Back to The Future MODs Survey

[Lwanmtr]

I have 3d printing ability and am interested to learn how to make molds to produce multiple copies of things.

[mluder]

Hi Steven-
Would you consider building/ selling any props to prospective buyers. Perhaps You, Andy, Mr Hissem and myself could all pitch in with different parts. It is much easier building the same thing twice than re-inventing the wheel for every prop....

It's possible... Most of what I've made is very lightweight. Made from gator board which is a more rigid form of foam core if you're familiar with what that is.
That said - I was able to take the CAD drawing of the components that I got from this forum and I took them to a sign maker who used a CNC machine to cut the shapes. Then it was just a matter of fitting them together. I did this to make the vents and central reactor core. Most of the rest is made from off the shelf plumbing bits I bought at Home Depot. What I'm getting at is while I could make these pieces ready to go - just connect some hoses, etc - the size and material might make them expensive to ship. Then you have to mount all of it to a sheet of plywood... etc. If you have any fabrication skills at all it's really not hard to do and would only cost you time and materials. I'd be willing to help you to a degree via e-mail, etc.

That said, if you just don't have the skill or the time, PM me and we'll talk about what I can build for you...
Cheers
Steven

[cpistocco]

It's possible... Most of what I've made is very lightweight. Made from gator board which is a more rigid form of foam core if you're familiar with what that is.
That said - I was able to take the CAD drawing of the components that I got from this forum and I took them to a sign maker who used a CNC machine to cut the shapes. Then it was just a matter of fitting them together. I did this to make the vents and central reactor core. Most of the rest is made from off the shelf plumbing bits I bought at Home Depot. What I'm getting at is while I could make these pieces ready to go - just connect some hoses, etc - the size and material might make them expensive to ship. Then you have to mount all of it to a sheet of plywood... etc. If you have any fabrication skills at all it's really not hard to do and would only cost you time and materials. I'd be willing to help you to a degree via e-mail, etc.

That said, if you just don't have the skill or the time, PM me and we'll talk about what I can build for you...
Cheers
Steven

Thank You Steven.
That is very kind of you.
Did you have to glue the gatorboard together?
Where did you get the dimensions?
Did you say that your engine cover was made from wood?
Thanks again-
Charlie

[mluder]

Thank You Steven.
That is very kind of you.
Did you have to glue the gatorboard together?
Where did you get the dimensions?
Did you say that your engine cover was made from wood?
Thanks again-
Charlie

I left the stock engine over in place - in fact I left the louver's in place... Just opened them up. Most people don't know the difference. They're easy enough to remove but may louver latch actually works so I hesitated mucking with it.
That said, I assembled everything on a 1/2" tick sheet of plywood. I put a couple of pieces of carpet on the underside of the plywood so it wouldn't scratch the engine cover. Then it just sits on top.

When the sign maker cut the shapes he left tabs holding everything to the full sheet. I had to cut everything loose, sand the edges a bit, and then assemble with regular old Elmers glue and some straight pins to hold everything while the glue set up. I then detailed some of the joints with hot glue to make it look like welds.

The dimensions came from a CAD drawing that was posted here on the sight. I had to modify it slightly for the thickness of the gator board vs what it would normally be cut from (aluminum). The CAD is pretty accurate - that's why my vents look different from Andy's... I think he just made his interpretation. Most of his car is "in the spirit of" and he'd be the first to admit. He wasn't going for screen accurate. I on the other hand am a stickler to a fault so while I fudged parts, I tried to make it as close as possible. That said, I've since bought a number of screen accurate parts and one day I'll get to putting them in place. Example - the heat sinks around the reactor - Mine are plywood that I fabricated... I now have the real things.

Let me know what if you need more assistance.
Steve

[cpistocco]

I left the stock engine over in place - in fact I left the louver's in place... Just opened them up. Most people don't know the difference. They're easy enough to remove but may louver latch actually works so I hesitated mucking with it.
That said, I assembled everything on a 1/2" tick sheet of plywood. I put a couple of pieces of carpet on the underside of the plywood so it wouldn't scratch the engine cover. Then it just sits on top.

When the sign maker cut the shapes he left tabs holding everything to the full sheet. I had to cut everything loose, sand the edges a bit, and then assemble with regular old Elmers glue and some straight pins to hold everything while the glue set up. I then detailed some of the joints with hot glue to make it look like welds.

The dimensions came from a CAD drawing that was posted here on the sight. I had to modify it slightly for the thickness of the gator board vs what it would normally be cut from (aluminum). The CAD is pretty accurate - that's why my vents look different from Andy's... I think he just made his interpretation. Most of his car is "in the spirit of" and he'd be the first to admit. He wasn't going for screen accurate. I on the other hand am a stickler to a fault so while I fudged parts, I tried to make it as close as possible. That said, I've since bought a number of screen accurate parts and one day I'll get to putting them in place. Example - the heat sinks around the reactor - Mine are plywood that I fabricated... I now have the real things.

Let me know what if you need more assistance.
Steve

Hi Steve
Thanks again...
Could you tell me where you found the CAD info.....and also, where you obtained the "screen accurate parts"?
-Best
Charlie

[stranovegas]

All true!! If I did it over again and had the time, I'd love a more "screen accurate" look... But all in all, the public hasn't a clue. And I drive with mine on as well. Its all in good fun.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

[cpistocco]

All true!! If I did it over again and had the time, I'd love a more "screen accurate" look... But all in all, the public hasn't a clue. And I drive with mine on as well. Its all in good fun.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

Andy- You're right after my own heart. That's what its all about. I am still working out the details of my (easily) reversible conversion!

[mluder]

Hi Steve
Thanks again...
Could you tell me where you found the CAD info.....and also, where you obtained the "screen accurate parts"?
-Best
Charlie

Looks like you found Gary Weaver's CAD based on your post on the other thread... Everything is there. If you don't have access to a CAD program I have - or can make a PDF for you.
AS far as screen accurate parts - some from E-bay, some from Amazon believe it or not. Others from suppliers and government surplus searches. You just have to know what you're looking for.
I can try to gather a list of some of the known parts... You're looking exterior exclusively right?

Steve

[cpistocco]

Looks like you found Gary Weaver's CAD based on your post on the other thread... Everything is there. If you don't have access to a CAD program I have - or can make a PDF for you.
AS far as screen accurate parts - some from E-bay, some from Amazon believe it or not. Others from suppliers and government surplus searches. You just have to know what you're looking for.
I can try to gather a list of some of the known parts... You're looking exterior exclusively right?

Steve

Thanks Steve
For the moment, I am sticking to exterior only (although I may pick up a flux capacitor and maybe a TFC drive switch). I have no intention of removing any of my rear glass. I am going for the basic idea of "not doing everything....but whatever I do, make it accurate"!
Non-destructive....easily reversible.
I would appreciate anything resources that you could provide..
Also, a pdf of the CAD file would be awesome!
Thanks a million!
-Charlie
ps I am doing this for my son ( although I am having a ball)!

[mluder]

Thanks Steve
For the moment, I am sticking to exterior only (although I may pick up a flux capacitor and maybe a TFC drive switch). I have no intention of removing any of my rear glass. I am going for the basic idea of "not doing everything....but whatever I do, make it accurate"!
Non-destructive....easily reversible.
I would appreciate anything resources that you could provide..
Also, a pdf of the CAD file would be awesome!
Thanks a million!
-Charlie
ps I am doing this for my son ( although I am having a ball)!

Attached are two versions... One has all the hole locations (correct or not I do not know). The one marked REV has them removed as I did not want the cutter to cut them out. I printed a full size paper version with the screw holes and laid that over the pieces after assembly to locate the holes for screws.
Attachment 48837
Attachment 48838

Also two items to note... I resized the slits to 3/16" where the center exhaust louvers slip together... I believe standard practice is to cut from 1/4" aluminum but gator board standard is 3/16"... If you want a PDF of the original I can get that to you tomorrow. Finally this PDF only has the things I needed at the time - vents, reactor parts, and flux boxes (although I never got around to building these). Again - the deck and lots of other pieces are on the orig CAD. I can get PDFs of that to you later if you want/need the whole set. Somewhere I've also got a SketchUp version I created with these pieces to figure out how they went together.

Cheer
Steve