Method Wheels center cap extensions (1 Viewer)

[cryptyk]

I made these for myself a couple years ago and shared the 3d printer file so others could make their own. Recently I bought a new 3D printer that makes it pretty easy for me to print these for others. If you want a pair, let me know and I can print/ship them to ya. If you have some other type of wheel that needs an extension, let me know and I can see if I can create something custom for you.

The best way to know if these will fit on your Method Wheels is to measure the stock center cap. If it looks like this, it should work perfectly:

I'm not trying to make money off this, so the model is totally free. If you have your own 3D printer, you can just download the model here and print them yourself in whatever material you want. More details on printing these yourself in the next post.

I can print these in two different materials: NylonX and PETG:

NylonX - $50 + shipping for a pair
NylonX is a matte black nylon material with shards of embedded carbon fiber. This makes it more durable and also gives it a little bit of texture on the surface. Nylon is temperature resistant, UV resistant, and chemically resistant. I definitely prefer this material and it's what I have on my own truck. The material is also more expensive and harder to print, so they cost a little more.

PETG - $30 + shipping for a pair
PETG is also a great material and there's nothing wrong with it. It's perfectly durable enough for this use, UV resistant, and chemically resistant. It is a little glossier than the NylonX. I ran these on the truck for about a year and was perfectly happy with them, but when I got a new printer capable of printing Nylon, I switch the PETG versions out for the Nylon version. Here's a picture of the PETG on the truck:

Here's a picture of the two materials side-by-side (NylonX on the left)

Shipping seems to be around $6 for USPS 4-day delivery. Let me know if you have any questions, or want a set.

 

[cryptyk]

Instructions for printing these yourself

If you want to print your own version of these in PETG, it's a piece of cake. Just use a PEI bed, .2mm layer height, and 20% infill. Make sure you change to 100% infill for the tabs at the top for increased strength. Most slicers can change infill parameters at a particular layer height. You'll also want to increase the layer cooling fan at the top (or set a minimum layer time) because those last few layers print really quickly and they can get blobby if they don't cool down quickly enough.

If you want to print in NylonX, you'll need some additional gear. First, you need a nylon or garolite print sheet. It's almost impossible to get Nylon to stick to anything else. Make sure you use a release agent, because Nylon-on-Garolite will literally rip the garolite off the bed before the nylon releases if you print on it directly. You also need a hardened nozzle, either ruby tipped or tungsten. The carbon fiber shards are incredibly abrasive and they will destroy your regular brass nozzle in a single print of these extensions. Lastly, you'll benefit a lot from a heated chamber or enclosure. This model is pretty prone to warping because of the large diameter of the footprint combined with the thin walls.

Happy to help with any questions if you want to attempt them.

 

[cryptyk]

Installation
Pretty straight-forward, but there are a couple of things to watch out for.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the tabs are the weak point. Be careful with them.

Start by lining up the center cap with the extension holes like this:

Now pick it up and carefully push each tab into the corresponding slot. Just the tip until it clicks. Don't push them all the way in yet.

Now you can start pushing them in one-at-a-time. They're supposed to fit tightly. I don't want anyone losing a center cap while off-roading:

Once they're all pushed in and there's no gap between the cap and the extension, you can snap them onto the wheels. This is the most important part:
MAKE SURE THE TABS ARE LINED UP BETWEEN THE NUTS ON THE HUB

If the tabs hit the nuts on the hub, they will snap off. Make sure the tabs are BETWEEN the hub nuts. Then, just push them in and they'll snap securely.