TOPIC:

I thought I would share what I was able to accomplish (for my 40 year old GPZ550D1) with my 3D printer.
I have successfully printed a couple of parts that I could not find, for a reasonable price, or, not at all.
The first one I did was the tool tray that fits under the seat. 
The process involves drawing an accurate 3D model, but I didn't have a sample
to measure and copy. 
I searched the internet and found a couple of photos.
So, by measuring the space where it should fit, and looking at those photos,
I was able to draw up a model.
There are certain limitations as to what can be printed in one go,
so the part was sectioned into two halves (upper and lower) and printed separately,
and glued together afterward. 
The material I used is PETG, and is printed at 240 degrees Celsius
I have a fairly small printer (Creality Ender 3, Pro V2) but adequate for my needs.
I am very happy with the result.


Next up was the document box that fits under the seat inside the tail piece.
I had to follow the same procedure... first I found a couple of photo's from the net, then drew up the model.
The result is satisfactory / functional, but not a perfect replica.


The previous owner had removed the air-box and fitted "pod" filters. WHY, WHY, WHY?
The jetting was way off when I got the bike, and I spent many, many hours trying to get the jetting right. 
I had the carbs off and on at least 20 times, bought numerous size jets, shimmed needles, even drilled jets in-between sizes... without a satisfactory result.

I managed to find an original (very used) air-box for cheap, but the rubber boots were as hard as plastic,
and it didn't have the "L" shaped mounting brackets either.
Ordered those from my local Kawa dealer, and 4 weeks later they arrived from Japan.
The air-box did not have the "cap" that retains the air-filter element, and is not available to purchase any longer.

So, from a few internet photos, and measurements from the air-box, I drew up a cap...
The model I finally arrived at needed to be printed in 2 halves as well.
These were subsequently super-glued together to form one part.
The resulting part is, to me, quite satisfactory. 


I returned the jetting, and needle clip positions, to stock, and installed the carbs.
I can report that carburation is now totally PERFECT. (PURRFECT )
The machine purrs like a pussycat, at all rpm's and varying engine loads.
Kawasaki engineers knew what they were doing!
 

Now my bike looks original, finally!
 


If anyone wants the 3D printer models, just ask, I will share them gladly!

Cheers!
 

Amazing!

great looking bike!

howardhb wrote:  "The previous owner had removed the air-box and fitted "pod" filters. WHY, WHY, WHY?"  ...."I returned the jetting needle clip positions to stock, and installed the carbs. I can report that carburation is now totally PERFECT.  The machine purrs like a pussycat, at all rpm's and varying engine loads. Kawasaki engineers knew what they were doing!"

Exactly!  Congrats!  Ed

 

I don't know much about 3D printing. my disclaimer. hee. 
Why did you choose PETG?  And did you consider ABS or any other filament?
Asking because I think some Kawasaki parts are ABS (but not certain, doh).  Thanks.  JMK.

In my experience with 3D printing ABS, it is very difficult to print without the part warping / distorting. I also struggled to keep the part adhered to the build platform. It is possible, but requires a heated cabinet / enclosure, which I don't  have. 

PETG is quite tough, and prints well. 

Another very interesting material I have used is TPU, Thermal Polyurethane, which is flexible, like rubber.  I have successfully printed the seal in the pet-cock, carb float bowl gaskets, as well as the circular seal in the gas cap. 

H.

Another tool required for making custom parts is the 3D modeling CAD tool.  I highly recommend OnShape.  www.onshape.com/

It's free to use as long as you don't mind all of your parts being publicly viewable (certainly an issue in some cases).  It's very well designed and I found it easy to learn the basics, starting with a background as a casual/hobby user of Solidworks.

I drew an airbox part in OnShape in this thread: kzrider.com/forum/forum-index/3-carburet...irbox-silencer-tubes



 

Awesome, DOHC.
Difficult to explain the satisfaction of creating something from nothing! 

I have been using Solidworks exlusively for 22 years in my day job. (Machine design for automotive component machining and assembly systems) and more recently, armoured vehicles! 

As frustrating as it can be at times, I have come to love and appreciate the power of 3D solid and surface modeling, the output of which , when delivered electronically to a CNC machine, produces an exact likeness  of what was in my "minds eye".

I am no artist, or sculptor, for that matter but I have been able to create many functional things, that are truly beautiful to look (in my opinion), using this technology.

3D printing is in its infancy, but developing exponentially. 
Truly remarkable!
 

These are awesome! I'm impressed that you were able to accurately recreate the toolkit and document box without possessing the physical parts as a reference. Would you be willing to post the .stl files you created so that others with access to a 3D printer can print these as well? If you have your own printer, you probably know about Thingiverse.com - a site like that could be a great place to share the files for your 3D models. 

Also you said that your document box isn't a perfect replica - It looks pretty darn close to me, but I can share some detailed photos of mine with all the measurements included, if you want to take another stab at it.

KzMax, thanks for your offer of pics and dimensions of the document box. I would appreciate that greatly, and will modify what I have, to match your dims.
  The current STL files are quite large, some are over 25 Mb, so I zipped them this evening... still too big to post here. 
I will upload them to my DropBox and share the link here, as soon as they are uploaded.

I can also, on request, share the actual design files (in a format of your choice) that would be editable in a compatible CAD program.

H.

Ok, below is the DropBox link to the files. They are individually zipped.
The KZ document box comprises 3 pieces, top, bottom and hinge.
The hinge piece must be printed using TPU and then glued in position.
(registration holes are provided in the top and bottom halves of the box).

www.dropbox.com/sh/ru6wrq5krh6bqro/AADtc...h8BRphyMWtbBU5a?dl=0
 

Would a fuel tank be possible?

I had to print a air box cap for a KZ650... with threads and it worked the first time!I've attached a stock version (the tube feature was made from measurements online, should be fairly accurate), and a high flow version

 

@howardhb I'd be happy to do that for you. My bike is in the shop at the moment, but I'll grab you those document box pics and dimensions once I have it back.