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[addy]

As the subject says. Has anyone thought about having the top hat seal 3D printed? Surely in this day and age, to make something like that should be simple to make? There must be a filament that can withstand the heat of the engine?

Just thinking aloud.

[aaronjb]

The only 'domestic' material that might work (this is the rubber seal for the intake breather bridge, right?) is TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) which is extrudable at around 180ēC or higher depending on shore hardness.. but I don't think FDM printing will work well for something of that shape, unfortunately; you'd need supports and the surface finish would be very poor compared to a standard rubber gasket which is extremely smooth for obvious reasons.

Plus, TPU is not petrol/oil safe (it swells).

Not sure if there are any low-volume commercial processes that would work better, but commercial 3D printing is eye wateringly expensive - it would probably be more cost effective to have a run of several thousand produced in China!

[VXL V6]

You could make a tophat seal with black sealant directly on the breather bridge but why would you? They are still available if you search enough 

[Kevin Wood]

I doubt you'd lose much by just using an O ring. The main issue is sealing the plenum from the outside air, which an O ring would do just as well. You'd get a little more leakage between the two halves of the plenum but probably not enough to be noticeable.

[Nick W]

I doubt you'd lose much by just using an O ring. The main issue is sealing the plenum from the outside air, which an O ring would do just as well. You'd get a little more leakage between the two halves of the plenum but probably not enough to be noticeable.

what if the joint had been designed to use a standard O ring in the first place?

[TheBoy]

Aren't the GM parts not still available from our colonial cousins over the pond?

As somebody who frequently prints in TPU - in fact its printed some boxes in TPU as we speak - it ain't gonna work for a tophat seal.

[Doctor Gollum]

Judicious use of a silicone based product might work, but watch the cure times... Anything from 15 minutes to twelve hours

A 1/8" bead applied where the seal fits onto the breather bridge should do the job and allow to fully cure before fitting. If it isn't fully cured, then it WILL block the holes.