I have several end use products (motorcycle accessories) printed in Tough 1500 and 2000 - anyone use Cerakote C Series? Looking for any learning lessons before attempting my first application this week.
Can’t say I have, but I’m quite interested in the result! I’ve used sealers, but due to how smooth the surface finish is, I has to sandblast the part before anything would stick.
L to R: Aluminum powder coated, Tough 1500 v2 Cerakote C-Series (post 5 day cure), and uncoated Tough 1500 v2.
I’ve done a few drop tests, and the finish is unmarked. Will do a drag test later this week to see how it holds up. So far I’m happy with it!
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The smooth low sheen - matte finish looks spectacular. 
Look forward to the drag test results.
Also what are the marks on the uncoated specimen near the holes?
The marks on the larger holes are compression marks ( this is a GPS mount that attaches to motorcycle bar clamps). That piece was used and tested on my motorcycle for about 2 weeks. So those are from around 16ft-lbs of torque. That specific piece was designed completely flat. However the middle piece was redesigned to account for the compression warping and surface tension - it’s now significantly reduced.
The holes in the middle are threaded holes for the actual GPS mount.
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Interesting—I’ve learned quite a bit from this. I’ve generally avoided tapping threads or using self tapping screws in other Formlabs resins because of their brittle nature, so I was excited when I first watched the 1500 V2 promo video and saw the potential. Seeing real-world results like this makes me want to give it a try.
It may also be worth considering metal compression sleeves in the larger holes to prevent the material from sinking under load. Another option would be to add a thicker boss around each hole to localise the deformation and reduce the risk of the entire plate warping.
My goal is to reduce the need on external suppliers and cut down on different components for my accessories, a metal collet would be ideal… but if the resin print is good enough, then that’s one less item of component inventory I need to keep track of.
I ended up adding a boss around the bolt hole, which reduced warping.
The threaded points are wonderful, but those threads do have a use-life expectancy. I haven’t counted, but I would say the threads can be used 15-20 times (fully threaded, then unthreaded) before failure starts creeping in. On these parts, customers should be installing their GPS mounts once and shouldn’t have to uninstall it for any reason - so resin threads are fine. The material is thin enough that if the threads failed, they can use a washer and nut on the backside to keep things secure.
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