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not sure what you're getting at with the PU. polyurethane, acrylate, and the skin (which is probably a complex blend of PVC, ABS and alkyl phthalate can all photo-degrade. All have some air permeability which I don't see as relevant. PU can accelerate the degradation of the PVC skin, but all of that is not at play in the acrylate part, which may have simply gotten warm enough to sag, as prototyping stuff is normally low strength so it fuses easily.

bkazmer, my vague recollection is that I read about a fungal infestation in an irrigation system of a huge greenhouse complex, tomato nursery I believe. The expensive mistake was that the operators didn't change the plumbing at the end of ?? years. In this regard has been written about the sickliness (or perhaps better sick-making?) of polyurethane when used for ventilation systems.
Very likely a trifling objection considering the dozen, nay hundreds of various PU-materials.

incorporate a fungicide in the plastic, problem solved. sounds like the wrong grade was used.

It's a small one but at least it is a step closer to that do it yourself Packard part becoming a reality.http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/09/californias-first-3d-printer-retail-store-to-sell-600-model/

The Wall Street Journal, Thursday June 6, 2013 has an article on 3-D printing use by Ford for prototype automobile parts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323372504578469560282127852.html?KEYWORDS=clint+boulton


Make those V8 A/C vents!

The home version of those printers have gotten down to the sub $1000 range and there is a huge community of people sharing the 3D files plot files online. I bet one of those printers could easily produce those vents.

Search for 3D printing on the website instructables.com. Tons of cool stuff there.

I think Leno had that on his garage video,, not this small one.

leno casts his own parts now

This is still amazing to me.

http://mashable.com/2014/09/16/first-3d-printed-car/

I wonder how well it will work?
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-3dprinter01_l2c0jpnc-photo.html

A good question. The pot metal piece has weak ears and I can't imagine the plastic piece will be any stronger. Wonder if that is a pattern or the actual item they are planning to use.

I thought a few years ago when low cost home 3D printers hit the shelves it was the next big thing. Many poo poo'd the idea but I still think it is coming. Not quite there yet because of needing a CAD program to run the printer. Kind of expensive for a draftsman to do up a program now but when low cost accurate scanning catches up to the printers imagine the possibilities. If a vendor invested in a setup and could make a repro of those parts that didn't need machining by using an original pattern part from his shelf or maybe a borrowing a good part from someone I think could pay off nicely. Even some parts that did need minimal finish work might be a possibility.

IIRC, there was an article a few days ago about a one off collector car part being made from stainless steel. That one was not cheap and took many hours to do but it is a start. That ign bezel if made out of stainless steel might be viable.