I came across an interesting story that I thought I’d pass along that should inspire all my fellow classic auto-enthusiasts.
Jay Leno conquered late night television for 17 years, but even with his clout it can be downright impossible to find replacement parts for some of his vintage cars. A recent article from Popular Mechanics revealed that Leno was able to SCAMPER his way to an interesting solution.
For those that are unfamiliar, SCAMPER is an innovation tool developed by Bob Eberle to use when all else has failed. The acronym stands for:
Rather than having a machinist attempt to craft the parts by hand, which is essentially a trial and error process, Leno found a high-tech way to create exact molds within his own garage. Pairing a NextEngine 3D Scanner and a Dimension 3D Printer, he was able to scan broken parts from his cars, adjust and irregularities using CAD software, and then create an exact plastic replica of the adjusted part that is ready to be molded and produced.
Granted the combined cost of the 3D scanner and printer is more than the bluebook value of my entire car, but it’s still an impressive accomplishment to combine these two machines and put them to a new personal use.
They may not make them like they used to, but at least now we’re close to recreating them like they were meant to be.
--Justin Sutton