Jeep Wrangler TJ Soft-top Tailgate Bar Sleeve

thingiverse

This is a model of the rubber and plastic sleeve that fits into channels at each end of the soft-top tailgate bar for the Jeep Wrangler TJ. For the actual OEM sleeve, part of it is hard plastic and part is rubber. I don't have a multi-material 3D printer, so I printed the entire sleeve in TPU (flexible polyurethane), which seems to work well in this application. The sleeve model is exported as two bodies in the STL file, allowing you to split it into the plastic part and the rubber part. In the orientation picture, the rubber part is green and the plastic part is yellow. Then, if you have a multi-material setup, you can print the plastic part in PETG or ABS and print the rubber part with TPU. I printed the sleeve using black YOYI brand TPU (flexible) with 100% infill. The picture of the blue test print is also TPU. The TPU prints are stringy and shiny, making it difficult to get a good picture. The white print is PETG and I only printed 5mm of the sleeve to show a clear picture of the cross-section. I initially printed the sleeve vertically, which created a very stringy print. I haven't yet figured out how to achieve a clean TPU print. If anyone has good TPU settings for the Prusa MK2S, please share them. My second attempt was better because I rotated the model to print lengthwise with the long cross-section side down on the print bed. See the picture showing the orientation on the bed in the slicer tool. To achieve a successful print, enable support material if you print this way. The part fits well into the channels in the tailgate bar and into the holding brackets on the back of the Wrangler TJ. Edit 07/14/18: I uploaded a new version that is 1mm narrower with rounder corners to fit better in the metal bar holder bracket on the Jeep.