Physicist 3D-printed a Lamborghini because his son liked one (2019) | Hacker News Reader

Physicist 3D-printed a Lamborghini because his son liked one (2019)

autoblog.com

84 pointslelf84 comments

Hell yes. I mean it is super cliche but I hope that when my kids are older that I can restore a vintage car with them so we can do Sunday drives. This kicks it up several orders of magnitude.

As an off topic aside, I find working on vehicles highly therapeutic. I finally got into motorcycles several years ago and learned that motorcycle mechanics, compared to car mechanics, are few and far between are usually very busy. If you buy a used bike and don’t want to take it to the dealer for service, you better learn to wrench. Let me tell you, it has been a hugely empowering experience. Unlike modern cars, even modern bikes are relatively easy to work on. I got ones with carburetors, so the most sophisticated computer on them is the LCD clock/trip meter. My second bike came to me not running for $1300 plus a bit for delivery. I still can’t believe that with some hand tools, time, and a shop manual I not only got it working, but improved its performance. I didn’t grow up around any kind of vehicles so learning to do this is a personal achievement for me. Yesterday evening I went for a long random ride and it was really something when the machine you had on the floor of your garage in pieces not that long ago now runs just right as you literally drive into the sunset. Motorcycles really helped me deal with the weight of the past year and just the weight of life in general. They aren’t cheaper than therapy but they definitely are more fun.

I spent about 2000 Euros on therapy last year. And I'm only going every other week.

I might get a motorcycle this year instead to save some money.

I got a used 2016 Kawasaki Vulcan from craigslist in March of last year, instead of therapy. One of the best decisions I've made.

Both is good. When your bike breaks down and can't be fixed for a month because a mechanic that can rebuild the engine isn't available or the repair is too costly, that can be a real hit to your mental state (trust me, I know). That stuff doesn't usually happen to a therapist. But also a therapist won't make you happy, just less unhappy. A bike will put a smile on your face.

And you can have more than one motorcycle!

Best way to do it, honestly. “The weather is nice, I have a day off, but my only bike is broken” really sucks for your mental state.

I bet a huge part of the ease of motorcycle maintenance is the fact that you don't need to lean over the side of a car for hours while you're wrenching on stuff! My calves get real sore on those days haha.

Yes, on a bike everything is much more accessible and it takes one or maybe two people to disassemble it down to bare bits of metal rather than complex mechanical parts. Try pulling an engine even out of a Camry with just hand tools and your own hands...

I used to be a mechanic and owned a shop and was knee deep in car culture, but motorcycles really stole the spotlight as I've aged.

They're less fun to work on imo but so much more rewarding to own and drive. I get so much pleasure out of my bikes that other automotive types can't provide.

The dollar to smile ratio is also way better.

Ha! Dollar/smile ratio is a good metric! What do you ride nowadays?

Two questions, if you don’t mind:

1) what kind (make, model, year, style) of motorcycle is good to start, that is also easy to repair.

2) how did you learn how to repair them? YouTube, manuals, some class...?

1. First, what kind of bike are you eying? And do you want (a) old and needs maintenance so you can feel empowered that you fixed it or (b) new and reliable where only basic maintenance is required?

a. For this case, if you are an absolute beginner nothing will beat a Honda Rebel 250. This was my first bike and it's literally two bolts and a nut. There is nothing to it, that's how simple it is mechanically. Its main downside is that its underpowered. But it'a also super light which means it is very easy to maneuver as a beginner. I was an absolute beginner when I started out so for me this was a good choice. If you want something a bit more sporty-looking, get a Kawasaki Ninja 250/300/400 or a Honda CBR300 or a Yamaha R3. Again, simple bikes, not much to them easy wrenching. These will be faster (a Ninja 400 can get you into trouble fast). If you want a standard bike (feet under butt vs in front for cruiser or behind for sport bikes), a TU-250 from Suzuki is a low maintenance choice. If you want a cruiser with a bit more oomf, get a Honda Shadow 750. It'll be heavier but still very manageable unless you are relatively small in stature. They are cheap, plentiful, and being a Honda, very easy to work on.

b. If you want more reliable (this is a good way to go because as a new rider the advice is that you should spend more time riding than wrenching), I would get a Kawasaki Vulcan S with ABS for a cruiser, or a Suzuki SV650 for a standard/sport bike. Avoid any bike that has an inline 4 with a total displacement of 600cc. Those bike are proper sport bikes that are not beginner friendly. For example a CBR600 from Honda is going to be stupidly fast compared to a Honda Shadow 750. You can also look at the Honda Rebel 500 ABS. ABS is the key here: bikes without it are more common but the technology really should be on most bikes these days. It makes a big difference when you need to stop fast.

If you reply or message me privately with your specific thoughts I might be able to recommend a more specific set of bikes.

2. MC Garage on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SeHb6U1OQ&list=PLoIkhe-bQc...) is an excellent start. You can watch the whole series in a couple of hours and have the lay of the land so you'll at least know the terms you need to know and have a general idea of the kinds of things you might need to do. From there, it's really needs-driven. Get a bike, it has a clogged carb. So you need to clean the carb. Get the shop manual for the bike (you can often find the PDF online for free), watch a video or three on how to deal with that particular bike's carb, take it off, get it cleaned. Now you want to fix the leaky front fork leg, so you look up how to service motorcycle forks, and so on. I also highly recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/ as a resource for both bike info and bike maintenance info. Their wiki is excellent and you can always ask a question.

If you want to learn how to ride, take the MSF course: https://msf-usa.org/. Then read Proficient Motorcycling (https://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guid...). Make sure to get all the gear, head to toe, and always wear it. Motorcycle accidents can get gnarly, and the gear makes a big difference.

Hope that helps!

P.S.: One of the most entertaining and informative motorcycle info channels on YouTube is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSMdQtn1SuFzCZjfK2C7dQ. I don't think you need to even own a bike to enjoy it.

Thanks Igor, very helpful - appreciate it.

I have thought about motorcycles on and off, no serious plans at the moment. I like to learn and fix simple things which is why after seeing your earlier comment I got curious about bikes that may be easy to fix.

I’ll probably be going with new and reliable where only basic maintenance is required

Your comment is very helpful and will help in knowing the basics.

Excellent! I am really glad to hear it. Whenever you get to it, keep it shiny side up!

I think you've got something there.

Although I've never owned a Harley, I suspect being able to upgrade and maintain one yourself is part of the equation for their success.

Although the japanese tech tree is pretty amazing it can be a little daunting to deal with a street bike with 4 carbs and 20 valves and whatever else is under the full fairing.

Dirt bikes are fun. t-handle wrench ftw.

But even with full fairings you can usually get to all the parts of a bike with relative ease - it's all there right in front of you, no climbing underneath something. Parts aren't as heavy or hard to get to (as a car). And it (usually) isn't your main transportation, so you can take it apart and drive to work in your car. (uh.. when we used to drive to work)

Heh. I don’t own a Harley, I currently ride a Suzuki cruiser. Most people I know who own Harleys bring them to a dealer. Harleys have become luxury items and so I don’t know anyone who really wrenches on them. In the meantime Japanese bikes are easy and cheap to work on and only require basic hand tools. And multiple carbs aren’t really something that would turn me off from a bike, though if course having just one does make things simpler.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_...

Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."

a fictionalized autobiography of a 17-day journey that Pirsig made on a motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California along with his son Chris

One of my favorite books!

Side note, as someone who's last child is ready to leave the nest, I'm finding myself in a bit of a depressive state, sometimes deeply so, because of all the cool shit that people are doing with their kids that I essentially no longer have the opportunity to do.

Objectively we did quite a bit over the years, and doing all the things is obviously unrealistic, but I look back frequently these days and think about the time squandered focusing on providing vs being present, or nights spent on the computer trying to learn things myself rather than sharing what I already know with my kids. It always felt like I had plenty of time.

So my advice for anyone reading this is that, if you have kids this age, think about all of the things you dream of doing with them, pick one and DO IT. I mean really lean into it, plan what you want to do and execute like it's a mission if you have to. It doesn't have to be this kind of a high-end project, just little things that really pin memories. Sometimes you just don't have an option to work less or be around more, and that is what it is, but man there is some time that I would spend differently looking back.

Now I'm just hoping (to myself) that at some point in the future there are grandkids that will give me a chance to apply some of this hindsight.

I hope it isn't too long before you get to start doing those things with your grandchildren.

This is a really good viewpoint that I've been wondering about myself. I'm fairly young and without kids right now but I've always been thinking about what sort of career I want to have when I do have kids. I'm currently teaching at a university and the pay is average but it's low stress and I get lots of time off in the summer. I'm currently in this constant battle between wanting to leave and get into software to make more money or stay and keep my free time and low stress job in order to be benefit any future children I might have. What would you do in this case? I'd love to know.

You already have a good setup. As they say the only thing you can't buy is time. As long as everyone's core needs are met making more money won't make anyone happier. Even if you don't have kids it's a mental health plus to have some energy to put toward things that aren't work.

To add a different perspective, if the GP follows this advice, they won't have the funds to do the project. As a parent I feel caught between these two competing goals all the time: Should I not work and spend time with my kids doing nothing? Or should I work so that I have money to do fun things with my kids in the little time I have left?

Or is my desire to have fun with my kids not relevant? Is it more important that I work all the time so that they have a chance of an upper-middle class life when I'm gone? Is it fair to reduce their chances of financial freedom later because I wanted to spend time with them now?

Yeah I often wonder about that. Less money means fewer prospects. I think what can help make the decision to your last question is what do you value? Do you think your children need to live an upper middle class life to be happy and fulfilled? Or can you provide that happiness and fulfillment to them (and the lessons you teach them along the way) by spending time with them? Like, can you help your children cope with the stress of adult life by spending time with them when they're young and providing them with values and experiences that help Burress them against the harsh realities of later life? How much does money help with that? It's hard to strike that good balance I think.

As for switching jobs to software, ideally, I'd find a remote job then at least that way I could be more flexible with my time and place. Although my summers wouldnt be free.

I think people over-estimate the need to spend lots of money to have good experiences. I spent lots of time taking apart super cheap old electronics from HAM radio meets and thrift stores. When you're a kid it's all new to you anyway so it isn't essential to do projects involving the latest and greatest. While the 20k$ project in the article is super impressive, it kind of has to be when one allocates that much cash to a side project. Seems like alot of pressure.

I dont think more hours worked corresponds monotonically with financial well-being of descendants. Learning to get things done through creative use of limited resources is an important skill for making money too. There can be value in having to do some salvage instead of having everything pre-stocked. There is also no better way to appreciate the value of a tool than to first go without it.

I understand and appreciate your sentiment. But don’t beat yourself up about it too much. My experience is that my children aren’t interested in doing these sorts of projects and short of me threatening them (which would defeat the purpose) they’re not going to happen. A child’s evolutionary goals do not align with their parent’s. And while some people are lucky enough to be able to do these things, they are not normal and set an unreasonable goal for the rest of us. I dream of one day being able to go to rugby union games with my kids. But I know they couldn’t care less about the sport so I can force them or try and find some other way to enjoy the sport I love. All you can do is love your kids in the ways that they will allow. Or you can make them hate you, but I think those are the only two options.

I've been trying to engage with my kid, and it's hard because we don't have a lot of common interests. But it's not about me. I hate youtube. But he wants to record videos tearing around the neighborhood looking for "ghosts?" Fine, y'know, that's a great way to get out of the house and run around a bit. Don't like minecraft, but he does. Fine, whatever, I'm gonna play it and learn some cool redstone hacks or whatever.

Maybe he'll get into modding when he gets older, and I can lure him deeper into programming. Maybe he'll want to ramp up the production value on these awful videos I record. I'm there for that.

The point isn't to make your kid do something big that you want, the point is to make room to do big projects that your kid wants.

It's not too late. Sure, when the kid moves far away, it gets a bit harder, but you can still start a weekend project on restoring a car, writing a software or simply playing some online games. Just because he's no longer around 24/7 does not mean you can't do anything together anymore. In fact, they might value the time more now.

As a soon-to-be father my only worry is that my children won't be willing to participate in the things I've come up with already.

He...downloaded a car?

what a father!

Agreed! Mine was too busy abusing drugs and alcohol.

like a true lamborghini driver

Nah, more like the kind that spends his money on drugs and alcohol rather than providing the essentials for his family.

This really illustrates the difference between stealing and reproducing. I wouldn't steal a car, but sure I'd download and 3d print it.

But then you get to enjoy it without paying anything to Lamborghini. Is that fair to them?

Not that I care whats fair to them, just interesting to compare it to the argument for/against free media sharing.

Yeah, really illustrates how Lamborghini lost a sale on this one! If they'd better protected their IP behind mirror boxes that tracked watching eyes with facial recognition and only revealed the car and therefore its design when everyone within line of sight has subscribed to Lamborghini+ and are up to date on payments -- then this guy totally would have not still built this awesome project for fun. He would have bought it on credit like a good wageslave.

*3d printed some panels off an aventador

the physicists channel https://www.youtube.com/user/lasersterling

I see people pushing 3d printing pretty far, but the progress I've seen in the past decade has been more "because we can" and not in the direction of seriously replacing traditional manufacturing. At best, it's gotten to the point that it makes sense for low-volume runs of simple parts and low-volume runs of complex, expensive parts.

It democratizes manufacturing in a way. I'm midway through a two axis satellite tracker build that involves quite a few parts. The ability for me to go into Fusion 360, create a part, virtually test fit it in an assembly then print it out and put it directly to use is pretty amazing and liberating. If you poke around youtube and look at the hobbyist robotics channels you'll see endless 3d printing...nothing else comes close.

Once products start to pivot to personalized fitment we'll likely see quite a bit more 3d printing in manufacturing. Until then it's mostly going to be what you said, low volume/prototype runs and complex parts that aren't possible with other fabrication approaches.

> it's gotten to the point that it makes sense for low-volume runs of simple parts and low-volume runs of complex, expensive parts.

Yep! And you can get this today, from a machine that costs less than a smartphone, and it's clean, it's quiet, it doesn't make swarf, or dust, or smoke, and it fits on your desk! It turns your CAD models into parts in a matter of hours out of material of almost-negligible cost. We are truly living in the future.

If you don't want to make low-volume runs of custom parts, then 3d printing is utterly useless to you. But it is absolutely game-changing for people who do.

> At best, it's gotten to the point that it makes sense for low-volume runs

At best? That's amazing!!! A hotglue gun on a couple of aluminum tracks can now compete with full-fledged factories! Not on everything. Not on most things. But on anything at all is mindblowing. A seismic shift has already happened in how material goods will end up in someone's hands.

You see the "because we can" projects because they're flashy and are built to demand attention. If you want to see a practical side to 3d printing, you have to hunt for it. It's not glamorous or that interesting to talk about with anyone not already obsessed with the tech. But it's there. My best anecdote is fixing my Dyson vacuum. Without a printer, you could've hacked it with some ingenuity and zipties. But instead, I rebuilt what was broken and maintained the quality of the device.

For more mundane awesomeness: https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprints/

I get a umatrix block just by even trying to click on this. It redirects to advertising.com?

Crazy cookie dialog, unusable without JS, insta close

how fun it must be in the US where you can customize and pretty much do whatever to your car

How fun it must be to have twice the amount of car fatalities (per capita compared to EU).

Per km would be a more fair comparison, since Europeans drive a lot less. Yes, the per km numbers are worse than say in Germany, but similar to e.g. Belgium, which is a first world nation with high standards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...

Interestingly, Germany is also known for its unusual (within EU) acceptance of modified cars and high speeds...

Where else can you expect a heavily modded Volkswagen Golf from the 90's to overtake you at 220 km/h on your way to work?

Modifications are actually strictly controlled, compared to the US, also your vehicle has to pass a mandatory safety check every two years.

The high speeds are a point of controversy. The pro high speed people say we have a low death rate, the pro speed limit people say all the studies indicate it could be way lower with more sane limits.

Your example is actually somewhat common and it can be surprising how a car that isn't in view on your first mirror check can be next to you on your next mirror check, when you're driving 120kph.

The fact that your modifications are strictly controlled DOES cause a market demand, that drives innovation and high quality in the aftermarket parts industry. Especially when it comes to engine modifications where they must be emissions-compliant. We have a lot of these hard regulations to thank for the availability of good quality aftermarket parts (compared to say, the 1950's and 60's.)

This, however, comes with the drawback of a quite high price. And there are quite a few things you can do in the US which you may not do in Germany, for example under car lightning, additional front lighting (think the illuminated Mercedes logos), anything that negatively impacts the emission profile much and - my personal pain point - large wing spoilers.

I can see the reason for most of these - if you're allowed to go 300km/h in that car, it should definitely be in a good condition -, but it's not without drawbacks.

And then there are those who consider the high speeds a considerable safety win (because it greatly reduces inattentiveness for everybody involved), and only advocate for limits because of the massive energy demand of high speed.

Not Germany, thats for sure. Germany is regulated up the ass, TUV approved bumpers, lights, bike racks, tail pipes, gas caps, everything.

Yes, approvals are required, but this approval is straight up impossible in most EU countries.

Just get a motorbike! Whenever I got stopped by the police and showed them my paperwork (i.e. a huge list of ABEs - like 10 or so), they just got annoyed and told me to just drive away already ;)

Half the stuff wasn't even approved for my bike, but no one ever checks if you just confidently hand over a small book worth of paperwork...

this wouldn't happen if every kid had a gun to protect themselves

This is the fundamental tradeoff of the American way of life. Freedom to versus freedom from.

Haha, Sorry but Americans THINK they know freedom. The US is full of regulation and red tape. Let’s see you buy a house and do whatever you want on the property, even in rural areas.

3rd world countries have the true freedom to do what you want

That's the true greatness of the US though. Finding a balance between provision for the rule of law, enforcement of contracts, protection of civil liberties, and environmental/food/drug regulation alongside the right to do whatever the hell you want personally. It's why many things like our homicide rate, car fatality rate, and poverty rates can seem third world in nature, yet our institutions and regulatory agencies are the gold standard for the world.

Poverty, infant mortality, mutagens and endocrine disruptors in drinking water, police impunity, more incarcerated than entire rest of the world combined, institutional corruption, $140M fighter jet with 600+ designed-in class 1 faults that cannot be cancelled because its parts are contracted out to 48 different states.

So, yes, "third world in nature". But the billionaires find life here pretty convenient.

3rd world countries have the true freedom to do what you want

And others have freedom to what they want to you. Unless you’re rich and/or connected.

I do own a house I had built on rural property, and there's a lot more lattitude (you might call it "freedom") for what you can do on your property.

On the other hand, no matter where you live, there's always a few "karens" in the neighborhood who will do what they can to keep you from say, renting your property out and having large numbers of otherwise homeless people setting up a tent-city. (that seems to be one of the hard limits).

I live in a rural area in the US and I’m having a hard time coming up with anything that I couldn’t do on/to my property. I can shoot guns. I could blow stuff up. I regularly go in my hot tub naked. I couldn’t make drugs, I suppose.

Selling the property afterwards is another story, as things need to be up to code.

More than gov, I am bothered by HOAssholes in our community. These people are the worst, the most empty people on the planet. Being part of the HOA leadership doesn't mean you're an emperor of this land that I paid for.

I would kill to get out in the country side and buy my own piece of land without HOA.

Makes me angry just thinking about this.

Can you open a gas station in your front yard?

We do love our dangerous freedom. I mean that unironically.

“Our political situation is prodigiously changed since you left us. Instead of that noble love of liberty, and that republican government, which carried us triumphantly thro the dangers of the war, an Anglo-Monarchio-Aristocratic party has arisen. Their avowed object is to impose on us the substance, as they have already given us the form, of the British government. Nevertheless, the principal body of our citizens remain faithful to republican principles. All our proprietors of lands are friendly to those principles, as also the mass of men of talents. We have against us the Executive Power, the Judiciary Power, all the officers of government, all who are seeking offices, all timid men who prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty, the British merchants and the Americans who trade on British capitals, the speculators, persons interested in the bank and the public funds. Establishments invented with views of corruption, and to assimilate us to the British model in its corrupt parts.”

—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), letter to Phillip Mazzei

> "an Anglo-Monarchio-Aristocratic party has arisen"

He's talking about Federalists.

Was he wrong? The Federalists strongly asserted that it wouldn't devolve into a national government and, well, here we are!

He was not wrong.

What is wrong is to allow Federalists into public office.

the places with lots of people do not allow you to do this.

for example, california has CARB regulations which prevent many engine modifications unless they are certified. it can’t be too loud, etc.

my local racetrack (laguna seca) even has strict regulations for sound (90db)

despite that, car noise regulations don’t seem to be very enforceable, if my LA neighborhood that the fast and furious crowd like to growl and peel out through is any indication. there are skid marks (plus pollution) and occasionally wrecked parked cars left as a result (there’s one now that’s completely totaled).

i’d be up for legalizing the throwing of eggs at them as a reasonable level of retaliation. =D

> i’d be up for legalizing the throwing of eggs at them as a reasonable level of retaliation.

Until you hit their windshield and they hit somebody because they can't see due to your egg...

yes, that was said facetiously if it wasn't obvious from the =D at the end. just my sweet little revenge fantasy. =)

yeah, definitely selective enforcement happening. i have a neighbor with a modified exhaust that is insanely loud.

rolling coal, tube chassis race cars with legit tags, no annual vehicle safety inspections, crumbling infrastructure, whats not to love?

Unfortunately, what's actually left of that freedom is quickly slipping away.

Texas, one of the most obnoxiously anti-fed states, requires annual inspections.

Loading the page without JS, it said, "You must have JavaScript enabled to experience the new Autoblog. Please follow the instructions below to enable JavaScript in your browser." Instead I removed the elements with fixed, sticky styles, and the page worked perfectly. One more page that requires JS without needing or using it.

Once I finished with that, the page is super!

> ... the build has a budget of about $20,000.

Oh, well, one can certainly buy a real (not 3D printed) car at this price tag. Even a cheaper old car to rebuild together is a great old-school learning-and-bonding project. Though Lambo is a Lambo, it surely trumps a Corvette.

Hope the kid got to drive that beauty at his tender 11-years of age.

That budget notably doesn't include the time commitment, although the article does mention:

> The front brake air intake alone is said to have taken 52 hours to complete.

I wonder how that extrapolates to the whole project. Maybe that part took a long time and everything else was quick. But I kinda doubt it.

On the other other hand, spending quality time with your kids is good, and hopefully the kid was patient enough to learn that making really cool stuff sometimes take a long time.

The builder's YouTube channel has much more recent videos than the 2019-vintage ones in this report.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8YYptrlqdUN9GsIFsT6Mwg

I kind of like his house's floor plan where the bottom floor of the house if essentially all garage. Makes working on projects like this much more feasible.

very frank title

Reply on news.ycombinator.com