WARNING - You need to determine if your printed extension is strong enough based on your setup and equipment. There's no way I can guarantee this model won't fail. There are too many variables including the quality of the printing as well as the wheel and motor it is used for. Only you can determine if it is suitable for your use.
I am planning on using some third party wheels with my TS-PC base that come with their own quick releases. After adding an adapter plate these new wheels will extend about 70-80mm further away from the base than my Thrustmaster wheels. Since I plan to move away from the Thrustmaster base eventually, I didn't want to spend a lot of money adding the quick release to the Thrustmaster wheels. The remaining option was to add an extender. I wasn't happy with any of the ones that are already out there so I designed this one.
The main goal of this model was to provide a precise fit on both the wheel and base sides of the extensions. Additionally, I was concerned about the possibility of future layer delamination so I modelled in holes for optional M6 bolts. The holes themselves, especially with the correct number of walls add strength all by themselves, but the optional bolts should keep the layers from delaminating. Unfortunately, nothing will fix the weak point inherent to the Thrustmaster design of using 3 M4 screws to attach the wheels to their hubs.
Using the settings below, I printed a 50mm extension in PETG and the thing is solid as a rock even without the optional M6 screws. My guess is that the wheel or motor will break before the extension does. A nylon CF material should be even better.
NOTE 1- These wheel extenders are very detailed to add to the strength and fit. Your printer will need to be pretty dialed in or there will be a lot of cleanup work necessary. I suggest doing some test prints for each end and for the size of the screw holes before committing to the full print. My PETG version printed with perfect sizing. After annealing, my PA12-CF version shrank in the XY by 0.5%. That was less than a millimeter but it was enough to require breaking out the Dremel.
NOTE 2- These wheel extenders should work with most Thrustmaster wheels but there are some exceptions. Notably, the old F1 wheel and any other wheel that uses a different hub attachment design. They also obviously won't work for the newer Thrustmaster wheels that have the new quick release.
NOTE 3 - All of the extensions 50mm or shorter are probably ok without needing to do any wiring. At least my 599xx and Open Wheel rims were fine. If you go longer, you will likely need to extend the wiring. I'm not going to give a lot of instructions on that because it is pretty simple and if you can't figure it out, I don't want to help you ruin your wheel. I will say that the internal connectors in the wheel are not JST, at least not in my 599xx and Open Wheel rims. Specifically, my 599xx had a Molex PicoBlade connector and my Open Wheel had a Molex Mini-SPOX connector. If your rims are the same, you should be able to buy the connectors you need to make an extensions or you can splice in longer wires if you don't mind cutting the originals.
Pick the extension length you want. 50mm should work without needing to extend the wires from the original hub but that should be verified before committing to a length.
The "inserts" version of the extension uses brass heat inserts to secure the optional M6 bolts. The "nuts" version uses regular hex nuts. I suggest using the inserts version even if you aren't going to use the optional M6 screws.
To attach the extension to the wheel, you will need some new, longer M4 flat (countersunk) socket head socket screws. The original screws were 15mm so you'll need longer ones depending on which extension you pick. The length will be 15 + the length in the STL name. So the 50mm extension would need 65mm screws.
Black screws over 50mm are difficult to come across. If you get stainless and you're obsessive about all the screws matching on the front of the wheel, you'll also need to pick up 3 stainless M4x10mm flat (countersunk) socket head screws.
If you decide to reinforce the extension with M6 screws the length of the screws needed will be approximately 5-10mm longer than the length in the STL name. So M6x60 should work with the 50mm extension. These should be flat (countersunk) socket head screws.
If you decide to use the optional M6 screws and inserts, the model has been designed for M6 heat inserts that have an outer diameter of 8.7mm and a length of 6.35mm.
When inserting the inserts, make sure they are set all the way in. They should be flush with the inner flat part of the extension.
(Optional) M6 Hex Nuts
If you decide to use the optional M6 screws and nuts, the model has been designed for standard M6 hex nuts. The nuts versions are provided as a convenience. I really recommend using the inserts versions for better strength.
There is no assembly unless you decide to use the optional M6 reinforcement screws. If you are using the reinforcement screws, make sure to add them prior to attaching the existing Thrustmaster hub since it is likely going to be pretty tight and hard to remove. The tight fit is by design.
Now, double check the wire from the existing hub is long enough to reach through the extension and you have enough length to plug it back in. If it isn't, you need a shorter extension or you're going to have to extend the wires. There are a couple of ways to do this but you'll have to figure that out on your own. See note 3 above.
At this point it is probably a good idea to check the hole tolerances to make sure the M4 and optional M6 screws will fit. The tolerances are designed to be pretty precise so this was hopefully figured out during your test prints.
After you've double checked the wire length and hole tolerances, simply press the existing wheel hub into the extension. You'll know it is all the way in when there's only a couple of millimeters sticking up around the rim. Be careful to feed the hub's wire through the middle of the extension while doing this.
After the hub is attached, you'll need to reattach the wire to the circuit board in the wheel. Once the wire is attached, insert the extension into the wheel. It should fit nicely without too much issue if your printer is dialed in.
Finally insert the new, longer M4 screws through the face of your wheel. They should stop when they reach the old wheel hub at the end of the extension. There will probably be about 5mm of threads showing. If your print is good, you should be able to just screw them in and you're finished.
You'll need to make a judgement call about what filament to use. I printed mine in PETG and PA12-CF. Both feel extremely solid. If using PA12-CF or something similar, and you plan to anneal it, make sure you account for some XY shrinkage. You'll have to experiment to figure out how much for your specific printer and filament.
My print settings:
PETG: 0.4 nozzle, 6 perimeters, 5 top and bottom layers. 0.20 layer height, 50% gyroid infill, snug supports.
PA12-CF: 0.6 nozzle, 5 perimeters, top, and bottom layers. 0.30 layer height, 50% gyroid infill, snug supports.
The author marked this model as their own original creation.