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Custom fabbed a wire harness holder, it snapped under load
Hey everyone, I wanted to give a heads-up about a risky situation with a personal fabrication. In my free time, I build organizational aids for the hangar, like wire harness holders. For one bracket, I chose a plastic that seemed sturdy enough. Under engine vibration, it cracked, which I only found after mounting it. A harness was left unsupported and almost contacted a hot component. From now on, I'm using only metals or reinforced composites for any part near moving systems. Please test your homemade fixtures beyond what you think they'll handle.
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faith_carr561mo ago
My engineering skills are clearly not as solid as that plastic claimed to be.
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dixon.spencer1mo ago
Yikes, that's a seriously close call with the harness almost contacting a hot part. What was the exact plastic material you used, like was it a standard 3D printing filament such as PLA or something more industrial? I'm wondering if the cracking was due to cyclic fatigue from the vibration frequency, not just the static load. Your switch to metals makes sense, but how are you planning to test for resonance in those new brackets?
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