[angryBits]

I couldn't find a 1LE badge that was in the size and style I wanted so I bought a 3D printer and made my own.

I'd been wanting to get into 3D Printing for awhile so I figured this was a good excuse to try it out.

I knew nothing about 3D Printing prior to starting this project a week ago.
Let me tell you, there's a lot to get wrong with 3d printing but once you iron out the kinks it's fun and easy.

Hardware: Creality Ender 3 + Amazon Basics PLA Filmanet ($200)
Print Software: Ultimaker Cura 3.6 (Free)
Modeling Software: Blender 2.8 (Free)

Below is my draft print. I'm now waiting for black and silver and red filament to come. I'm going to print the back in black, the letters in silver and the 1 in red.

I plan to place this on the front left & right fender behind the front tires (the usual spot for badges).

Would love to hear opinions and stories of others that might have tried something similar.






Update 02/17/19 - Proof of concept (Post Here)

[Can'tHave2MuchHP]

That is cool. Keep us updated. I think it will look good.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by Can'tHave2MuchHP

That is cool. Keep us updated. I think it will look good.

**Fingers Crossed**

[SFV1LE]

You asked for honest opinions right? :-)

I wish Chevy had added a 1LE badge, but IMHO badges should be a factory thing only. In some cases, like with Porsche, you can order your car with a lot of factory customization of badges, and anything you order seems ok to me as long its available for order.

Putting your own 1LE badges on your 1LE is definitely not like a 4 cyl Camaro owner adding a ZL1 badge, but it still doesn't seem right to me somehow.

That being said, nice 3D work on that badge.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

You asked for honest opinions right? :-)

I wish Chevy had added a 1LE badge, but IMHO badges should be a factory thing only. In some cases, like with Porsche, you can order your car with a lot of factory customization of badges, and anything you order seems ok to me as long its available for order.

Putting your own 1LE badges on your 1LE is definitely not like a 4 cyl Camaro owner adding a ZL1 badge, but it still doesn't seem right to me somehow.

That being said, nice 3D work on that badge.

I totally get the sentiment. It's just wrong to put a badge on a car that doesn't belong. Like an "R" badge on a Toyota Camry.

However in this particular case, I do own a ZL1 1LE so there is no deceit going on. I removed the ZL1 badge and am putting a 1LE badge. I'm following the font pattern and everything I can to make it follow the theme so it doesn't look out of place.

As for who made it, Chevy or my own two hands ... I think its cooler that I made it myself

[Alain]

I've thought about removing the bow tie from the trunk and putting a 1LE badge on there instead.

this will look cool.

[rlarsen462]

I kind of wanted to get a small 1LE badge of it existed and stick it somewhere in the carbon dash piece in the interior.

If you 3D print yours, won't they have the typical 3D printing "roughness"? Making them not look very good on closer inspection?

[SteveV]

When I had my 5th Gen 2SS 1LE, there were guys getting 1LE badges made and putting them on their cars.

So, in fairness, you may have a ZL1 1LE, but just having a 1LE badge can be confusing to a degree.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by SteveV

When I had my 5th Gen 2SS 1LE, there were guys getting 1LE badges made and putting them on their cars.

So, in fairness, you may have a ZL1 1LE, but just having a 1LE badge can be confusing to a degree.

3d printing has come a long way in the last 5 years.

There are varying grades of 3d printers and print quality/speed.

There are also different print patterns and techniques. Something called "ironing" where the print nozzle heats up and smooths out the surface to make it smooth.

You can get 3d prints to be pretty darn smooth these days. If its not smooth enough you can always hit it with some fine sand paper.

In my case, I'm going for smooth around the bevels and then that texture in the center of the letters, kind of like you see on the rear chevy badge. But I'm still experimenting

[OneWheelPeel]

I’ve been 3D printing off and on for about a year now, car projects and other things. I was gonna suggest the ironing part but saw you already know about it
I see you are kind of local, I’ve had some PLA pieces not react well to our summmer heat. I guess if that is a problem you could reprint in ABS.
I have one piece I have left in my yard for th last year to see what happens, and its starting to come apart. Maybe if it was painted it would hold up better.
Post pics when you finish the project.

[Jarret]

That draft print looks pretty good for a $240 (current Amazon price) 3d printer, is it really that smooth or just the angle/lighting you took it at?

Been thinking about buying a 3d printer for awhile now as well.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by OneWheelPeel

I’ve been 3D printing off and on for about a year now, car projects and other things. I was gonna suggest the ironing part but saw you already know about it
I see you are kind of local, I’ve had some PLA pieces not react well to our summmer heat. I guess if that is a problem you could reprint in ABS.
I have one piece I have left in my yard for th last year to see what happens, and its starting to come apart. Maybe if it was painted it would hold up better.
Post pics when you finish the project.

Oh thats a good point. I hadn't thought about long-term exposure in the sun.
I'll definitely keep my models and then try ABS if I have any issues.

I considered painting these parts, but I found filament color that I like.
I'm using black for the back piece and then silver for the letters and will epoxy them together.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by Jarret

That draft print looks pretty good for a $240 (current Amazon price) 3d printer, is it really that smooth or just the angle/lighting you took it at?

Been thinking about buying a 3d printer for awhile now as well.

I got mine for $200, its the Ender 3, however, there is also an Ender 3 Pro with some upgrades that might be $240-ish.

I've already purchased the Creality CR-10s PRO for $600, it arrives Monday.
I may keep the Ender 3 as a second printer or I may return it, not sure yet.

What you get with the Ender 3 is absolutely incredible for $200, but I've already decided I love 3d printing enough to justify the bigger/better machine.

If you're looking to get into 3d printing, do yourself a favor:
- Don't expect it to "just work". 3d printing still requires A LOT of tweaking, like manually loosening bolts and re-tightening others to get things to sit perfectly and run smoothly. Calibrating mechanical parts with only your common sense to work from. Once you get everything perfect, there is still a ton of things that can go wrong with the printing process, so much to learn. Temperatures, speeds, support structures, adhesion, etc.
- Watch every Youtube video you can find, they'll get you 60% of the way, then trial and error will get you the rest.

I watched every video, read every article and then tried it and my prints came out horribly. I wanted to give up, but after experimenting almost non-stop for a week and learning the unique nuances of my printer, I'm just now reaching a point where I'm getting very good quality prints consistently.

Every printer is unique, two Ender 3s sitting next to eachother will produce different results depending on how you assembled them and calibrated them.
Learning how to account for your unique printer is key.

Having said all that, I know it sounds hard but it's fun and rewarding and easily one of my new all-time-favorite hobbies.

As a bonus, if you're a DIYer, it will save you money in the long run. Being able to fabricate your own parts is way cheaper than buying something, especially if you have to pay for shipping.

Ok speech done

[OneWheelPeel]

Also if you time it right you can switch filament colors while printing instead of gluing pieces together, but that is only possible in some cases, like the black strip in the C64 case in this pic.