Upper Cab to Door seal project

For fun (?) this winter, I started a project to re-create the seal that goes between the top of the door and the cab.

I just pulled my first try from the mold tonight (yes, I know it is almost July...) It turned out pretty good for a first try.
Here is the first try:
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/232...8017sr4.th.jpg
My plan was to make a mold and then make the parts out of pourable polyerathane "rubber".

I tried several ideas but ended up making a 3D CAD model and having a plastic rapid prototype mold made.
Here is the CAD model of the mold (4 seperate pieces):
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/187...epichl3.th.jpg
I still have some more tweaking to do. Some parts of the mold are very thin and the part tore when removing from the mold, so it looks like I will have to thicken some areas up. I will keep you guys posted on what I find out.

Of course, I have no idea how well it fits on the truck since mine is still all in pieces.

-Brian (and Angry)

Pretty amazing job, AT! I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a volunteer to test-fit them for you!

Nice!!! Keep us posted on the progress!

Snuffy

That is nice!! Thanks for persuing this!!

I'm in for a set !!!!!!

Keep us posted, I think I am still on the list as well. Great Job.

As long as they are a close fit, count me in for an order. That is one of those things that I will be needing to complete the truck. Send me a price, and I send you a check.

I wish I knew how to do that. I remember when I was a kid ,Mattel had a vacuum toy maker , I always wanted one. Good work!!

Very Cool!!

Update:

Tonight I hung one of the doors on my truck to check the fit of the first part I made. Result = not so good. The urethane rubber tore really easily (insert lude comment here....) Anyway...
I hope that this problem is due to my over-excitement (lude comment here too...) when I was mixing the components together and maybe they didn't mix thouroghly. I will give it another try in the next few days and hopefully I can get something that works.

-Brian (and Angry)

Here's an update on my progress with trying to remake a upper door seal.
During this vacation I was able to spend some time on this project.
The second try turned out much better than the first with some exceptions.
Here is a picture of the mold (4 pieces) and the part.
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/817...try2001vo7.jpg
Here is a picture of the part itself, just out of the mold.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/352...try2005wh4.jpg
The shape ended up pretty nice, even the really thin 1mm rib came out of the mold without tearing. As you can see, the color isn't right. The hardener I used was slighly old, and for some reason lost it's black color. The result is this translusant molasses colored part shown. Try 3 will be with some fresh hardener so the parts should look like the original rubber parts.

Don't know when I will get another chance but when I get some results, I will let you know.
-Brian (and Angry)

Keep going, you've almost got it there. I'm impressed. Please put me down for a set definately. Maybe two.

Now that's some cool stuff there! Nice work, AT!

I was just out looking at my truck (not too long it is -14 deg!) and I didn't recognize this part. Where does it sit?

Scott

It goes on the upper corner of the door. Follow the rubber till it gets to the top corner and stops (drivers side: Upper RH corner). These widgets are made of unobtanium, can't get-em anywhere. This guy is really on the beam here. Wonder could he make fuel tanks too? And filler necks, and brake blocks and NP205 drop-in kits and......

That does look much better..amazing what skills some people have!

That is far superior to the rags I have stuffed in the doors now...

Well, I hadn't driven in the rain before with this truck, so I didn't realize that I was missing them. I do see where they would go now.

Scott

So the last time I was working on rebuilding my truck (in 2008!) I got partway through the problem of re-making the rubber upper door seal:
https://i.imgur.com/Szs1DP4l.jpg

I got distracted by a couple of kids for a while but this winter I retreated back indoors to finally get this problem sorted.
To rewind - 14 years ago, this is what I ended up with:
I had access to free 3D printing at the time, so I printed a 4 piece hard mold (I eventually replaced the small wedge piece with a welded metal block). I only made one side at the time
https://i.imgur.com/CtzJfMbl.jpg

I used 2 part urethane rubber and made this:
https://i.imgur.com/Vesq0Sjl.jpg

(I messed up the colorant, so it is this translucent molasses color). I boxed the project up and put it away for those 14 years. I recently pulled it off the shelf and found that the urethane part was still in really great shape. It hadn't hardened or broken down. Granted, it was kept on a nice, cool, dark shelf in the basement.

So fast forward to today...
This time around, I didn't have access to free 3D printing, so the cost of making 2 hard molds kept me from trying that route again. I decided to make silicon molds from a pattern that I got 3D printed.

The first step was to re-model both sides in CAD. My old models were really old .STLs that I could work with, so I had to re-make them.
https://i.imgur.com/oEEHjBXl.jpg

I then had the patterns 3D printed. The quality of the prints is really nice, resulting in just a slightly textured surface. Here they are next to the original parts from my truck:
https://i.imgur.com/NQWf6DQl.jpg

(continued in the next post)

The 3D printed pattern was then used to make a silicone mold. The part is kinda difficult to mold because of the weird 90-deg shape. I tried this layout for the driver's side part, I might change it up for the passenger side. Here it is partway through the mold-making process. The base is some modeling clay. Silicone is then poured over this to make one half of the mold.
https://i.imgur.com/GnVTzQul.jpg

The mold is then flipped over, the clay is removed and another layer of silicone is poured.
https://i.imgur.com/iy4CFIVl.jpg

After curing, the mold is separated and the pattern is removed.

The part has a simple metal part that is overmolded, so I made that and coated it with shellac to help it bond to the urethane:
https://i.imgur.com/jV0jBpul.jpg

That part gets placed into the mold and then I mixed up some 2-part urethane rubber and poured it into the mold. After curing, the mold halves are separated:
https://i.imgur.com/htXffLZl.jpg?1
You can see the metal piece partially exposed in this first molding try.

Here is the first try part removed from the mold (it still has the molding sprue). You can see the slight texture from the 3D printing reflected in the part:
https://i.imgur.com/p26xSOcl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2a4vxmHl.jpg

Here is the original, the pattern, and the first try of the repro:
https://i.imgur.com/LlZ6l4cl.jpg

The first try has a few bubbles that created voids due to my mold style. I made a couple of simple countermeasures for that and tried another shot, we'll see how that turns out. Once I have this side molding well, I will repeat the process for the passenger side.

Well get ready for a long list of requests. Me included. I did some rubber casting for a wagoneer restoration using Flexane. It tuned out great but the mix ratio was very picky. To remove every bubble try a small vacuum chamber. I still have a vacuum pump and like you got busy and never went any further.
Your work is awesome. Thanks for posting and if you end up selling them, why put me on the list. I currently have two sets soaking in 303. But they are growing in size...:D Big kudos to you.

Wow. I read fishtail's comment about not even knowing they existed and I laughed because I felt the same way. A long line is a great way to describe it, Al. I know I would want a set- gonz

Count me in for a set.

Wow that looks really great! I could use a set for my Jeep! :mrgreen:

OMG!!!kitties.!!!! PLEASE PLEASE. COUNT ME IN FOR TWO SETS.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

New M715 owner here. Please add me to your list.

So winter hasn't let up yet, which gave me some more time indoors to mess around with this project. I went ahead and also made a mold for the little round bumper near the top of the door frame and the oddly shaped seal that goes at the top of the door frame.

The round bumper mounts with the screw shown by the red arrow (sorry - the bumper isn't shown in this photo), the green arrow shows the odd-shaped seal at the top of the door frame
https://i.imgur.com/8mMxxljl.png
These original parts on my truck were pretty rough and hardened.

This photo shows the original round bumper next to the pattern that I turned from a piece of scrap plastic:
https://i.imgur.com/2xL73G6l.jpg

It was pretty easy to make a silicone mold of the pattern. The original part had a washer overmolded in it, so I decided to use a penny instead, I drilled a hole and then fit it into the mold. Urethane is then poured over it resulting in a new bumper. These are probably commercially available somewhere but I had a little extra silicone mold material, so I thought I would make a few of these molds to use it up.
https://i.imgur.com/P9QkBYnl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UIN1ragl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/muDbYRCl.jpg

(More in the next post)

I also wanted to see if I could re-make the seal at the top of the door frame. This one turned out to be a real hassle. It is an odd shape, it has a weird, overmolded metal bracket with tabs on different planes - in general, a troublesome part. I wanted to make it a little larger than the original, which would allow for some "tuning" by material removal once I had it fitted to the truck.

I tried making a pattern several ways and then ended up taking some modeling clay and smashing it in the door:
https://i.imgur.com/19HHssnl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Jxob9Njl.jpg

This gave me some idea of the correct shape, and I then morphed that shape with the original to make my pattern. The pattern is some polymeric modeling clay, epoxy, and styrene sheet:
https://i.imgur.com/HWF0wTMl.jpg

A silicone mold was then made around the pattern. This took me several patterns and molds to get right.
https://i.imgur.com/PQJD2xwl.jpg

This picture shows the bottom half of the silicone mold with the overmolded mounting bracket, ready for urethane.
https://i.imgur.com/GxBFTbPl.jpg

Picture after urethane, ready to be removed from the mold. This part ends up with a lot of flash and extra material due to my sloppy mold technique, but it cleans up ok with a little work. This picture shows one of my earlier attempts, and you can see the bracket poking through the material. I tuned that with some later shots and the bracket is now buried about 1/2 way into the seal.
https://i.imgur.com/v155b6bl.jpg

New part on the truck (the old round bumper is in the background). Like I mentioned before, it is a little larger than the original, so I can sand away a little material to get it to seal well on the door frame and door.
https://i.imgur.com/O8qMUzgl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wTZG64pl.jpg

(continued...)

The process was then repeated for the other side of the truck, ending up with the front door seal, rear door seal and several round bumpers. Here they are with some of the originals.
https://i.imgur.com/PbUgvIAl.jpg

So a few of you asked about making some more. Honestly, I am not too excited about trying to make a bunch of these things. It is a fun "can I do this?" hobby experience but I want to be done with it. For the front and rear door seals, I am happy with about 1 out of the 4 or so that I have made. The molding process isn't too terrible but making the metal inserts isn't fun and takes some time. The urethane material I use also just went up in cost by about 30%, which means doing it even as a hobby is getting expensive.

So what to do?

I can add more details to the process so people can make their own parts. It doesn't take any special equipment - just some clay, hot glue, and whatever you want to make the metal parts. The patterns could be made from simple materials (wood, clay) but I chose to do the front seal by 3D print.

The front seal could also be 3D printed using "TPU". I have no experience with this material but it is supposed to have "rubber-like" properties. Note that this wouldn't have the metal insert, so I am not sure about how well this would stay put on the actual truck. I quoted this TPU material at the same place I had the front seals 3D printed (Shapeways). Pretty spendy for an obscure rubber seal but it could be an option if somebody wanted to try it.
https://i.imgur.com/xMD3dv9l.jpg
This 3D printing process won't work for the rear seal since it requires the metal bracket to mount it to the truck.


Sorry guys - I want to help out but cranking out a bunch of these things myself sounds miserable and expensive.

I had a feeling.... One set of molds, 600 requests. :D You would be 85 years old when you got done. And you would have no hair left after fretting over how good they looked going out the door. Been there done that.. Kudo's to you for nailing it though. You do great work. You have done the best thing by showing how to do it. Others can then get after it. And yes, the little round tall bumper with the washer in it is available. Nice job on all of it.

It sounded labor intensive from the beginning, I can understand not wanting to do this as a side gig without the price being understandably super high. Did you create 3D scans of the parts? I'm wondering about 3D printing off the seal shapes in plastic and then making my own molds. Neither of my truck bodies have the seals left, unfortunately.

Regardless, you did some top notch work and it's super impressive! Thanks for sharing it!

I looked through the post again and saw your 3D print from CAD, lol. If you're willing to share the pattern, please let me know.

Funny, I was just discussing what Gonz has mentioned with a 3D printer yesterday, to someone that had a 3D printer at one time. On this very seal project. To make a mold buck that was reusable. To restore the molds after they got worked and needed replacement. I hope the pattern gets shared so those that want to do the work and effort can do just that. There is a need but the details are very intensive.

Where can we get the bumper?? Found them .....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Angry_Truck

(continued...)

The process was then repeated for the other side of the truck, ending up with the front door seal, rear door seal and several round bumpers. Here they are with some of the originals.
https://i.imgur.com/PbUgvIAl.jpg

So a few of you asked about making some more. Honestly, I am not too excited about trying to make a bunch of these things. It is a fun "can I do this?" hobby experience but I want to be done with it. For the front and rear door seals, I am happy with about 1 out of the 4 or so that I have made. The molding process isn't too terrible but making the metal inserts isn't fun and takes some time. The urethane material I use also just went up in cost by about 30%, which means doing it even as a hobby is getting expensive.

So what to do?

I can add more details to the process so people can make their own parts. It doesn't take any special equipment - just some clay, hot glue, and whatever you want to make the metal parts. The patterns could be made from simple materials (wood, clay) but I chose to do the front seal by 3D print.

The front seal could also be 3D printed using "TPU". I have no experience with this material but it is supposed to have "rubber-like" properties. Note that this wouldn't have the metal insert, so I am not sure about how well this would stay put on the actual truck. I quoted this TPU material at the same place I had the front seals 3D printed (Shapeways). Pretty spendy for an obscure rubber seal but it could be an option if somebody wanted to try it.
https://i.imgur.com/xMD3dv9l.jpg
This 3D printing process won't work for the rear seal since it requires the metal bracket to mount it to the truck.


Sorry guys - I want to help out but cranking out a bunch of these things myself sounds miserable and expensive.

---

I am totally up for this. Is your seal uploaded on the site already. Do I just order it from them? How does this work? Will you provide the plan? $$?

Sent PM.

No response.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

So here's the update.
Shapeways allows people to make a "Marketplace". The Marketplace would then have the part available and you could directly order it from Shapeways - nice and easy. So I went through that only to find out that Shapeways doesn't allow the TPU material on the Marketplace (no idea why).
http://i.imgur.com/26Tpy3Ul.jpg

So then that brings me back to just providing the CAD model so folks can upload and order the parts individually.
I can do that, just not sure how. Maybe send me an IM with your email and I can send it to you?

Some notes about the design:
https://i.imgur.com/FKPQPo9l.jpg
The parts I made have the overmolded reinforcing plate like the original. That requires a different design than if you want to use a part directly from the 3D printer.
If you are going to try and print a part using TPU and use it directly, I would use the part with the 4mm thickness in the mounting areas. I have no idea how well this will work, my guess is that it could be "floppy" and not hold its shape well. Maybe some adhesive between the part and the body would help? Also, this type of part will just squish if you use a screw only to attach it to the body. If I was doing this method, I would add a compression sleeve (like a short piece of tubing) to take the compression load of the screw. That will help keep the TPU from splitting or squishing and the screw from loosening.

First person in over 50 years to try and tackle making any of these and with all the obstacles, you pulled it off and are trying to help others do the same....

Tech legend...thats who you are!!

Hats off to ya...amazing work!

PM sent!!!! Thank you for doing this!!!! I'll order right away!!!

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That is crazy awesome, A.T.! Thank you for being willing to share-

OK TPU Prints are on their way! I'll post when they arrive! Again thanks Brian!! Oh and Brian .... do you have the STL files for the rear door/cab seals????

Attachment 3451