New radio solution from the mainland?

[Dre617]

yea, I have explored the idea of buying a 3D printer but stopped cuz adding more projects and electronics to my life would cause yelling by the wife. Already running some decent equipment in the basement.

[Tehnation]

I use rhino and autocad, so I could just load up 3d drawings to a printer and viola?? I was never interested because I thought they were expensive, but if the op could shed some light I may get one cause christmas is around the corner!!

[EatingInternet]

I use rhino and autocad, so I could just load up 3d drawings to a printer and viola?? I was never interested because I thought they were expensive, but if the op could shed some light I may get one cause christmas is around the corner!!

 

A decent one is the ender 3 pro which has now been upgraded to ender v2. There are also sla or dlp printers which use liquid resin on a plate and are far more detailed but tend to have smaller sizes and are much more annoying to clean/process and the resins don't have great properties. An example would be elegoo Mars printer. If you really just want to test the waters there's a $100 printer called the monoprice mini which does small prints for cheap but is very limited with regards to materials and mods. You can definitely get in the game for $100 but it's better to spend the cash and go for $200+, the more the better. Look up reviews on printers though, they're always coming out with newer and more competitive models.

[Infosecdad]

These are great little starter printers.

 

https://www.creality3d.shop/collections/ender-series-3d-printer/products/creality-ender-3-3d-printer-economic-ender-diy-kits-with-resume-printing-function-v-slot-prusa-i3-220x220x250mm

 

I have one and my university bought 50 for a printer camp over the summer and they worked wonderfully.

[EatingInternet]

Got ABS printing perfectly on my printer! All it took was a real enclosure made from duct insulation, inch thick, R value of 6.

 

This is my first working piece but I will probably sell it discounted since the ABS shrinks a little and there's a half millimeter gap on the shifter bezel. I'm sorta a perfectionist and I want mine to have minimal gap. If you have some black hot glue it would look great though. In any case I'm accounting for dimensional shrink now with future versions.

 

I will probably print about 5 ABS relocation bezels and 3 ABS radio adapter bezels to start with for selling, as well as a pair for myself. One print takes about a day but the listing should be up in about a week. Still need to make a better mounting solution for the radio adapters, but I need to actually install my radio and bezel first

 

The color is shockingly similar to stock and I was originally planning on vapor smoothing these parts to remove layer lines, but now I don't want them any shinier since they look OEM as is and the layers are pretty tiny at the angle the driver sees them.

[Tehnation]

how much do I need to spend to do what your doing? How much did your printer cost ? If I can't do what your doing then I see no point lol.

[blackobxt]

Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to see what it looks like mounted. My shifter trim is dyed to match the jdm ddin so it would look right at home

[Tehnation]

Got ABS printing perfectly on my printer! All it took was a real enclosure made from duct insulation, inch thick, R value of 6.

 

This is my first working piece but I will probably sell it discounted since the ABS shrinks a little and there's a half millimeter gap on the shifter bezel. I'm sorta a perfectionist and I want mine to have minimal gap. If you have some black hot glue it would look great though. In any case I'm accounting for dimensional shrink now with future versions.

 

I will probably print about 5 ABS relocation bezels and 3 ABS radio adapter bezels to start with for selling, as well as a pair for myself. One print takes about a day but the listing should be up in about a week. Still need to make a better mounting solution for the radio adapters, but I need to actually install my radio and bezel first

 

The color is shockingly similar to stock and I was originally planning on vapor smoothing these parts to remove layer lines, but now I don't want them any shinier since they look OEM as is and the layers are pretty tiny at the angle the driver sees them.

 

It really does look amazing! But you lost me in the first paragraph, duct insulation? thermal resistance? shrinks? vapor smoothing? or basically how much if its a trade secret and don't want to explain! lets cut the bs! Your making 5! What are we talking product and shipping?

 

Also did you stick a blade into it to measure or test something? Trying to figure out the reason for it!

[EatingInternet]

It really does look amazing! But you lost me in the first paragraph, duct insulation? thermal resistance? shrinks? vapor smoothing? or basically how much if its a trade secret and don't want to explain! lets cut the bs! Your making 5! What are we talking product and shipping?

 

Also did you stick a blade into it to measure or test something? Trying to figure out the reason for it!

 

I was talking about the process of getting it to print right. 3D printers can be very finicky, and when I was first trying to print the ABS at room temperature it warped and cracked due to temperature differentials in the print surface, nozzle, and ambient air which mess with how the plastic expands and contracts. I solved this by creating a box out of foam duct insulation which significantly raised the air temperature within the box just by keeping heat from the printer components in.

 

The whole point of me using ABS plastic (despite how difficult it is to print) is because it has a high temperature resistance, which means it won't warp or bend even in a very hot car in the summer time. It should last forever pretty much.

 

Vapor smoothing is using acetone vapors to dissolve the outside of the plastic which will smooth out the layers lines and give a very nice surface finish but also makes it looks glossy, which is bad in this particular application. It only works for ABS plastic, which is one of the selling points.

 

I also did not stick a blade into it, that's just where the printer started laying down plastic on that layer so it gives a little bit of a weird artifact to the surface. I may be able to remove it but no guarantees.

 

The printer itself costed ~$200, plus $20 for a roll of plastic, and $30 for the enclosure to enable printing ABS cleanly. This doesn't include any maintenance or upgrades, I probably have close to $400 into my setup over the last year.

 

As for price I'm still deciding. It won't be a lot. Just wait for the posting, it'll be ready when it's ready. I'm spending every day on this so it's not going to go any faster, I'm just making sure the product is up to my standards before selling it to people as well as documenting the process for anyone who wants to try it themselves down the line.

[Dre617]

I am pretty sure I am buying 1 from you so you can consider only having 4 available lol

[Tehnation]

Bevel just got here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tehnation]

I'm no photographer, but it being black made it hard to get the detail. Normally my phone can focus better, tried with and without flash, then got annoyed. But I'll try again later.

 

Overall Its not bad at all, I'm not going to do anything to it.... looks like it would be best to use some kind of filler and then paint it. Or some really fine sanding, but you would need to be careful. I'm not saying its brittle but I would handle with extreme care, its very light plastic and even though it has thickness its not dense.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Tehnation

[blackobxt]

Looks like your pictures make it look smoother than the ones on the advert for the product.

[Mechazilla]

I would be interested in buying one too.

[EatingInternet]

Update: The relocation adapter design is finished and I have 2 ready to go, need to print another 3 tomorrow when I get more plastic. I also tried to install the vent tubes onto the chinese fascia today and discovered they don't fit. They were likely made for the european or russian market or something, or maybe even a different cubby. In any case, now I need to make vent tube adapters or modify the vent tubes / fascia to fit. It shouldn't be too bad but I like making things require the least amount of permanent modification possible so it's a bit frustrating. I think I will probably just cut a little bit away until it sits flush and then hot glue.

[EatingInternet]

Here's what I'm talking about. I'm thinking I'll cut the clips on the fascia off, and then cut the sides off the tube so it sits flush with the fascia, and then just hot glue the seam all around.

Edited August 17, 2020 by EatingInternet

[EatingInternet]

After some more research, I found someone on AliExpress who was able to install his stock tubes. His design was a one piece tube instead of a two piece. A one piece tube is found on navigation fascias. So if you have a navigation fascia, your tubes will likely fit. For a regular clock fascia/cubby the tubes will need to be modified for sure. The fascias are pretty cheap nowadays if I make a mistake, so I'm just going to cut mine to fit. Should be pretty hard to mess up but still.

[EatingInternet]

So far the vent tube modification seems like it will work. The clock relocation bezels are now up for sale as I am satisfied with the design. However, I am now redesigning the double din adapter as it was complex and difficult to print even with my new printer upgrades. Instead, now I'm going to be mounting the radio to the back of the dash, and then making a simple face plate into the chinese fascia that will be hotglued in. It saves plastic, reduces print time, will result in a prettier product and overall be easier to use. I am also playing with the idea of making a visor for the radio as it looks a little goofy with such a large flat area. Kind of like those old tablets or touch screens that had a inch wide bezel. Back to the drawing board!

[EatingInternet]

Printing a better adapter is on hold until I get a better print bed unfortunately. The abs I have keeps sticking to my removable build sheet and lifting it up, which curls the print. Should be a couple days. For those that bought the bezel please let me know if you're satisfied, I'm constantly improving the design and fitment.

[blackobxt]

I’m anxiously awaiting mine! Will do a test fit and post pics as soon as it arrives. I’m interested in getting some kind of bezel made to fit a tablet in place of the cubby/ clock location now. Just need to learn a bit more about what I want

[EatingInternet]

Here is an update on the double din adapter. Getting there... still need brackets and more printer upgrades.

[Tehnation]

What radio is that?

[Tehnation]

I was going to buy one of those frames on aliexpress, but ordered one of these instead.

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001278047165.html

 

Hopefully its not hot garbage!

 

Did your order come in? Which model did you order?

[Rusty9]

I ordered the Android 10 option. Just cleared customs so should be here in a few days...Looks to be plug and play so we'll see how it goes.

[Tehnation]

Looks like you got the T6 model for 165. Damn it already comes with the bevel, you can also add tpms for like 50 bucks.

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001242608551.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000023.3.7fb979d70psPU6

 

.... thats not bad at all, crap.... Depending on how you like it, I may have to sell my bevel and get this complete kit.