3D printed frame reinforcement

[TexasShark]

I am in the process of upgrading my Penn 9/0 with drag insert and the works to go with it. I've read that there could be some frame twist with the post frames, and can't really afford a full or half frame, so I designed and 3D printed these pieces that the post fit tight through the holes I had printed in the material, and should be strong enough I would guess to keep the frame from twisting. What do y'all think?

[Shark Hunter]

That looks pretty Unique.
Not sure if it will take the stress, but I salute your Ingenuity.
A Solid Aluminum frame is $105.

[TexasShark]

Thank you! If I didn't have $700 in child support every month, I probably would have already bought a frame. This material is pretty strong. It's printed with 70% enfill. Another good thing is, this only about $2 worth of material. I'll be testing it out hopefully in two weeks, and hopefully a good run on it for solid test. I'll be sure to follow up on results.

[Swami805]

That's pretty slick, I suppose it will work if the material will hold up. One way to find out, Build it and and test it. Might want to put some kind of insert in them for the screws unless you've already done that. I like where you're going with this!

[TexasShark]

I thought about pressing some inserts in for the screws, but figured the posts through this material would be stronger than inserts in the material. The posts are a tight fit through the material.

[mhc]

That looks promising, you would think it will be more rigid - particularly with all the original posts still there encased in the printed material. It will be interesting to see how it performs - thanks for sharing.

Mike

[Ron Jones]

This is; honestly, the way of the future. It won't be long before we are all using additive manufacturing to prove that we are not engineers.

I can't wait.

The Man

[Swami805]

Didn't realize the posts were in there, great idea!

[Brewcrafter]

Very cutting edge.  I am not sure where, but I read elsewhere in this forum an excellent explanation of 3D printing (I have no first hand experience) and one of the things that I recall that gentleman mentioning was that 3D printed materials exhibited different strengths based on their "grain" (my words).  Based on your photos, this looks really cool, I'm with the folks above - try it and put it to the test! 

[Ron Jones]

70% enfill will overcome any and all shearing issues in this application. 3D printing continues to change on a daily basis. I've seen some wire reinforced ABS work that will do for anything up to and including a 20/0 Senator. Biggest issue today is time, most everything else is sorted out.
The Man

[Bill B]

I like where you're going with this.  By using the original posts should be strong and ridged.  Let us know how it works....Bill

[Swami805]

Chad (xchad) was working on something similar. It's stickied "critter getter" in the penn section. Great idea.

[Bryan Young]

Anything will help to keep the frame square. Compression against any solid material will prevent some twisting. I think it will work well.   Good luck to you.

[xjchad]

I've done the same on a couple of reels. Seemed to add a fair amount of ridgidity. Nice work!

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=23555.0

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=24184.0

[Dominick]

Hey Tex if you take that reel apart again, please post some photos of the parts unmounted on the reel.  Nice work.  Dominick