1100 Clear instrument cover repro

Hawk Joined: Feb 21, 2008 Posts: 334 Location: mobile al

Has anyone ever looked into creating a mold and having new ones vacuum formed ? It's a fairly easy process so I would think overall cost would be within reason. I think I can do the mold myself with silicon rubber mold agent poured into a old cover. Then it will be a matter of finding a company to do the clear plastic vacuum forming. Just something I may look into with the way these things age/weather. Any thoughts? Smile

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:10 pm

bamaf wrote:

Has anyone ever looked into creating a mold and having new ones vacuum formed ? It's a fairly easy process so I would think overall cost would be within reason. I think I can do the mold myself with silicon rubber mold agent poured into a old cover. Then it will be a matter of finding a company to do the clear plastic vacuum forming. Just something I may look into with the way these things age/weather. Any thoughts? Smile

Gauge cover? Do you mean for a 1100? Tattoo

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:26 pm

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what he is talking about. The little tinted fairing screen from the US 1100F.

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:35 pm

thx113 wrote:

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what he is talking about. The little tinted fairing screen from the US 1100F.

I don't know it sounds more like the instrument cluster cover to me? Fairing glass is just that. Tattoo

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:42 pm

Honda call it a "cover, meter"

Hawk Joined: Feb 21, 2008 Posts: 334 Location: mobile al

Yes I mean the instrument cluster cover for an 1100. Vacuum molding should work nice with all the smooth surface areas. I think the fairing screen/shield would be injection molding due to the mounting pins.

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:12 am

bamaf wrote:

Yes I mean the instrument cluster cover. Vacuum molding should work nice with all the smooth surface areas. I think the fairing screen/shield would be injection molding due to the mounting pins.

That's what I thought. Good luck it won't be easy to keep it clear. But I do wish you luck. Tattoo

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:32 am

If you do it, and they come out nice, I'll be in for two...

CB1100F Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 3217 Location: NE OHIO

If you do it and they come out nice I think you will have a lot of buyers

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:00 am

Vacuum forming does not lend itself for clear applications. As the sheet is draped and vacuum applied the material stretches and cools unevenly. In addition the corners get thinned out at the high points and form a radius that varies depending on the thickness of the material at various points (thinner on top heavier on bottom). This process would make for a weak brittle and inaccurate part.
I applaud your trying to make a part that seems to be a weak link in the design of the instrument cluster assembly.

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 4:33 pm

Now we're talking in my field of expertise.

Recently, I had an injection molding shop price out what we call "tools" to mold the fairing and the meter cover "exactly" as Honda made them. No cutting corners, no compromises at all to be authentically correct. The only difference is that I would mold them in better materials that weren't available back in '83. No cracking, weathering or fading.
The meter cover mold cost WITHOUT the design time factured in was $59,000. The 1100F fairing was $100,500 and just for giggles, I had them price out the grained fuse cover panel by the ignition switch, it was $65,000. All of these hav a minimum run of 200 parts each. They calculated approximately $60,000 in design time for all 3 parts.
The part costs were relatively cheap: $23.29 fairing (no paint, raw), $8.34 meter cover, $6.15 fuse panel cover.
The molds would be ready to run in 12 weeks after the designs were approved.

Does anyone want to chip in? Just let me know, I'm anxious to get started.

J.R.
CBX-tras LLC

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 5:19 pm

CBXtras wrote:

Now we're talking in my field of expertise.

Recently, I had an injection molding shop price out what we call "tools" to mold the fairing and the meter cover "exactly" as Honda made them. No cutting corners, no compromises at all to be authentically correct. The only difference is that I would mold them in better materials that weren't available back in '83. No cracking, weathering or fading.
The meter cover mold cost WITHOUT the design time factured in was $59,000. The 1100F fairing was $100,500 and just for giggles, I had them price out the grained fuse cover panel by the ignition switch, it was $65,000. All of these hav a minimum run of 200 parts each. They calculated approximately $60,000 in design time for all 3 parts.
The part costs were relatively cheap: $23.29 fairing (no paint, raw), $8.34 meter cover, $6.15 fuse panel cover.
The molds would be ready to run in 12 weeks after the designs were approved.

Does anyone want to chip in? Just let me know, I'm anxious to get started.

J.R.
CBX-tras LLC

LOL I'm in for each part but who's going to pay for the molds? Do you have an extra 0 on the end of each mold price? Laughing

Tattoo

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 5:33 pm

Now I remember why I made most of my own parts.

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:52 pm

CBX-tras is my brother and the number of zeros he cited are correct. Lets technically specific about the parts we are discussing: (1) "Fairing" Honda calls Cover, Headlight #1307156 red or 1307164 blue (2) "Grained fuse panel" Honda calls Cover, Handle Bar #1307040 (3) "meter, cover" Honda calls Cover, Meter #1307149 and fits on the Headlight Cover (item #1 above).

I think the BAMAF was actually asking about what Honda calls Cover, Instument (Upper) part # 1306158.

Any way the cost of the molds seem to be the problem. Or the number of buyers. If we could have pre-sold 1000 Headlight Covers (aka "fairings") we would have broken even at $125 a piece. Not too pricy. However, we do not know if the market is there. All the parts we priced out would have been of the finest modern materials and bulit to last. If ANYBODY knows where to get molds cheaper OR where 1000 F owners are, then we would start this project.

Hello? Hello? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Thanks, --Roger--

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:17 pm

Does your part (Fairings) price include decorating? I would guess not. This part requires a complicated mold since it has undercuts. It most probably requires a "cam action" mold. This means that some steel sections of the mold open to allow the molded part to be released from the mold after it is formed. These type of molds add a lot of $ to injection molding tools.

Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:37 am

Well, some one else understands what it takes to create these parts...

Let's focus on the fairing or "Headlamp cover".

Yes, there are slides and lifters not to mention that there are brass inserts to attach the bracketry. This is not what is called an open and shut tool.
The next time you have one off of an 1100F, look at the back side. All of those molding lines or circles are places the mold needs to move so the part isn't die-locked and can be taken out of the mold as a solid piece.
Additionally, some molds can be made of aluminum to save money but when the part is relatively small as this is, all the components that move make the tool weaker. We wouldn't save that much with aluminum and steel just removes any doubt if it will work when it's completed in the 12 week timeframe.

Unless there's a millionaire out there with money to throw at this, it doesn't pass a business case for any of these parts I mentioned.

J.R.

Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:30 am

CBXtras wrote:

Now we're talking in my field of expertise.

Recently, I had an injection molding shop price out what we call "tools" to mold the fairing and the meter cover "exactly" as Honda made them. No cutting corners, no compromises at all to be authentically correct. The only difference is that I would mold them in better materials that weren't available back in '83. No cracking, weathering or fading.
The meter cover mold cost WITHOUT the design time factured in was $59,000. The 1100F fairing was $100,500 and just for giggles, I had them price out the grained fuse cover panel by the ignition switch, it was $65,000. All of these hav a minimum run of 200 parts each. They calculated approximately $60,000 in design time for all 3 parts.
The part costs were relatively cheap: $23.29 fairing (no paint, raw), $8.34 meter cover, $6.15 fuse panel cover.
The molds would be ready to run in 12 weeks after the designs were approved.

Does anyone want to chip in? Just let me know, I'm anxious to get started.

J.R.
CBX-tras LLC

$60,000 design time? Roughly 4 guys for three months or some such?

...stereolithography?

CPMFastool

They make som pretty amazing claims. Scan the part and approval drawings in a couple days. Then dies ready in a couple more.

Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:25 pm

I applaud anyone that wants to take on the challenge of producing these parts in non-conventional methods.

Let me know then you have parts off the tools, I'll buy a couple from you.

J.R.