Frankenplenum

[cvette98pacecar]

Lee, You are going to have to create a way to cool the Aluminum faster as you TIG or you will warp the flanges. The 3/8" Steel that you are bolting to the plenum will not move heat fast enough to keep the flange from warping.

[LGAFF]

Its actually two 3/8 plates welded together.....I will let the welder address the cooling, he did my Airhorn and no issues.

[batchman]

I've wondered what goes on inside the plenum, is post #52 stock inside?

I would think there could be some merit in taking an approach found on SHOs and late four-valve 4.6s: differing runner lengths for the 2 valves.

Adding something like a french cut exhaust tip on 1st, 4th, 5th and 8th runner one side, maybe 3-4", with the opposing one offset to the other valve. Hope I'm describing this reasonably.

Just a thought,
- Jeff

[NVMYRC51]

So I see that somebody mentioned a 3D printer. I don't know that much about them but is that, or maybe in the near future, a possibility? I was thinking more for a weight savings and possibly straightening out lines etc? Any thoughts?

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by NVMYRC51

So I see that somebody mentioned a 3D printer. I don't know that much about them but is that, or maybe in the near future, a possibility? I was thinking more for a weight savings and possibly straightening out lines etc? Any thoughts?

the 3d printing with the right materials is what makes a cross ram style manifold even more appealing.

or fab up some short oval "adaptors" and buy the obx

it would be much better to "print" the adaptor as you could get exactly the shape and port contour you want to transition from the round throttle body to the lt5 head shape what would really be cool is to retain that shape like the "mono runner" modified manifolds and use an oval throttle body for EACH of the runners

for now the obx with a custom fabbed "base" would work if you are willing to go with a Toledo pro hood for clearance

I believe the throttle response would be glorious but hard to control

with the little tiny primary on the LT5 I've always felt like the engine would benefit from having that hole ported too and I really like the "goggle valve" secondary as it seems it would reduce a lot of turbulence and promote better intake filling

anyone handy with a 3d printer? I might mock it up with balsa blocks to get the shape

as soon as I saw that OBX cross ram pictured in the early thread the gears started turning.

don't know if I'll make it to BG or not, just got a new job, but I hope to.

let me know if there are any last minute rooms!

[rptech]

So I found this post very appealing. I own several commercial 3D printers, and ironically just finished 3 different intakes for a race teams big block chevy. What I usually do on something like this is scan the existing manifold (Reverse engineer). This gives me CAD data of the of all the factory geometry. For those of you that are not familiar with the design engineering world, this basically means I now have the factory manifold digitally recreated on my computer screen in 3D. I can then manipulate the design, building off the existing port geometry to create the new plenum and runners.
From my new CAD model, I can then do a CFD analysis to see how well it flows in the virtual world. This eliminates the cost of just blindly making parts until you find a design that works. We find all those gains/deficiencies on the computer before we build a physical part. From here I now send this data to my rapid prototype machine, or 3D printer as they are called by most people now, and print my new manifold out in plastic (FDM). These can then be mounted, and ran on a dyno. The ABS plastic usually does not last long though due to deformation from the heat. They do however last long enough for the testing required to validate our virtual data results.
Once the design is optimized, the plastic prototype can be used to create an aluminum casting for a permanent part. OR, hold onto your shorts, we can now actually print out these permanent parts in all kinds of different metals (DMLS) that are as strong as what would be manufactured using the traditional casting methods that created what came on your car. It is amazing what we can do these days. The technology is mind blowing.
Sorry to bore everybody this early in the morning- was anybody able to stay awake for that long boring dissertation? LOL

[LGAFF]

So when are you printing the lid for my plenumLOL

[batchman]

Originally Posted by rptech

hold onto your shorts, we can now actually print out these permanent parts in all kinds of different metals (DMLS) that are as strong as what would be manufactured using the traditional casting methods

Whoa. Rapid Prototyping directly in Metal. The world just changed.

Not boring!
- Jeff

[cvette98pacecar]

Originally Posted by rptech

So I found this post very appealing. I own several commercial 3D printers, and ironically just finished 3 different intakes for a race teams big block chevy. What I usually do on something like this is scan the existing manifold (Reverse engineer). This gives me CAD data of the of all the factory geometry. For those of you that are not familiar with the design engineering world, this basically means I now have the factory manifold digitally recreated on my computer screen in 3D. I can then manipulate the design, building off the existing port geometry to create the new plenum and runners.
From my new CAD model, I can then do a CFD analysis to see how well it flows in the virtual world. This eliminates the cost of just blindly making parts until you find a design that works. We find all those gains/deficiencies on the computer before we build a physical part. From here I now send this data to my rapid prototype machine, or 3D printer as they are called by most people now, and print my new manifold out in plastic (FDM). These can then be mounted, and ran on a dyno. The ABS plastic usually does not last long though due to deformation from the heat. They do however last long enough for the testing required to validate our virtual data results.
Once the design is optimized, the plastic prototype can be used to create an aluminum casting for a permanent part. OR, hold onto your shorts, we can now actually print out these permanent parts in all kinds of different metals (DMLS) that are as strong as what would be manufactured using the traditional casting methods that created what came on your car. It is amazing what we can do these days. The technology is mind blowing.
Sorry to bore everybody this early in the morning- was anybody able to stay awake for that long boring dissertation? LOL

I have a Simese plenum and IH if you need to use it for scanning.

[rkreigh]

we could likely mock up something in fiberglass and light plywood that could be scanned for the base for an obx cross ram

I was looking into a "transition runner from a mono style port over the the 2.25 or whatever size the obx throttle body is

this would allow positioning of the throttle body at exactly the right angle and might even allow a shorty cross ram to clear the hood which would be desirable

I also have a fabricator that can do it in sheet alum, but the 3d print would be SOOOOO much more precise and better

can you do a high temp plastic that would hold up to the temps???

that would be even better as it would isolate the throtte bodies from the heat

my LPE manifold may soon be up for sale! like to try this with a MS just running the fueling and coil on plug ignition and leave the factory stuff intact with the ecm

I think it would work pretty slick and you would only need 1 injector of the correct size I'm going to try a 50 lb as it would still idle good and provide plenty of fuel

robert, you in??