Big knob installation

[tomeford]

Project overview edit:

The goal here is to create a big volume knob which can be neatly mounted and control the head unit volume via infrared. I'll be using an Arduino Uno microprocessor to take the signal from a rotary encoder and send it out to IR.

Why? because big knobs feel better

 

OP:

In my fifth Gen Legacy, there is a coin tray between the gear stick and cup holders which on some models is an SI-drive selection dial.

 

Does anyone know how I can track one of them down? I'm thinking I can use the SI drive cover to insert a big knob in my coin tray.

 

You can see the part i'm after in the attached picture

Edited June 19, 2017 by tomeford

[FLlegacy]

Checkout bbpeiks 6mt swap thread he uses that area for a dccd control knob.

 

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[DrD123]

japanparts sells that piece - you'd probably need the bezel as well.

http://www.japanparts.com

Subaru -> 09-11 Legacy BM/BR -> Electronics -> switches

it's listed as "Subaru 83251 Switch Assy, Multi Select" for $57.60 (plus shipping)

 

https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/35521

[tomeford]

Progress! thanks for the help. looks like the bezel is part #92133 with several variants and no picture to figure out exactly which one you need.

 

I'm wondering if I bother with the actual switch component, or just get the bezel and start from scratch with a rotary encoder. or maybe i just get a generic cover of some sort to fit over the coin tray hole.

 

The plan here is to have a nice big knob which will send out an infrared signal to the head unit to control volume... I just like the feel of a big knob rather than little buttons.

 

I'll be using an Arduino Uno processor for the wizardry.

[FLlegacy]

I'm surprised fjuan hasn't chimed in yet! Big knob title and all...

 

OP this sounds like a cool project, please document it for the forum.

 

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[tomeford]

I've decided to go ahead and order the components for the Big Knob. Once i've got the functionality working i'll dig deeper in to the housing, probably in the SI-Drive knob location...

 

here are the main components so far.

 

Arduino Uno R3

http://www.auselectronicsdirect.com.au/arduino-uno-development-board-with-usb-cable

 

Rotary Encoder Module

http://www.auselectronicsdirect.com.au/rotary-encoder-module

 

Infrared Transmitter

http://www.auselectronicsdirect.com.au/?rf=kw&kw=Arduino+Infra-red+Transmitter+Module

 

And a bunch of capacitors and resistors etc. I'll document what ends up being needed once i've got it working

 

Thanks for the help tracking down the switch cover. Massive help!

[GTEASER]

I have a JDM bezel...sadly with no knob yet.

 

[tomeford]

I have a JDM bezel...sadly with no knob yet.

[/img]

 

Do you know the exact part number? 92133XXXXX...

[GTEASER]

^^ I can pull the console trim and it should be stamped on the bottom. I will let you know.

[DrD123]

also on japanparts

https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/35522

 

(I have ordered things from them that aren't on their website - if you can describe what you are looking for, they are good about sorting out what it is and will send you diagrams to help verify, etc.)

[tomeford]

aha, it's got the options drop down box there on japanparts.com. product #92133 "with hole for SI drive but without holes for heat seat switches"

 

googling "92133 without heated seat switch" come up with 92133SG000 but it looks kinda different.

 

http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe-subaru/92133sg000

What do you think?

[GTEASER]

^^ That's not it...thats for a Forester.

[tomeford]

I've been playing around with a hand gesture control for this. Haven't got all the parts but I'm pretty confident it will work ok for basic things like swipe left = change station etc.

 

So for that it would be best to mount it in place of the cubby door. I could have my big knob on one side and the 3 LED sensors for the gesture detection on the other.

 

Not heaps keen to drill holes in my cubby door. Any other thoughts on mounting something in that spot? The cubbypods are close...

[tomeford]

OK progress report... Here's how i'll be mounting the big knob.

http://i.imgur.com/983371W.png?1

I've created this design in Autocad and can have it printed by a local 3d printing place for about $10!!

 

Now i'm just trying to make this project as interesting as I can. So, i'll have my nice shiny knob to one side backlit by a neopixel LED ring. which has 16 RGB LEDs which can be individually programmed. I could hook them up to the CAN bus and make it change colour depending on the car speed... if i wanted... But i'll probably have it change as the knob rotates.

 

Then to the left on the flatter surface, i'll be adding 3 Infrared motion detectors which I can program as gesture signals to control the head unit. I'm waiting for the parts before adding it to the 3d design.

 

I'm going all out on this now because it's all just for the challenge.

 

Anyone got some crazy ideas?

[cww516]

You may want to rethink your design for the pivot ears- that'll suck to print (the ears will be on the bed, and everything else will need support material under it), and you'll be stressing the ears across the weak axis (x and y are way stronger than z since they're made of a continuous length of filament rather than layers, and I have the desk toy to prove it). If you can come up with a way to have the ears attach to the door after printing (maybe a dovetail glue-in setup of some sort) rather than being part of it, I think that would work out way better for you. Also, make sure you get it printed in ABS, because PLA won't stand up very well to being in a hot car (ask me how I know...).

 

Other than the design suggestions, that looks pretty sweet! I'm sure if it was me, I'd try to find a reason to shoehorn an RPi Zero into the project somewhere, but that's mostly because I'm looking to justify buying one. The new version has the wifi/Bluetooth chip on it, though, so it'd be pretty easy to integrate as a carputer.

[tomeford]

I see what you mean about the ears. I think it may need to be printed with bottom point of the design as the starting point. (as in the lowest edge when installed) That way i'll get a much nicer resolution on the curved surface. I'll see what the printer comes back with after taking a look. But thanks, will definitely go ABS too!

 

I was thinking about an RPi... not sure what i'd do with it, perhaps something to display CAN bus data on the HDMI input of the head unit. I don't want to sacrifice bluetooth connectivity from phone to headunit. I'm also at my programming limits with the basic arduino stuff. So it will be a huge learning curve to do that, which could be fun.

 

IR sensors arrived today will try and get them sending commands tonight

[cww516]

I kinda doubt that they'll print it with the bottom edge down, the part would very likely separate from the bed mid-print. Generally, you put the largest footprint in the X-Y plane, since that's the highest speed direction. On most FDM printers (where they feed a spool of plastic into the nozzle), which is what I assume this will be made on, the bed moves in either the X or Y direction (depends on the model of printer), so tall skinny parts could be wiggled loose. You'll probably actually get some pretty good resolution on the curved face if that's up- I'd imagine they'll print it at or below a .25mm layer height, which is pretty good just by itself. If you're careful, you can use acetone vapor to melt the surface of ABS parts and smooth them out, might be worth looking into that as a post-processing option. The other option would be to spray paint it with a high-build primer and your choice of topcoat, which would hide the individual layers.

[tomeford]

yeah ok, i might need to make a second panel which screws on to the inside of the cubby, or the existing screw points on the dash panel, and then either clip or glue the main cover on to that.

 

Once I get the print back i'm hoping to match the finish to my head unit fascia. get to that later... Thanks heaps

[cww516]

No worries, just passing on a few things I've figured out the hard way. It's no fun having a print fail within the last few layers, that's for sure...

 

If you're looking for suggestions, I'd make some small tabs that'll print flat, and have some sort of cutout that can mate with a tab on the main cover. If you model the hole and the tab the same size, it'll take quite a bit of sanding to get them to fit, so I'd aim for about .25mm of clearance. You can sand things to make them fit, and eat up any gaps with super glue to hold things together. Here's a link to an Accessport mount I made (which was short-lived after it got warm out, because I don't have the hardware to print ABS), and you can sorta tell what I did there- that's how I'd look at doing it if it were me.

[tomeford]

Great success with the gesture controls last night!

 

https://youtu.be/cHKAKdI5W1I

 

 

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[tomeford]

So infrared switches don't really work in sunlight. I started tracking down some kind of bandwidth filter but it's seeming a bit pricey and not particularly affective at this stage.

 

In the meantime, i've realised all the steering wheel buttons are doing is closing a circuit with a specific resistance. My new head unit (Kenwood DDX9017dabs) can learn a function for these amounts of resistance. So in theory I can add more circuits with a different amount of resistance and the kenwood can assign them to other functions. Great!

 

even better, the kenwood has 2 hot pins on the remote control input. My subaru only uses one of them because i don't have phone controls on the wheel. So i can use that 2nd pin and not have to worry about interfering with the other controls if the values are too similar.

 

So i could:

A - trigger a relay with my arduino to close some circuits.. I'm suspecting this won't work very well for the rotary encoder. But i could add any other input device to trigger them. potentially cool but if i scrap the gesture control, not really worth it.

 

B - wire up a row of buttons directly to the harness.

 

I like option B... Has anyone got some tips on finding some nice looking buttons for this?

[tomeford]

Check out my knob!

http://i.imgur.com/OKC6PZT.jpg?1

[FLlegacy]

So what does your big knob do exactly?

[tomeford]

great question! Glad you asked! It's what you do with it that counts after all...

 

The knob is going to an arduino processor which then spits out an infrared signal to control the head unit volume. It also makes the LED ring do cool things.

 

The buttons are hooked up to the steering wheel control circuit on the wiring harness of the head unit and can be programmed on the head unit to do whatever you like... I've got them selecting sources at the moment.

 

So this way, i don't have to use the head unit's physical buttons, or the steering wheel controls. I can just touch my knob!

 

Seriously though it was a cool learning process.. coding the arduino, wiring up the buttons, designing the panel and having it 3d printed etc. I think it looks nice!

[FLlegacy]

Ok, cool I won't mention you wired up a processor and knobs to do what the knobs and buttons a few inches above them already do...

 

I like the concept, very neat!