Lincoln MKC New 3D-Printed Cargo Net Hook

 It was bound to happen. A plastic hook in the cargo area of our 2015 Lincoln MKC somehow broke. There are two of these hooks that are used to support a cargo net. I looked online and it appears the only way to get a new hook is to get a whole new cargo area side panel. That's not going to happen anytime soon. So... what options do I have? I could glue on a piece of plastic to the the remaining flat part of the hook but it probably wouldn't hold up too well and not look too appealing. The second option is to try and design a new hook and print it out on the 3D printer. The first photo below shows the hook that is not (yet) broken.

More PETG Printer Settings

Something doesn't look right in this photo. I just can't put my finger on it.....

3D Printing With PETG

When I bought my 3D printer I knew I wanted to print with something more durable and heat-resistant than PLA. PETG was the obvious choice, as that was what many folks on the internet said was becoming the new PLA. One very real downside with PETG though was the fact that it was a lot more finicky to print with. The first photo below shows how a skirt came out, not sticking to the bed at all.

The next photo shows the globby infill.

Can You Say, "Layer Shifting"?

Yeah, I'd never heard the term before either. Apparently it's a thing with 3D printers.

My Very Own 3D Printer - WooHoo!

My dear wife got me a 3D printer for Christmas. She let me pick out what I wanted, and I went with a Creality CR-10S Pro. Here's my first try at making something, some soft jaws for my Columbian 603 vise:

Atlas 618 Progress - Part VI: More 3D Printing - Cross Slide Chip Guard

A couple days ago I showed a photo of my cross slide chip guard cobbled from a piece of sheet metal. It worked but didn't look that great. What do I have at my disposal that could possibly make a better guard? Why, a 3D printer, of course.

Atlas 618 Lathe Progress - Part V: 3D Printed 40t Gear

I never did get immersed in CAD/CAM software up to this point in my life, as I never really needed the skill at work or home. That was for the younger folks, don'tcha know. Well, times change. My daughter bought herself a 3D printer a year or so ago and has been making things. Hmm, that looks like fun. But I have no idea how to even start to learn the skill. But then Mr. Pete (Tubalcain), "your YouTube shop teacher", put out a few recent videos on how he learned to make things on a 3D printer, specifically lathe change gears. And my 618 lathe was missing a 40-tooth gear. If he can do it, so can I. And by jove, it wasn't that difficult.