Wiper System Restoration
Passing the German car inspection (TÜV) in a classic car is not as easy
as one might think. TÜV inspectors almost never fail to find a flaw on your car.
One of these flaws was my wiper water spraying system. Automobiles in 1965 generally were not equipped with such a feature but Volvo being the car manufacturer known for safety, was one of the few to do so. Mine was unfortunately not working during an inspection.
The reason the water spraying system was defective, was because the housing of the mechanical water pump was broken. This resulted in only air being pumped into the spraying system. Unfortunately, parts for these kinds of pumps are not produced anymore, so I had to get creative.
In the end I opted for 3D printing. I only needed to recreate the broken part in my CAD program of choice and get it printed. I had recently learned to work with Autodesk Inventor and therefore made a couple of different prototypes for a new housing. After some improvements to the initial design, I proceeded to print the part through 3D Hubs. Since the part has a simple structure, I chose SLS (selective laser sintering) as the printing method and PA 12 as the desired material.
The TÜV never complained again!
One of these flaws was my wiper water spraying system. Automobiles in 1965 generally were not equipped with such a feature but Volvo being the car manufacturer known for safety, was one of the few to do so. Mine was unfortunately not working during an inspection.
The reason the water spraying system was defective, was because the housing of the mechanical water pump was broken. This resulted in only air being pumped into the spraying system. Unfortunately, parts for these kinds of pumps are not produced anymore, so I had to get creative.
In the end I opted for 3D printing. I only needed to recreate the broken part in my CAD program of choice and get it printed. I had recently learned to work with Autodesk Inventor and therefore made a couple of different prototypes for a new housing. After some improvements to the initial design, I proceeded to print the part through 3D Hubs. Since the part has a simple structure, I chose SLS (selective laser sintering) as the printing method and PA 12 as the desired material.
The TÜV never complained again!