3D Printed Tailgate Hole Caps

[Dmthomp32]

Just wanted to give a shout out to the designer of these pieces! I downloaded them from thingiverse and printed them today. Perfect fit on my maverick.

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[peisenmann]

I'm not printing them to sale. I was just sharing an .stl file for those who would like to print their own. There may be others on the forum who do print and ship items. If you take the file to your local library they probably have a 3D printer that you can use and will only charge you for the filament cost. Shouldn't be more than 25¢. Cheaper than the stamp to send it.

Just wanted to update on my tailgate hole covers. Printed them at the local library and the total was $1.34. Super happy.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I buy pea gravel in bags.

 

[jphii]

Got mine today, looks great.

 

[P99Guy]

[

I see you're showing temporarily unavailable on your site. If I order, will they ship when back in stock, or should I wait till they are available again?

You should be good to go now! Still having a few issues but resolved for the most part.
Covers are available again. Postage was not as bad as I expected by using pirateship com.

 

[P99Guy]

Got mine today, looks great.

Thanks Joe!
Glad it made it! Hopefully fully intact.
I am shipping them the expensive slow way now so hopefully there will be no more damaged covers.

 

[jphii]

Thanks Joe!
Glad it made it! Hopefully fully intact.
I am shipping them the expensive slow way now so hopefully there will be no more damaged covers.

Perfect shape. The tab protector works!

 

[P99Guy]

Most of the time....
Glad yours did!
Thanks!

 

[Wilbur]

I printed these yesterday and they are a perfect fit... Printed in Black PETG and took right at an hour...
...This is the link if anyone wants to print it themselves.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6265706

In preparation for working on NicoBonis' awesome hitch step, I used these designs to learn how to operate the CAD tool, slicer and 3D printer.

I selected a black PLA and began with the smallest part.

The printing of the small part took about 20 minutes.

The PLA is fairly rigid, but the design is very straightforward. I did include supports under the clip edges.

With the support elements removed, it fit easily into the hole in the tailgate, with a mil or so of tolerance and slide in both directions once seated.

The larger piece took about 35 minutes, and again, I included supports under the clip lips that were easy to remove once the printing was complete.

The piece clicked into place easily. Once installed, the larger piece had no extra tolerance, being a snug fit without any slide.

Printed in black PLA, so they may not last forever here in the desert where rigid plastics deteriorate to become brittle and are subject to cracking. However, as a learning project they were great, and the finished product looks very OEM.

Hidden under the tailgate as they are, you could print them in any cheap color you wanted.

 

[Darnon]

Printed in black PLA, so they may not last forever here in the desert where rigid plastics deteriorate to become brittle and are subject to cracking. However, as a learning project they were great, and the finished product looks very OEM.

More likely they'll get too soft and deform to the point of falling out. PLA starts to get droopy at relatively low hot temps so something like PETG or ASA is more ideal for a hobbyist (PETG is kind of a PITA though) or ABS/Nylon if you don't mind even fussier materials.

 

[mfergel]

In preparation for working on NicoBonis' awesome hitch step, I used these designs to learn how to operate the CAD tool, slicer and 3D printer.

I selected a black PLA and began with the smallest part.

The printing of the small part took about 20 minutes.

The PLA is fairly rigid, but the design is very straightforward. I did include supports under the clip edges.

With the support elements removed, it fit easily into the hole in the tailgate, with a mil or so of tolerance and slide in both directions once seated.

The larger piece took about 35 minutes, and again, I included supports under the clip lips that were easy to remove once the printing was complete.

The piece clicked into place easily. Once installed, the larger piece had no extra tolerance, being a snug fit without any slide.

Printed in black PLA, so they may not last forever here in the desert where rigid plastics deteriorate to become brittle and are subject to cracking. However, as a learning project they were great, and the finished product looks very OEM.

Hidden under the tailgate as they are, you could print them in any cheap color you wanted.

What's the reason for the masking tape on your print bed?

 

[a_bartle]

Just a heads up to everyone here, I placed an order on 11/27 for the tailgate hole cover, received a conformation and charged to my CC card, says they were "shipped", however, I have not received anything yet....

Anybody else in the same boat?

 

[Wilbur]

What's the reason for the masking tape on your print bed?

The maker indicated that the blue painter's tape helps taller items adhere to the base platform.

Taller items apparently tend to slide or slip a bit on the X- or Y-axis without it, so that the elements that are higher on the Z-axis get out of position as the lower, base portion of the item moves on a slippery surface.

I was worried that the covers I printed would be difficult to remove from the bed, but they came off without any problem.

 

[Wilbur]

More likely they'll get too soft and deform to the point of falling out. PLA starts to get droopy at relatively low hot temps so something like PETG or ASA is more ideal for a hobbyist (PETG is kind of a PITA though) or ABS/Nylon if you don't mind even fussier materials.

PETG was my first choice, but PLA filament was free and the maker told me that as a learning activity it would be fine, and I can bring some PETG filament and print the covers out with that if the designs worked.

The designs seem really excellent, so I will probably order some PETG in the new year. Unless you strongly recommend some other filament to me that would be a better medium or longer lasting for hot, dry weather?

 

[P99Guy]

Just a heads up to everyone here, I placed an order on 11/27 for the tailgate hole cover, received a conformation and charged to my CC card, says they were "shipped", however, I have not received anything yet....

Anybody else in the same boat?

I hope not but am happy to send another out to you.
I didn’t use trackable packaging for most of the orders. They are now tracked due this exact issue.
I sent you a pm. Let me know.
thanks,
David

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