Hella bumper mounted license plate lenses

Stan

Stan

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Another of our brethren is experimenting with 3D printing with the intent to make the clear plastic piece that inserts to the chrome housing of the bumper mounted lights that illuminate the rear license plate.

Questions:

Does anyone want them? (2 per car needed)
What do you think they are worth (currently NLA)
 

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Stan said:
Another of our brethren is experimenting with 3D printing with the intent to make the clear plastic piece that inserts to the chrome housing of the bumper mounted lights that illuminate the rear license plate.

Questions:

Does anyone want them? (2 per car needed)
What do you think they are worth (currently NLA)
Click to expand...
FYI. There are two different chrome housings. I don't know if the plastic lens fits both. I run the
 
i could use a set of lenses that fit the original style of bumper lights. if somebody makes them, i'm a buyer Stan, what about your guy casting them ... nevermind
 
Stan,

Do you have details on what filament you will be using, and if it is UV resistant. I don’t need any but will support the effort if you need critical mass.
 
Stan said:
@bfeng is doing the job. Maybe he will seek the post and reply
Click to expand...

Thanks! I can't keep up with filament technology. The last time I looked (like 6 months ag0), there still wasn't a great option for end-use exterior grade translucent plastics. You can use ASA which holds up to UV, but the result will be a "frosted" lens. You can print translucent plastics with polyjet, but they don't hold up to UV light.
 
Stan said:
I will bring it up. Are they NLA?
Feng is using a 3D printer to see if he can make the lenses.
Click to expand...
Correction, our 3D printing guy aside a printed part would require some secondary work to polish the parts for OEM clarity. If it were only the front of the lens, no problem. But the underside of the lens has a pretty complicated surface and if I want that to be optically clear ... that could be a PITA to do by hand.

So, I think molding them will yield a better quality part with less work. I’m getting together with a plastics molding guru next week to discuss the best way to make these (mold
Making and molding material).

Our CNC machining expert said no problem to machine and polish, but expensive.
 
Fwiw, I was shown an amazing array of 3D printing materials which were UV stable. No problem for rigid and flexible opaque parts.

I didn’t ask if any of them were of optical clarity.
 
bfeng said:
Correction, our 3D printing guy aside a printed part would require some secondary work to polish the parts for OEM clarity. If it were only the front of the lens, no problem. But the underside of the lens has a pretty complicated surface and if I want that to be optically clear ... that could be a PITA to do by hand.

So, I think molding them will yield a better quality part with less work. I’m getting together with a plastics molding guru next week to discuss the best way to make these (mold
Making and molding material).

Our CNC machining expert said no problem to machine and polish, but expensive.
Click to expand...

Take a look at cold acetone smoothing. Low effort with good results. It works on ABS and ASA...

 
Question for the experts. I see that there is a difference between the lp lights shown above and the ones I have in my parts collection. Can someone explain what I have and if they are correct for an e9? Although I have a '73, I am using pre-73 bumper and license plate lights. Thanks in advance. By the way, based on appearance only, I do think I prefer the lights above rather than the ones I have. :(
20190207_194818_resized.jpg
 
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