Im a genius. Nakatanenga rear door gas strut 2.0 install

[PolarBlair]

As the title says. I'm smart - like super, duper, smart. Now that we have that established, let me tell you about recently fitting a gas strut to the back door and at the same time deciding to repaint it outside, without cover, on an exposed hillside, in a blizzard. Stephen Hawking has nothing on me.

 

The Kit:

 

https://www.nakatanenga.de/en/optional-equipment/interior/doors/653/nakatanenga-rear-door-gas-strut-2.0-from-my2002

 

The strut, brackets and fixing kit are all great with good instructions. Brackets are stainless steel which is nice. I prefer this version for two reasons; it re-uses the existing mounting point just inside the door, and the bracket doesn't reduce the door opening. I have seen other versions where the strut is high up, but to my eye this not only intrudes on the height of the rear opening, but also puts too much stress on the corner of the door. I prefer the way the bracket spreads the load over the two reinforcing ribs in the centre of the door. Its just a simple case of drilling four holes to rivet the bracket in place.

I'm not sure about other kits, but this gas strut also has a damper which slows the door down before fully opening. Wont stop your kids from letting it slam open into a lampost, but it will at least put less stress on the door. But I would say the strut is a bit too strong. I haven't road tested it and had it up against a full blown gale in the highlands, but I suspect even then, its probably overkill. When I took it out of the box I initially thought it was seized.

 

Supporting Bracket:

The existing bracket that holds the stock door stay is bolted through the side of the wheelhouse into a steel plate with captive nuts. This bracket is rivited to the nearest vertical support rib in the tub. Or that is to say - it should be.

On mine, both bolts snapped immediately and the bracket fell to the ground. Dissimilar metal corrosion strikes again! The rivets were crumbling white dust but thankfully I found no holes in the side of the tub under the plate.

A little sandblasting, zinc primer and 2 part epoxy paint later, and the bracket has come up really well. I used PPG Sigmadur 520.  If its good enough for offshore windfarms - its good enough for me. Also has the benefit of curing down to -5C

Took the liberty of coating the tub reinforcement brackets while I was at it. Got crazy lucky when I managed to pick up two of these for £34 including a whole bunch of other odd bits. Icing on the cake - one is already galvanised.

 

Now for the genius part

I wanted to install sound deadening and insulation at the same time. This is where I noticed blister already full of water along the bottom of the back door. I thought it would just be a case of removing loose paint and giving it a touchup - nope. Pitted all the way along with holes through in several places. I wasnt expecting holes, didnt have bondo and the first flakes were starting to fall.

Hiding under a tarp I managed to get a couple of coats of primer on. Got the door nearly shut and put a fan heater on in the boot. Then into the car and off to halfords!

Over the next couple of days dodging blizzards I got in a couple applications of P38 filler, more primer and one good lick of gloss black over top.

Spare wheel is still off while I wait for the next weather window.

 

Gas Strut Installed:

Ended up doing the actual install while waiting for paint to dry. Had a small piece of dynamat lying around so put it between the metal bracket and the tub. You could avoid all this by just re-using the stock bracket but I strongly advise against this. I imagine most people will find similar corrosion if they go looking and this one really is an easy fix. Just two rivets drilled out and you can refurbish what will almost certainly by a rusty bracket. Consider it preventative maintenance.

 

First Coat of Gloss:

 

Definitely not pretty but all I wanted to do was treat the corrosion and stop it getting worse over winter. Long term I'd like to replace the door altogether for a galvanised version that includes a rear wiper.

 

Door Card:

I only have a checker plate on the insde. This sits flush agains the ribs so cant be fitted with the bracket in place.

My fix - cut a slot for the bracket and strut and 3D print a cover. We have two dogs and I didnt want the hard edge of the bracket exposed. Also seems like a good idea to keep muck off the strut to extend its lifespan.

 

Its wider than it needs to be, but I thought this would make it easier to fit. Now the bottom edge lines up with the bottom edge of the checker plate so I can screw into the existing holes. Top edge will need new holes. Considered putting the flanges to the inside but I would have had to screw into the cover from the back. Removing the cover then would have required removing the checker plate too which I wanted to avoid.

Split into smaller pieces to fit onto printer. Could have done it in two but this also avoids wasting too much filament if a print fails. The parts will be glued and screwed. I'll probably sand, fill and paint it the same as the checker plate with leftover paint next time I do the door outside.

Anyhoo - at 7hours a piece and a little under 100g a pop, I've got some printing to do.

Filament is Polymaker PolyTerra PLA Charcoal Black  if anyone is interested. I highly recommend it.

Bonus - each purchase plants a tree and the reel is made of cardboard.

Edited December 2, 2021 by PolarBlair

[mickeyw]

That's looking good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing your finish printed cover. What printer have you used?
Good effort on the al-fresco painting too. Mr Soup@Shackletonknows how much fun this is.

One thing I am not so keen on is the use of just 4 pop rivets to hold the bracket to the door. I'd be concerned they might work loose over time.
I fitted a homebrew gas strut to my old 90, but at the top of the door. I used a couple of M6 rivnuts into the frame, but I guess that makes kits like this less accessible. I think most LR DIYers own a pop rivet gun.

[PolarBlair]

Cheers! I would be very surprised if the bracket goes anywhere. The rivets are spread a decent distance apart and it feels extremely solid. Time will tell I suppose.

I saw on a few forums that people were having difficulties with the pop rivets but I just used a cheapie little draper rivet gun and had no problems at all. No need to dig out the air riveter.

Printer is a creality ender 5plus. The green bits are my mods so only the Bowden tube Flops around on top. It's been amazing for a year without any need for intervention other than a couple nozzle cleanouts. 10min job both Times. I've probably put 10kg of filaments through it and nothing has rattled loose. Assembly was incredibly easy with little chance for screwup. For money to print volume given the reliability I don't think there is a better machine out there. No deflection in the bed at all due to the two lead screws and four bearing rods. I wouldn't consider a machine with a large bed only supported at the back.

Filament run out sensor works well too. I ran out and didn't notice for some hours. Put a new reel in, hit go and off it went. No noticeable seam, just slightly different white filament used.

I also love the fact you can easily reconfigure it as much as you like. I've got the extruder stepper moved to the front and the spool in a separate caddy that's also a dryer. Made by Eibos it has space for two 1kg reels and they run on two rollers held in place by bearings. Waaay less friction than the spool sitting on a normal reel holder. Especially when it's a new reel and heavy.

Haven't printed anything other than PLA so can't comment on performance with other filaments.

The biggest improvement however was the flexible build plate. Essential for popping off larger prints with large contact areas. Double sided too so when one side eventually does wear out you can just flip it over. Leaves a lovely smooth finish and no need for any hairspray or glue for bed adhesion. Well worth £75.

But the best bit - mesh bed levelling has been flawless. Once it's setup you just hit go and walk away. I've only had a couple of failed prints and that was more due to a bad batch of PLA. Bought a second reel from same shop, same brand etc to complete a job and all the problems went away.

Highly, highly recommend. But as with all machines bought from China, your luck may vary depending on how well it's been handled in transit. But it does come very well packaged.

First print with the supplied filament and stock settings. You can see why I needed to mod the printer too. In its normal configuration the machine had to be rotated 90degrees to fit under the inverter on the wall. One day I may have enough space to move it out of the boiler cupboard. One day....

[PolarBlair]

Bit more progress. Going to have to wait for more filament to arrive before I can complete. Shaved off the excess glue. Looks rough but it's pretty smooth to the touch. Gotta love super glue catalyst.

Eyeballed that just about perfectly!

[mickeyw]

I have an Ender 3v2 and have been hugely impressed by it. It's my first foray into FDM printing, and for a newbie it really has been plug in and print. A rather different construction compared to the Ender 5.

I've put maybe 3kg through it including printing parts for an MPCNC project. No failed prints yet using Creality's own brand PLA.

[PolarBlair]

1 hour ago, mickeyw said:

I have an Ender 3v2 and have been hugely impressed by it. It's my first foray into FDM printing, and for a newbie it really has been plug in and print. A rather different construction compared to the Ender 5.

I've put maybe 3kg through it including printing parts for an MPCNC project. No failed prints yet using Creality's own brand PLA.

My mate got me looking at the ender range after being seriously impressed by his ender 3. Those really are incredibly good value for money.

Agree on their own brand PLA. Makes sense their filament would work with their own range of printers after all! 

I'm sure you could get finer results than I have. The 5plus isn't great at detail work like miniatures so there are definitely better options like your 3 V2.

But with a bit of tweaking you can still get pretty nice results.

[Anderzander]

This stuff is amazing …. I need to work out how to learn CAD ..

[PolarBlair]

5 minutes ago, Anderzander said:

This stuff is amazing …. I need to work out how to learn CAD ..

Cheers! But the best bit about 3D printing is you dont need to use CAD at all to get started. Thingiverse and other websites have loads of models you can just download. Open the file in the 3D printing application like Cura and hit go. Honestly, anyone on here that can keep these machines on the road is more than capable of 3D printing. I wwatched from the sidelines for a good few years thinking it was beyond me before taking the plunge. Best tool I've ever owned.

But if you want to get started modelling, the lowest barrier to entry is Sketchup. You can export stl. files directly (when you've installed a plugin) which the 3D printing application can read. Ive got experience in a fair few 3D design softwares over the years and sketchup has been by far the most intuitive and easy to pick up. You can even use the browser version for free now too.

 

[Anderzander]

Thank you 🙏🏻 

Thingiverse looks amazing ….

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:84223

It’s custom parts though that I think would justify my ownership of one - so I’m going to start investing time into Sketch-up and see how I get on. 
 

Thanks for the info and encouragement 

[PolarBlair]

No problem at all. A couple of things to note to help you get started. Sketchups intuitive interface and the way you can freely draw lines is a double edged sword. Everything you do is technically broken down into triangles (but SketchUp thankfully hides this for flat faces to simplify things) you'll see what I mean.

If you're precise, it's great for fast prototyping. But if you're not careful, you can be left trying to complete a square, without the four lines making a face. This could be because one of your lines is off at a slight angle so they aren't coplanar, or it could be simply because the aren't all connected and there's a tiny gap invisible on screen unless you zoom in a crazy amount.

This is part of the reason SketchUp gets a bad rep and has fostered the misconception that it can't be used for CAD/CAM. It's definitely not the first choice for CNC milling, but for 3D printing, it's perfect.

 

Nodes

The node turns green when you are joining up a line to tell you that you have hit it perfectly on its end. Lets say you're drawing a square, but you mess up one of the sides.

You should be locked to an axis with your line having turned, red green or blue AND the node should show a little green circle at the end of your line tool. If it doesn't, it's and indication something went wrong and that you should retrace your steps.

Line

The number value for lengths appears in a tiny window bottom right. So to draw a line, you would use the line tool (pencil icon), click and release on your start point, move the mouse in the direction you want (it auto snaps to red, green or blue axis), enter your length, and hit enter key.

Arrow keys

Before you enter your length, hitting an arrow key will lock the line to that axis. It removes the chance of you drawing a line that's almost at 90degrees because you bumped your mouse. These can be hard to spot on screen and worse than that, you could build on that error and compound it.

Rectangles

For rectangles it's much the same except you enter the length of both sides separated by a comma and hit enter key.

For far too long when I was getting started, I used the tape measuring tool as a poor workaround instead of entering the length I wanted directly.

Circle & Arc

There are no real 'curves' in SketchUp. What you see are lots of straight lines. SketchUp does some visual smoothing or "softening". You can change this value in the softening toolbar slider to go from the anti-aliased view to showing each face and segment clearly defined.

This is important if you're designing parts for 3D printing 

By default I think it's set to 24 segments. If you draw a circle and use the push/pul tool to turn it into a cylinder, it will appear smooth. Turn off the visual smoothing, and you have an angular faceted cylinder. That's also what you would get if you sent it to the 3D printer.

So if you want smooth prints, you need to change the value for number of segments. All you do is select the curve or circle tool, and enter a number value - let's say 48 and hit enter, THEN draw the circle.

I use 48 for anything up to 50mm diameter and increase segment count with diameter.

Plugins

I won't scare you off with the custom plugins but for producing parts they are amazing.

Google the 'Round Corner' plugin. It's incredibly powerful and invaluable for building parts.

Curviloft is another one that I couldn't do without.

If you get stuck feel free to drop me a PM.

[PolarBlair]

Forgot to mention, I keep version 6 of SketchUp along with the more recent versions as it has all my plugins like the ones I mentioned above. Not sure they work with more recent versions or how to get them working on the web version.

[mickeyw]

My 10 YO daughter told me the other day that she is learning TinkerCAD at school.

I have yet to have a look at it, but guessing it's easy enough to learn. I've only ever used pro CAD packages.

[simonr]

Rather than gluing parts together, I usually print something similar to the lugs on Jigsaw Puzzle pieces so they snap together with perfect alignment.

Also, for Automotive parts, seal them with laquer.  The PLA absorbs water which can make it swell / change shape.  Sealing with a coat of laquer seems to largely stop this, as well as helping glue the layers together better.  First coat usually soaks into the print.  Second coat stays on the surface & gives a potentially glossy finish - if that's what you want.

[PolarBlair]

1 hour ago, simonr said:

Rather than gluing parts together, I usually print something similar to the lugs on Jigsaw Puzzle pieces so they snap together with perfect alignment.

Also, for Automotive parts, seal them with laquer.  The PLA absorbs water which can make it swell / change shape.  Sealing with a coat of laquer seems to largely stop this, as well as helping glue the layers together better.  First coat usually soaks into the print.  Second coat stays on the surface & gives a potentially glossy finish - if that's what you want.

Good to know. Definitely going to be filling, sanding and priming this before giving it some coats of gloss black. If I recall correctly, the solvent bit in spray paint also partially dissolves PLA helping the layers weld?

I'll be tiger sealing it to the chequer plate and sealing around each screw too. Unfortunately I've been victim to one or two disastrously liquid doggy accidents over the years. I'll be taking the opportunity to line the tub and any surface I can in such a way that I can hose out the back 🤮🤢

 

[PolarBlair]

2 hours ago, mickeyw said:

My 10 YO daughter told me the other day that she is learning TinkerCAD at school.

I have yet to have a look at it, but guessing it's easy enough to learn. I've only ever used pro CAD packages.

For my job it's usually just 2D autocad. I played around with Rhino and Grasshopper for parametric modelling but found it overkill for most of what I was doing.

I quite often still sketch more complex ideas in CAD before importing into SketchUp as the line commands are more precise.

[PolarBlair]

Ready for install this weekend. Still need to glue and bolt top on. Might get on to filling and sanding prep for paint this evening.

[Mossberg]

That looks really smart. It looks as good as a factory made piece. Will it be tough and resistant to knocks etc?

I am looking at a 3D printer and wondered what else people have used them for regarding land rover bits.

Keep us posted with this project as it will be good to see it fitted.

M

[PolarBlair]

4 hours ago, Mossberg said:

That looks really smart. It looks as good as a factory made piece. Will it be tough and resistant to knocks etc?

I am looking at a 3D printer and wondered what else people have used them for regarding land rover bits.

Keep us posted with this project as it will be good to see it fitted.

M

Strength depends on infill percentage. I think I went with 20% cubic infill which is like a cross shaped lattice throughout.

Cover is made stronger as it's made up of sections so the end prices butt up against eachother are like ribs with double the usual wall thickness.

Then the outer walls have 4 layers. Strength depends on layer adhesion too so temperature plays a big part. Too cold and the new layer won't 'glue' properly to the next layer. Too hot and the part could warp. You want it to be just hot enough to flow but then cool in place so the print keeps its shape. Filaments give you there ideal temp ranges which takes out a lot of the guesswork.

Thingiverse has loads of models of varying quality ready to go. I've got a spiral that helps store eggs so the oldest ones can be taken from the bottom.

Honestly everyone should have one. Once you do, all you see around you are things that could be fixed with a little part or projects made from scratch.

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by PolarBlair

[Mossberg]

I did borrow one a few years back and enjoyed using it. I found PLA and abs quite easy to use but they were not quite strong enough for what I needed at the time. I tried some nylon but I couldn't get the results I needed  - lots of warping and stringing. I was using a Prusa mk2s and it seemed to print well but thought it would have benefited from an enclosure and a  dehumidifier for the nylon - but it was only borrowed so I couldn't go to that expense. 

I do fancy the latest version the Prusa (I think it is the mk3s+) and hope to get one early in the new year,  so if you have any items you would recommend then please share.

I think 3D printers are great but if you something stronger then laser sintered nylon is good, but expensive for single items - great however if you want multiples.

If you print other items for the truck, please post them on the forum as it would be good to see what people use them for.

[PolarBlair]

12 minutes ago, Mossberg said:

I did borrow one a few years back and enjoyed using it. I found PLA and abs quite easy to use but they were not quite strong enough for what I needed at the time. I tried some nylon but I couldn't get the results I needed  - lots of warping and stringing. I was using a Prusa mk2s and it seemed to print well but thought it would have benefited from an enclosure and a  dehumidifier for the nylon - but it was only borrowed so I couldn't go to that expense. 

I do fancy the latest version the Prusa (I think it is the mk3s+) and hope to get one early in the new year,  so if you have any items you would recommend then please share.

I think 3D printers are great but if you something stronger then laser sintered nylon is good, but expensive for single items - great however if you want multiples.

If you print other items for the truck, please post them on the forum as it would be good to see what people use them for.

Will do. I used shapeways for quite some time but it's insanely expensive for larger items and it took ages to get the item.

I haven't actually used any filament other than PLA up until now. Anything where strength was needed, I usually just printed with 100% infill. Even then, there are of course limits to print strength.

The bracket for this was 100% infill and is seriously solid. Not under a lot of strain though. But what really made the difference was printing the part that already had holes for a perfect friction fit for the LEDs as well as a curve to spread the beam. Still ended up more like a large spotlight, but a bit of sanding on the inside of the clear lid diffused the light.

(It's an IR floodlight BTW)

[PolarBlair]

Been busy with the rain shedder project but haven't forgotten about this. Time to get back on track!

The cross hatching isn't a trick of the camera. I've not come across this before but it's visible by eye too. Sanded down prior to priming and you couldn't see anything in the surface finish. Maybe just the paint drying at different rates where the lattice is internally?

I suspect the Matt filaments may be quite porous. Should be fine after a few topcoats and some clear coat to finish with a bit of wet and dry in between.

[Snagger]

If you paint it with a load liner type paint, then as well as being very resilient (needed, given the fitted position of the part), it should cover up a great deal of surface deficiencies of 3D printing.

[elbekko]

18 hours ago, PolarBlair said:

Maybe just the paint drying at different rates where the lattice is internally?

Definitely does look like your infill shining through. Interesting!

[PolarBlair]

3 hours ago, Snagger said:

If you paint it with a load liner type paint, then as well as being very resilient (needed, given the fitted position of the part), it should cover up a great deal of surface deficiencies of 3D printing.

It would make life easier. Also could make the part a bit more robust. However - maybe not so good for cleaning off a doggie accident. Gonna make this thing as easy to wipe clean as possible. The dream would be a completely sealed load area I could clean with a pressure washer if the need arose!

[nickwilliams]

At risk of being accused of hijacking the thread, coming back to the original topic, I have managed to destroy two gas struts (one and then another) when the wind caught the door, so I gave up on struts and instead fitted a rear door stay out of a Discovery.