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Want to See a $1,500 Cold Air Snorkel?

35K views 193 replies 94 participants last post by  mattsteg 
#1 ·
Here's a pic of the first 3-D Printed Snorkel. Those of you who have been following the development of this project will know that they key goal has always been: Reduce the Price. Whether or not 3-D Printing can be used to produce the lowest cost option is still an open question. But, it has become the "go to" first step, regardless of the final production method chosen.

Here, we've been able to produce a prototype than has given valuable insight on the design performance as well as giving us the opportunity to perfect the fit. This prototype revealed five issues that need to be addressed. Three of those issues are shown in the annotated photos. Two others involve proprietary information that center on how we've attacked our goal of reducing the cost. The tape you see is there to protect the proprietary method of joining the two parts of the Snorkel. You can see that we've chosen to split the Snorkel vertically as opposed to Ford's decision to split it horizontally. This single development will reduce the cost substantially.

All that aside, the two questions I get most often are: "When?", and "How Much?". And usually not in that order. What I can say is this, provided that the cost goal can be met; there's no reason that it should be more than four or five weeks out. It could be a little sooner. And, I can now say that the initial pricing looks promising. At least 25% less than the current option. And, you don't have to pay $60 for a filter you may not need. JP
 

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#5 ·
Thanks Flora. I appreciate that you recognize just how much work and capital goes into developing a new product. JP
 
#7 ·
This is a new design Jess. There is a larger flare at the intake, and that flat spot on the underside of the intake will allow for a high density foam support that rides on the crash bar cover. The Ford support system was not well thought out. The attachment end has been redesigned as well. The original intake was very small and light and was easily held in place by two push type retainers. In order to accommodate those retainers, Ford had to use very thin material on their Snorkel. I felt that that was not sufficient to hold a much larger, and heavier Snorkel. There are many other changes that were developed to reduce the price. That was my ultimate goal. Thanks, JP
 
#9 ·
Thanks Tate's. Photo #2 is partially your baby. JP
 
#11 ·
TNG, you know I never thought about that. I just figured everyone would want black. But, who knows?

I wanted to PM you in a few days for some thoughts on retainer clips. OK? JP
 
#14 ·
I really look forward to that Tin Man. I was hoping you had continued your work. Thanks for your support. JP
 
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#16 ·
Looks fantastic. The benificial part of 3D Printing, is that you can get quite a color array of extruded resin/ABS. I'm looking forward to the final design, turn around times and final pricing.
Looks promising ;)
 
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#18 ·
Nice progress! It's nice to see someone so open with the design progress.

Well done man. I may sell my FRPP snorkel and buy yours.
 
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#20 ·
You're right matt, it is a complicated process. 3-D printing makes it possible to keep refining the product with each iteration. And you can make a few mistakes without hocking your house. There were five significant errors on this print. If that had happened fifteen years ago with a hand tooled mold, it would have been a $10,000 mistake instead of a $500 "learning experience". JP
 
#21 ·
3D printing is expensive. I can believe it. I assume it's to scale for that price?

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#23 ·
Yes, 3-D printing is expensive, but that $1,500 is mostly engineering and consulting time. Once you have a file, the cost to print the Snorkel is ~$300. In this case using ABS-M40. That cost varies dramatically depending on the material you choose, and the print layer thickness (resolution/finish). For a form such as this, it's desirable to use a printer that is not only capable of printing your product; but at the same time, printing a supporting material. The supporting material acts as a scaffold that prevents sagging. There are breakaway supporting materials as well as soluable supporting materials. Both of which are removed when the print is complete. And yes, that is a full scale Snorkel. JP
 
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#22 ·
Will this be plastic injection blow mold?

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#25 ·
Cran, most likely, no. There's a hybrid mold process that can reduce the costs substantially, provided that the part is engineered specifically for it. It was a real eye-opener to learn how many different methods there are. JP
 
#24 ·
That looks great! I'll definitely be watching this as a snorkel is something I want.
 
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#27 ·
That's great Twenty. I think it's an important upgrade, but the price kept some members from enjoying its benefits. We're going to try to remedy that. JP
 
#29 ·
Hey True. I'd be happy to put you on the list of members that I'm keeping informed of all the Snorkel developments. And thank you for your interest. JP
 
#33 ·
Would it be possible to purchase the file and print my own? With a signed agreement not to reproduce for sale, etc....of course.


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#45 ·
Would it be possible to purchase the file and print my own? With a signed agreement not to reproduce for sale, etc....of course.
DDT, I don't know if it would be possible to print this on a home/hobby style printer. There are some UPS stores that have printers and access to industrial scale machines, like the Fortus 400mc. But, they'd charge about three hundred bucks to print one. What type of printer do you have DDT? JP
 
#34 ·
its amazing that this part will sell. especially on a forum where the general consensus is that a downpipe is a snake oil mod and will yield no gains. looks real good and should make you some money, but personally not interested.
 
#37 ·
As long as this does a better job than the FRPP one, I'll purchase one even if it comes out costing a bit more - so I can support your amazing efforts. Thanks for doing this!
 
#44 ·
Thanks Kev. Yes, you can paint ABS (primer recommended). The blue colored ABS was chosen in this case because engineers like it. They can write and draw on it. It has not been determined that the end product will be ABS, although that's looking likely. Many plastics are now "alloyed". In other words, they are mixtures of different polymers. We'll choose one that has good hardness, rigidity and the right thermal properties (DUTL). By the way, your track measurements were very helpful and interesting. Thanks for posting those up. JP
 
#43 ·
Great work, as someone who has had to deal with molds and the vacuforming of items from a galaxy far away I can appreciate the time and effort put in to this. Please add me to the list!!
 
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