Made a couple small parts: seat belt channel and gas cap holder

in case it is not possible to copy it better, I would like to draw attention to the perception of the size of the imaginary circle that the grids frame; this circle is much closer to the edges on the original grid than on the reproduction, so the reproduction appears to have less air gap

In my opinion, you should make the circle bigger in the reproduced piece by getting closer to the edges to keep the image of the original piece a bit.

1672730745821.png





the green circle is same size of the original part, the blue is a smidge larger, probably worth it as you get a similar perceived sizes

IMHO

thank you
 
deQuincey said:
one last little change I would suggest,

the title of this thread does not do justice to the actual part, so maybe ?
Click to expand...

I figured I would make a 'for sale' thread like I did for the gas caps when the time comes.

Although, I'm surprised nobody's interested in the seat belt spacers, since they worked well for me. Perhaps everyone else's seat belts have more tension and slide easily between the rear armrest and the door card?

What other parts / problems do people want me to work on? I was considering the intermediate housing between the AC box and the heater box, the AC faceplate, or building a double-DIN enclosure encompassing the center speaker via extending the instrument cowling.
 
So @Wobdog asked in the fuel cap holder thread for a cup holder. I've been thinking on the idea and I have a couple concepts I could try out. Does anyone have other ideas for upgrades/parts they would like to see remade or improved?
 
At one time, BMW, a sold retrofit dual cup holder which fit snuggly to the emergency brake. @Stan may still have one of those in his parts bin.

Eric Anton, made center consoles which had a retractable cup holder made of plastic 'cintra board', which were OK. Mine broke

Roman Goldberg makes the black aluminum 'patina handle'. Which I have in my 4 older BMWs. They attach to the 10mm bolt on the front seat.
 
Latest version:
1680365393486.png


Please give feedback on what to change. Original on the left, mine on the right. This one was printed with ABS, so it's less 'shiny' than some of the previous versions. I verified the new print fits with the console side panels.

I know it takes a while to update this part, but that's because right now, to get that quality, it takes ~2 days to print. I'll optimize after I lock the design.
 
Had a little time this weekend for something else, working off an example part I bought last year:
1680489327667.png


I am modifying the number of vertical spars due to the reduced strength of whatever I decide to print this out of vs cast aluminum.

In terms of a cupholder, how would people feel if I replaced the vents in the piece above with my cupholder design? The AC system output isn't through there, and the system ingests enough air from the side vents, so I don't think it would impact performance much.
 
Not a great first attempt with the supports:
1680752521424.png


It does give me some interesting ideas though for modified radio setups. Would people be interested in a double-DIN with the AC controls pushed over?
 
Per some feedback from the forum, I took a stab at making a completely reversible phone mount. (no screws or adhesive plates)

1685200388437.png

I have printed one of them and I'm making some adjustments, but it seems to work. Any suggestions with the design? It fits behind the speaker grille for location and adhesion. Alternatively, I can also just replace the speaker grille entirely if I change the design. Based on the forum's feedback, I could make it a cupholder too.
 
x_atlas0 said:
So @Wobdog asked in the fuel cap holder thread for a cup holder. I've been thinking on the idea and I have a couple concepts I could try out. Does anyone have other ideas for upgrades/parts they would like to see remade or improved?
Click to expand...
Here is a fold up cup holder I saw in a coupe. Maybe incorporate into the blower cover
 

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I bought the cap holder and I have to say it is a remarkable piece of engineering! Also bought the heater duct which looks very good. Incredible stuff
 
I don't believe there would be any problem with "copyright" issues. Once something is sold in production you can copy it all you want unless it is patented and none of this is patented, and if it was they would have expired a very long time ago. So long as you don't have the BMW logo on your parts you are fine. That is likely where others got into trouble. You can't use their logo on the part or package it with a BMW logo unless it is licensed by them, but absent the logo you can do whatever you want.

If you want to keep the "crossing" elements in the inlet you can inset them a bit and they will for the most part disappear from view. Lastly if you put a radius on the grille elements then they will flow better. The crossing pattern is cutting a lot of flow area. If you make the leading edge surface rounded it will cut the restriction. Otherwise it looks very nice, good job with the CAD model.

Lastly, how much do you think these will cost as a printed item? I have done a good bit of printed parts, but it really hasn't been cost effective. It's like making a sand castle one grain at a time. Those likely could be made by some of the processes that I've been working with even in a fairly small run. Tooling is not that expensive.
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Is it possible to recess the cross spars behind the slats so that they do not make the flush grid pattern as you've designed, but rather the slats are prominent- flush with the finished surface- and cross supports behind them would be less visible while still giving the strength you desire?

(Didn't see ElGrecko's post until after I posted mine)

Oh, and I'm interested in the gas cap holder.
 
ElGrecko-

Several members have had C&Ds sent their way for just reproducing parts, but it does seem hit or miss. @Marco got one as I recall for AC side covers years ago, hence my concern. As it is, though, my latest version of the AC side panels is different from the real part in several ways, including the lack of graining (but I think I can add that) and it is considerably thicker/more robust. The plastic used is also different. Hopefully that would be enough to make it legally distinct, just in case.

JPB 74- my main concern there is hitting the evap blower. I haven't assembled the whole kit together (evap blower, side panels, evap plate, console sides) to see what kind of clearance we have on the backside of the plate. I imagine it isn't much, as otherwise BMW would have made it flat to begin with and save a ton of money on the part and the tooling.

If you're interested in a fuel cap holder, I'd be delighted to help. Please PM me your name and mailing address. It will likely be a little while though, I'm travelling for work quite a bit for the next few weeks.
 
I was going to ask if anyone had reproduced the AC side vents... mine are missing a couple of pieces.
 
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