Hi everyone,

I am not sure if anyone has ever considered this when hunting for parts, but I recently gave 3D printing a try for the knob on the hydraulic control lever on my D2. The old one was broken. I'm a pretty satisfied with the results of the print, I have to do some sanding on it a little bit to smooth it out. 3D printing is becoming more and more popular, and its pretty strong stuff. This one is the plastic type of printer, but there are 3D printers that print with steel also. May be something to consider for those of you looking for manifolds and what not on the older gas tractors.

Cheers
Nathan

Hi Nathan,

That's really neat that you were able to do that. When we toured one of the Cat facilities last year we got to see several of these units running parts. The gentleman giving the tour explained the process and potential uses. Sounds like the potential is there for use on our old equipment. Thanks for the pictures.

Bryan

if you put it a a pot of warm atone it will smooth things out with out sanding. just you tube it.

We are using 3d printed parts for fixturing, templates and jigs in Wamego, KS Cat facility I work at. We are playing with 3d scanners now that are pretty cool. There is a big push for this industry and I think it will grow in time. Like Nathan said, there are even some metal 3d printers out there. When that technology is refined, it will change everything. To echo Nathan on the manifold comment, it's my understanding that people are now 3d printing plastic parts to use as a core for sand casting mold. They use that plastic core to make the sand cast mold, then they cast you a new manifold like the original.... neat stuff!