3d printed parts durability in kayaking
 

A few months back I remember someone talking about 3D printing mounting plates and covers for transducers.

I am curious as to how they hold up in the conditions we put them through, and what kind of filament they were printed with.

I have been trying to find a way to mount a larger fish finder (7") on a stealth kayak hatch lid. I modelled a bracket that will interface with the existing mount and keep the sounder closer to the deck (the factory mount is pretty big relative to what I want), but I have my concerns about PLA and the sun/salt/weight of the head unit and force it will be under when the kayak is in rough swell and that head unit is putting force on the tabs back and forth and side to side as the boat rocks.

I am trying to avoid using metal (stainless or aluminum).

Thanks.

I’ve been using 3D printed transducer parts for few months now and I don’t see any durability issues so far. It is holding up quite well and no issues with ff or transducer.


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I printed some bits using a resin printer because what I wanted wasn't available. They have held up well, no issues with water exposure or warping due to heat because I cured them under heat and UV light.

Cool, thanks for the heads up. That looks really good. Is it PLA? mind sharing the print settings used?
Interesting. I don't know anything about resin printing. I'll have to do some research. Thanks.

Actually I bought it from another member who printed it. I don’t have details to what material was used. whereubinh is the member name.
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Resin printers are expensive but 100x better than FDM. I’ve made production parts on resin printers to replace injection molded no problem, you could never do that with PLA.

I used Carbon fiber PLA. As for durability, my mount has been holding up for 6 months now with no signs of breaking apart. PM me if you need some help making the mount.