the educated cheap/frugal consumer!
Well it is only illegal if you make parts to sell. Making one for yourself is completely legal.
The Aftermarket is already gearing up to use 3D printing for obsolete and low volume parts. Many plan to have multiple facilities around the country to crank out parts on demand relatively close to the location the part is needed.
Four speed 1990 Fox… ah yes! I had an ’88 and in my memory it’s still one of my favorite cars. The torquey engine and long-legged gearing with short direct shifter was very nice.
My first car was an 88 Fox. Still have fond memories of that thing. I think it would be fun to build one with a 20V 1.8T motor.
that transmission looks very familiar. When I was about 10 my parents bought me a “visible chassis”. It had frame, (3 speed) transmission, and differential, so I gained a good understanding of how all that stuff worked. Oh, and drum brakes.
Hard to explain how a manual transmission works? Nah. You got two shafts, one attached to the clutch, and hence the engine, one attached to the output, either the driveshaft, or in the case of transaxles, the final drive, and hence the drive wheels. Both halves have gears that mesh all the time. On one shaft, the gears are permanently attached, on the other, they spin on bearings, and have a knurled ring on one side. When in neutral, all the gears on bearings are freewheeling. On the freewheeling shaft, there are collars that can be slid over the freewheeling gears, typically one collar for every two forward speeds. To engage a gear, the shift mechanism pulls the collar over the knurled ring, At that point, that gear and the one it is meshing with are the drive gears.
In addition, there’s an idler gear that gets pulled in when reverse is needed. It’s really a very simple device.
Give that description to a smart, talented artist or a bright technical guy unfamiliar with engines and automotive technology.
Have them draw what you are describing. The results will be nothing like what you’re thinking.
You think it’s easy to describe because you haven’t thought about the problem deeply enough.
FormerFF writes: “Hard to explain how a manual transmission works? Nah. You got two shafts, one attached to the clutch, and hence the engine, one attached to the output”
Except that it’s been many, many decades since even conventional front engine/rear drive automotive gearboxes were made that way.
Non-antique manual gearboxes are of all-indirect design, where the mainshaft is divided into separate and concentric input and output shafts. Power flow goes via gear pairs from the mainshaft down to the countershaft, then back up again to the output end of the mainshaft. There’s also a variant where the input and output shafts can be coupled together for direct drive in the highest gear, with the countershaft freewheeling. Either way the countershaft is a purely internal part with no external coupling. This is how the input (clutch) and output (driveshaft coupling) are made inline rather than axially offset from one another as they would be with power taken off from the countershaft. In addition there may be fixed and freewheeling gears on both shafts, not only on the mainshaft. In fact the Toyota model shown in the article is clearly that way, with selector forks acting on both shafts: 1-2 and 3-4 on the mainshaft, then 5-R on the countershaft.
And this is why having a working model helps in understanding how a gearbox really works.
The main thing with 3-D printing is that it changes the economics for producing one-off or small runs of things. It’s not going to cause factories to disappear and people to have cars automatically assembled in their garages, anymore than CNC milling did. It will, though, revolutionize the aftermarket in both underhood parts and interior/exterior bling.
I want one of those model transmissions…
3D Printing has changed the face of car manufacturing.