This has been a work in progress for many months now and I’m still not completely done, but I wanted to share it with you guys.

Like many of you, I have a SR5 with the running boards removed. This means there’s a gap in the fender flare that is totally unnoticeable to a normal human, but drives some owners absolutely mad (myself included). Toyota dealers are sold out of the SR5 mudflaps that fill this gap (well, the right mudflap is still available, but the left side has been sold out for years) and I didn’t feel like chopping up a one-size-fits-all mudflap from Autozone.



UPDATE: pics of 3D printed parts installed

(click on pics to enlarge)








Inspired by forum member "Dfarms", I set off to make my own mudflap. I bought the still-available right mudflap for $40 and tried to scan it with the 3D scanner at work.

...however, my plan didn't work out so well. The 3D scanner at my office sucks so I found a local company to scan it which set me back $150
Then I mirrored the file to create the left mudflap and uploaded the file on a bunch of sites that do SLS (the same way my outlet covers are 3D printed) and the quotes ranged from $350-$2000 per mudflap

So at this point I was $190 in the hole and all I had was a 3D scan of a mudflap and a right mudflap lol

I decided to fix the broken Makerbot Replicator 2X we had at work that has been collecting dust for 3 years, after 4 people gave up on fixing it. Turns out, it wasn’t all that hard, but this led me to my next issue -- the mudflap is too big to print on this 3D printer.



So I spent a few hours in the CAD world chopping up the file so it would fit, but still have the right look. I’m pretty happy with the result:

(click on pics to enlarge)

Printing (the scraggy looking stuff is support material):



Printed out of black ABS plastic, but still not finished, sanded, and painted:



Installed (but still not finished, sanded, and painted):









Comparison of my reduced mudflap vs SR5 mudflap -- there's a lot less "flap", which can be a good thing if you're worried about breaking it on things while offroad:



Hardware

- M6x1.0 bolt, 35 to 50mm in length, 10mm hex head (SHCS also ok)
- Qty: 1 per mudflap
- M6 washer, approx 16.7mm OD
- Qty: 1 per mudflap
- Coarse threaded screws
- Length = 24.5mm
- Major diameter = 6.14mm
- Approx 1.7mm pitch
- Tapered tip
- Qty: 2 per mudflap
- Washer, 17.8mm OD
- Qty: 2 per mudflap
- Snaps with screws
- Fit in 6.3mm hole
- 17mm length (measured from tip to under plastic head)
- Qty: 1 or 2 per mudflap
- Instructions that came with factory mudflaps (click to enlarge):




Next steps:

Required: coat part with epoxy

You must coat the 3D printed part with epoxy to strength, protect, and smooth it. I recommend sanding the part with 220 grit before coating. I used this product:


After coating the entire part with two coats of epoxy, I'd recommend doing a little sanding with 200-300 grit (just the visible surfaces, the inside is bumpy but it's hidden when it's installed so don't waste your time on that), then hit them with primer and a few topcoats. Make sure you get a layer of UV resistant paint on there -- either the topcoat or add a clearcoat, or I'm sure any bed liner is thick enough to block rays.

Also, please be extremely careful with how much you tighten these! The material is decent for flexing and small impacts (after being coated with epoxy), but really bad in compression. I'd recommend using a socket driver (the type with the regular screwdriver-shaped handle) rather than a ratchet so you're less likely to overtighten it and cause anything to crack. Go very slowly and use loctite on the bolt threads so you can get it just barely tight enough so that it will stay in place.

yeah, D farms 4runner got destroyed. He happily owns a trail pig land cruiser LC100. Making the trim pieces wasn’t in his interest for all the work it takes. good luck to you though.


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Good on ya.

Like Marcus mentioned, big complications for producing these are the time it takes to print and preparing them ready for sale (sand/coating). I will be doing some test printing this weekend but the amount I can make per week will be limited to one or two with all considerations. Be sure to thank @marcus clarkus for the invested time and effort already.
PS: If you donate $5 or more to I will take $10 off unfinished / 15$ off coated flaps, to pay my dues forward. Just send me a screenshot confirmation. Thanks and Enjoy.

For more info feel free to contact me:
[email protected]

Congrats on doing the 3D print ! I work in the 3D modeling world in regards to mechanical design (solidworks). I can share an opinion based on my own experiences using 3D printed parts for making 2 piece casting molds.

As long as the part in printed in ABS, start with a high build auto body primer, coat the part heavy. Wet sand for a uniform finish. Repeat the process until everything is looking smooth, then paint with a high gloss black. You'll see every imperfection. Go through the high build process again until you get it nice and smooth. This will take multiple attempts.

Once you get a nice shiny high gloss black part, you could use it to make a 2 piece mold then cast the parts in a urethane that will hold up to the weather and being bumped into. Smooth-on makes a great urethane for this.

I mention ABS for printing because if you use PLA, then hit it with a spray paint, the PLA will start to soften , distort then desolve before you can shed a tear. Ask me how I know this, lol !

Do you think these would still fit with my sliders positioned where they are?

Attached Images

   

I would be quite happy to do all the finishing to take a rough printed part to a finished (painted) part on the truck. I would assume many guys would rather do the work than pay the extra cost it would take to pay somebody to do the finishing (filling, sanding, painting, etc.).

I'd love to just have a place to go order a rough set. I'll be watching this closely...

Otherwise, I'll keep the front running board caps and hand modify them, as I have an idea for that too.

-Charlie

Nice project OP. I wish I had some more background in CAD / solid works modeling.

Can't wait for people to start 3D printing UCA lol.

Wow, this is awesome, thanks for taking the time to do this and posting it up! I am going to try to get these printed on an SLS sometime in the not too distant future, I'll post up some pics when I get them done. I have been looking for these for a while now for my project, and now I can see why i was unable to find them.

This is great. My son drives my 2000 and he has access to free 3D printing at his school library. He was asking me to find a good project. If he does it I imagine it will be after winter break.

Cool thanks for the tips! I thought of doing a urethane cast of these but didn't want to invest the time/effort/money haha. Also, the geometry isn't open-shut so I think I would need some sort of external slide or a one-use mold...not exactly sure how that would work for urethane casting, I come from the plastic injection molding world. What do you think? And do you have any interest in making a mold?

Also, have you ever tried brushing on an epoxy to finish parts?

Hmmm I'm not sure, those are looking really close. I'll get some measurements for you in the next couple of days.

Good to know! I'll put your name on the list

That is really cool that you took the time to write everything up and share the process. I think they turned out really well & the fit looks great. Does it feel similar to the OEM flare (thinner, thicker, etc)?

thicker and stiffer

This is awesome, thanks so much for sharing the files!

Thanks for the donation I appreciate it!