Airflow Research makes a plastic intake for the SBC, I assume it is meant to be a wet manifold. Looks like its even got an exhaust blockoff plate in the manifold, so maybe it can take quite a bit of heat.

Edit: It does say it needs a heat shield if you have EGR

One big problem with 3-D printing something like an intake manifold is that 3-D printed parts are going to be porous. The nature of the plastic filiment type printing means there will be thousands of tiny voids in the part even if it is printed at the highest possible density.

I've printed a few prototype motorcycle carburetor adapters and have had to coat them with a few layers of epoxy to make then sealed well enough for minimal testing.

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--> Check out my FI Turbo build <--
--> And the race truck build project <--
--> The Diesel Corvette <--

Yeah, you might need to do a secondary process like epoxy coat the surface to seal it, but it is still a viable method for prototyping and evaluation of new products. Comp Cams has made plastic valve covers for almost 30 years, so with the right copolymer blend, a workable intake could be reality if someone really wanted one. Metal printers are starting to come on the scene now, so in a few years those might replace the plastic 3D printers as the new technology everyone wants to have.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

remember that the plastics used in 3d are thermoset, meaning they are heated to liquid state, injected out the extruder and then dry quickly. Making a high heat (above 212F or 100C) media is on the horizon but right now you are sort of stuck with low strength ABS or the smoother rigid bio-plastic PLA. 3D is ideal for making cores that could be used for making the sand molds that AL is poured into. You could make an entire intake with ABS but it would become very weak at operating temps. PLA would be much better, smoother and stronger but cant take heat. The stuff the car makers are using is injection molded Nylon 6-6, close to the same stuff as the stock of an M-16.

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I didn' t buy it, I built it.....

Pishta, I plan on using the 3D printer some to make patterns and cores for casting parts. It's a very versatile tool to say the least and can help accelerate R&D in making new products and it's surprisingly accurate in reproducing even the smallest details from the 3D model you create with the software you used.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

perfect application for 3D printing.

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I didn' t buy it, I built it.....

wow!

Was a final location decided for the throttle body?

I read a pretty extensive thread, with a significant amount of computer flow modeling, over on HybridZ.org. They found that the front few cylinders starved for air with the front mounted throttle body.

Here's the thread...
http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/61549-t ... num/page-2

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Brooks

'72 Dart Swinger
'71 Plymouth 'Cuda

Cheap, Fast, Reliable
Pick 2!

I read thru that link, and he still made his manifold a front mount type after he tweaked those issues. I have seen many front and side mount manifolds out there in some pretty high HP inlines both N/A and forced induction that have each worked very well. But I haven't yet decided which way i'll go yet. Some engines have a narrow engine bay and may not allow a side mount design very easily, but with a slants engine compartment, it could easily have a side mount. I may do some modeling of a side mount just to see what it looks like and do some simulations as well.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

I'm guessing you'll use these for "lost core" casting? Are you working with a local foundry, or do you have your own set-up?

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Brooks



'72 Dart Swinger

'71 Plymouth 'Cuda



Cheap, Fast, Reliable

Pick 2!

No, I won't be using a "lost wax or core" method for the casting, i'm going to make match plates and make this a more permanent method so I can produce a few of them before making a permanent pattern and core. I purchased an aluminum foundry a few years back from a man that was retiring and closing his business, so I will be casting them myself.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

Very cool. How much can you cast? I did some work with a guy that had bought two high school foundries. He could pour 16 lbs between them.

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Brooks



'72 Dart Swinger

'71 Plymouth 'Cuda



Cheap, Fast, Reliable

Pick 2!

My furnace is large enough to cast 100 pounds at a time with a large enough crucible, but it would take two people to make a pour that large. I made a smaller furnace for doing smaller pours and it can do around 20 pounds. I just acquired a 50'x 100' commercial metal building, so i'm working to get it taken down and moved to my property and put back up to start getting busy. It isn't just going to house my foundry stuff, but all my fabrication and manufacturing equipment.
Here's some shots of the building.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

How High is that building?
50X100 is the size of the Garage io want to build outside the house.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

15 ft

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....