XR4 3D Printed Centre Caps

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:37 PM

Here's some stuff I did playing with my 3D printer:

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:38 PM

My favourites - the flat caps with the 65mm centre badge. I've just printed a set of 4 of these to go on our XR - mainly because the print is good quality straight off the printer, it looks pretty good from a distance too, it is much easier to print face down than the others (which mostly need supports) and it doesn't suffer from layering due to shallow gradients.

Lukeyuson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:41 PM

This one is an attempt at the factory-style cap with 65mm centre cap. If you look closely at the OP image you'll see how badly layered this is close up. But from a distance it looks good. Might have been my choice if the prints didn't look so terrible up close.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:44 PM

This one relies on using better wheel nuts - some chrome-capped captured-washer short nuts were fount on Aliexpress. This one uses a 56mm centre badge and the nuts are exposed using gentle radius fillets. It's s similar shallow dish to the OEM caps so has the same horrible layering from the 3d printer.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:46 PM

This one still uses the shallow dish, gentle radius on the nuts surrounds - but places the 56mm centre cap flush to the base of the dish rather than using a raised fake centre 'nut'. Still terrible layering.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:48 PM

For this one I tried to do exposed nuts with a flat face, sharpen the edges against the nuts, drop the face down as lower as I could go, and put a 56mm centre badge on a mild centre 'nut'. Quality off the printer was excellent, but aesthetically not my cup of tea.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:52 PM

This one was similar to the previous, but the centre 56mm badge was place on a raised radius pillar - inspired by Focus St170 wheels (without the caps), but with the limits I have I don't think I captured the essence:

VS

Same again but with 56mm Silver centre caps:

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-07-2021, 10:58 PM

Oh, and for those interested, the paint code is UI - Brilliant Silver. It's a Ford Paint code and I've been getting it mixed up in spray packs by Super Cheap Auto. I tried Sparkle Silver but it was too dark and did not match the factory XR4 wheels.

https://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/CAR-MA...nt-Silver.html

Lukeyson

Crazy Dazz · 06-07-2021, 01:30 AM

Great Minds...
I was literally about to PM you, after seeing your prototype on thingiverse.

How much would you charge for these?

I need at least one, and considering how daggy the others are, could do with a new set.

But I balk at paying the cost of NOS ones, considering how easy they are to lose and how they deteriorate.

I agree the flat ones look exceptional. I'd never pick they had been printed.
Have you tried printing anything with silver filament?
And how do you think they would look with the larger decal?

Lunch · 06-07-2021, 08:56 AM

The factory style still looks best, pity about the layers but then yeah I agree with Dazz, the flat ones next, could you make the flat ones with the factory style/ size hexagon/ nut thingy to take the factory Ford insert, that way people could recycle the inserts from their warped caps? I'd definitely order a set.
If you were to produce them the sell that is ..

**Luke Plaizier** · 06-07-2021, 11:27 AM

Job done:

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 06-07-2021, 11:34 AM

Just for good measure, these things were in shot as well, but not all that visible. Unpainted White PETG jack point covers.....

Lukeyson

LeighMJ · 23-03-2022, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Just for good measure, these things were in shot as well, but not all that visible. Unpainted White PETG jack point covers.....

Luke, you got the STL for the jack point covers downloadable from anywhere? I just found one of mine missing this morning.

**FairmontGS** · 06-07-2021, 11:41 AM

That's a top job Luke. Those XR4 centres are really expensive and keep getting lost.

Crazy Dazz · 15-07-2021, 06:00 PM

If you're interesting in selling them, I'm definitely buying.

**Luke Plaizier** · 17-07-2021, 11:19 PM

To be honest, I wasn't doing this to go into the market and sell, I was just trying to find something that would solve my missing cap problem.

I also wasn't sure whether this would end up being much cheaper. The layered original caps do look dreadful close up. And given the support I need to use under them they take almost a day to print. The flat caps are a bit quicker and look a whole lot better in the flesh, but they still take awhile to print.

I could probably do caps for $10 each plus postage if people really wanted me to, but I'm not an expert printer, and while they do look pretty good, there are always small blemishes on each print just due to the nature of 3d printing.

You'd still need to get 65mm centre badges, and buy some plastic primer and Ford UI paint from Supercheap Auto to finish them off. To iron out blemishes you could possibly use plastic primer filler and sand back, but that's quite a manual process and I don't usually do that myself.

Does that end up cheaper than the OEM caps for a product that is plastic and, in the case of the layered printed caps, not up to the standard of the OEM items?

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 17-07-2021, 11:26 PM

I took one more stab at the ST170 style centre by modifying the one above - increasing the radius of the fillet curves, reducing the height of the central badge and attempting to make the nut holes as big as I could in the space allowed without making any major structural changes. Seems a bit of an improvement. Maybe I should try it again with structural changes....

Lukeyson

V8Crazy · 18-07-2021, 01:20 PM

Really cool! I love seeing people 3DPrint stuff like this! (I've done quite a few for the Falcon, best unseen one was some pieces to fit the door handles back onto the door cards!

How do you post process your prints? Do you sand them? Fill & Sand? Just lay down filler primer and paint?

With visual prints like this, i try to print them in ABS purely because i can then Acetone smooth them (i just use acetone wet, i'm not keen to do vapor smoothing lol) and with a little bit of plastic filler primer afterwards, i can get some really smooth, almost injection molded looking prints.

With PLA or PETG, I'll use Iron'ing where i can to smooth off the top layers on the printer, then give it all a sand over (i usually use a multi-tool, just to speed up the process and start with fine sand paper, though if i want it looking really nice, i'll go coarse, spread a bit of filler over the big/non fine detail areas then have at the whole lot with fine sand paper). Takes a little time but if its going to be a finishing piece, imo its worth it.

Then i'll use plastic "Filler primer" with a quick sand over with really fine paper, then paint and clear.

One final trick i use when actual painting is to Blend the Spray paint with Polyeurethane "spray", The Poly is sorta thick and "runs" into all the steps and gaps, and if spray the Poly into the spray paint it helps it run into the lines/etc and looks really good

Even prints i don't care to "post process" at all it really smooths out the stepping

Heres a link to some instructions on how to do it (and a video)
https://hackaday.com/2018/06/15/smoo...ith-two-paints

Crazy Dazz · 18-07-2021, 04:17 PM

I actually prefer the flat style, and if I'm understanding correctly they are the easiest to print face-down and without the layering.
Yes, they're not strictly authentic, but they look good with our rims, and I think most would assume they genuine.

Not only have I lost one, but the others are daggy and look difficult to repaint as they have delaminated.

NOS ones are becoming rarer. The cheapest I can find are twenty quid (about $40) plus postage from the UK.

Centre stickers should be no problem, I'm assuming these will suffice:

As for the colour, I don't mind painting, and for now will probably just make do with something generic from Bunnings, as I am contemplating recolouring the rims.

Fast Eddie · 23-03-2022, 11:47 AM

That's excellent work you do. The image of the ST170 wheels sans centre caps are what I have on my MkI Focus. Any chance you can do a ST170 Rear Spoiler for me?? (stretching the friendship there) :-)

SaxonD · 06-12-2022, 12:52 PM

Man, that is every xr4 driver's dream to have a supply of these. My favourite in the group photo is definitely the top right with the indent then the nut shaped centre. Looks sharp and slick.