WL Toys 104001 Shock Pistons

thingiverse

Shock pistons for the WL Toys 104001 buggy. The original shock pistons that are equipped on the buggy are different than most other OEM's designs. They are held in place with a 1 mm pin, and rely on a notch at the end of the shock shaft to set the position. While this works, it limits options. As equipped, the pistons have far too much open area with 4X 1.5 mm holes. Additionally, the piston, in some cases could rub on interior of the shock body due to poor trimming at the factory. Lastly, the pin really has no retention feature or groove, so it can slide out and rub on the shock body as well. This includes two piston options - a 2 hole ~1.6 mm design and a 2 hole 2 mm design. In general, based on shrinkage these will likely print close to a 1.5-1.6 mm hole and a ~1.9 mm hole, with exterior diameter slightly smaller than the interior shock bore; comparable to AE or TLR shock pistons (slightly bigger). Either option should definitely help with damping action in the shock versus the original 4 hole design. There is also a very slight groove in the top of the piston to help locate the pin. It's not very much (0.2 mm deep) but it should help prevent it from sliding as much as the original piston. The 2 mm hole piston has 4 indentations designed into it to help distinguish it from the 1.6 mm version. For finishing, ream the shock holes with the appropriate sized drill bit. Based on how well your printer can print smaller holes, a 1.5 mm bit may work very well for the 1.6 piston. You could also step up to a 1/16 drill bit for something closer to 1.6 mm. For the 2 mm piston, you can leave as is, or ream with a 5/64" or 2 mm bit. Lightly trim away any stringing/nits with a sharp blade and lightly file/sand any surface imperfections. It is very slightly smaller than the original (0.1 mm) - so it should allow for some mismatches. The center portion should not need any finishing, and should have some slight resistance when pushing onto the shock shaft. If loose, you may need to increase your flow rate on your printer or tweak the model hole sizes. I would recommend starting with the 1.6 design and then if less dampening is needed, move to the 2 mm hole.