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Seth Starbuck, owner of Starbuck Innovative Designs, explains how and why he uses 3D printing to create parts for third-generation Camaros and Firebirds.
My name is Seth Starbuck and I am the owner of Starbuck Innovative Designs. We are located in Central Texas a few minutes north of Austin Texas. We are car enthusiasts at our core and the business is centered around that. We currently specialize in parts for third-generation Camaros and Firebirds (1982-1992). The third generation of Camaros and Firebirds have been lacking in aftermarket support and restoration parts for many years. What we try to do is fill in the gaps of what people are needing that they cannot buy anywhere because it just isn't getting produced by the larger companies.
How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
The business actually started kind of by accident. Originally, I sat out to make a one-off part for my own Camaro. I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate a Daytime Running Light (the white accent lighting you see on the front of modern/newer cars while they are running) into my 1992 Camaro RS, to kind of update the look a little. I actually planned to do this the old-school way by hand until I had a phone conversation with an old friend who was telling me about the Creality Ender 5 Pro he had just purchased. I have prior experience in CNC machining and everything he was telling me about his new 3D printer just clicked with me. Not only would I be able to design a FAR nicer part (than I could have created by hand) but I could also replicate that part if I ever needed to. So I also purchased an Ender 5 Pro and got to work on my ideas.
Enter Social Media...
I had a pretty good-sized following on my personal Instagram page from years of posting pictures of my Camaros. While I was working on my lights, I was also posting stories to my page of what I was working on and how they were coming along. I can remember posting the first couple clips up and just getting hit with lots of messages/comments from others wanting to know how I was doing this or if I could make them a set etc. I really wasn't expecting a huge response to what I was doing or even setting out to sell these originally, but after the huge response... I worked out what they would cost me to make and some money for the time and labor to put a set together and started trying to keep track of everyone's information. This then led to starting a Shopify website to help me take and track all of the orders.
What was your company/product mission at the outset?
To fill a void left by the larger parts manufacturers. Like I put earlier, we Third Gen Owners just weren't getting the cool new parts and upgrades that you could so easily find for the older 60's and 70's Camaros. We wanted to step in and create something cool for a niche group of car guys that have not had new parts for many years. For example, the 82-84 Camaros still do not have any reproduction turn signals available to them. Should yours get hit by a rock your only option is to deal with a cracked light, by an overpriced slightly better "take off" light on Ebay or search junk yards in hopes to find a set. This is where we come in. Using a 3D Scanner I can get a scan of your original light, rebuild it in a CAD program and then 3D print you a replacement turn signal housing to get you back on the road quickly!
What do you hope for your business in the future?
To keep expanding our current catalog of parts and growing the company. This currently is not my main job. I run the printers during the day while I am at work and change out parts in the evenings when I get home. I do all my assembly on the weekends and ship everything out on Mondays. I'd love to keep pushing the company to a point where I can do this full-time or even employ a few friends to help out!
What kind of 3D printers are you using?
I currently use a mix of FDM printers, a Creality Ender 5 Pro, 3 different Creality Ender 3 variants, a Creality CR10S5 and 2 Prusa MK3S+'s. I also get help from a close friend who has bought an Ender 5 Pro and 2 Prusa MK3S+'s.
Why do you use these 3D printers?
I started out with the Creality's for the lower cost and availability. With just a couple of easy upgrades, they are capable of printing the nicer higher temp filaments such as NylonX. I have also found with running these 24/7 you have a lot of maintenance to keep up with and you will have parts to swap out as you go. This isn't a bad thing but it can chew up some time pretty quickly.
What kind of filament are you using?
We primarily use NylonX from Matterhackers but will also occasionally use the Pro Series PETG for some projects.
Why do you use this specific filament?
I prefer NylonX for its finish. It has a texture to it that really hides the layer lines and makes the finished part not look 3D printed. This is actually one of the biggest compliments my parts get as well. Everyone can't believe they are 3D printed! I also chose Nylon because it is more resistant to UV fading than ABS and is capable of being in some high-temperature environments. When you make parts that are mounted on the front of a vehicle and directly exposed to the sun this is super important. Car guys also LOVE Carbon Fiber, that is a big selling point for people when you tell them they are filled with Carbon Fiber!
Why did you turn to 3D printing to make your products?
3D printing was very inexpensive to get into. If you are looking to make one-off parts or just prototyping parts, 3D printing is the way to go. I looked into having these injection molded but the cost of having a mold made and buying parts in bulk was too much for me as a new company. With 3D printing, I can design my part in CAD and in just a few hours have a physical product that I can see, feel, test fit onto a car, make changes if needed, and have a revised part super fast!
Did you try other ways to manufacture this product?
Originally I was going to try to build my first product by hand. This method was very "arts and crafts" as I like to put it. It would have worked and surely I could have made something I was proud of after MANY hours of trial and error but I wouldn't have been able to make anything to the quality and repeatability I do now with 3D Printing.
What is your favorite part about 3D printing?
The ability to bring new ideas to life quickly. I am able to sit down on my computer, model a new part up and then have it in front of me in just a few hours on the printer! It also gives us the ability to modify current features of our cars to incorporate newer technology easily. Along with our lineup of turn signals we build dash bezels that have larger openings in them for touch screen/navigation style radios!
If you could change something about 3D printing, or your 3D printing process, what would it be? How would you improve it?
I would change the stigma around 3D printed parts. When most people hear "3D Printed" they immediately go to cheap plastic knick-knacks in their head. What we are trying to do is show people the manufacturing side of 3D printing. We may not be able to produce the volume of Injection Molding but should we need to make a change to a design we can do that on the fly. If a customer is experiencing any issues we can address these and change all parts going forward with ease. The materials available now are also more than capable of holding their own in the automotive environment. I can make dash components on a textured print bed that match the finish of the original part in most of these older cars and you don't have the worry of them melting in the hot summer sun.
Are there any other products or business endeavors that you are exploring?
We recently added a large CNC router to our lineup. We plan to use this to cut out acrylic lenses for our current turn signal lineup and to use for future projects like custom LED tail lights! If all goes well we are also looking into adding more 3D printers to the lineup and an even bigger (4ftx8ft) CNC Router to machine Lexan spoiler extensions. I have been also looking into the possibility of using large format 3D printers to make things like custom ground effect kits and to use for mold making to expand into custom carbon fiber body parts.
In addition to these, we have been also working on building a network of dealers. Not only do we sell on our own website but you can find our products listed on a few of the larger companies' websites as we try to reach a larger audience.
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out a company or with 3D printing, what would it be?
Don't be scared to TRY new things. In today's world, you can find How-To's on almost any subject on YouTube and if you look for the right content you can learn a ton online! I like to research a subject a LOT before trying anything new. You may not get it right on the first try but that doesn't mean you need to give up. Some of our products are on the 3rd or 4th iteration now because of issues we fought along the way.
