[spencer]

I've finally done it: my 3D-printed replica navpod is complete. This project has been months in the making (though I was busy with real work for much of that time), and after numerous prototypes and experiments I'm finally ready to call this part a success.

The part is 3D-printed on my large format machine and skinned with Bondo to get a smooth and continuous surface finish, free of any layer lines or other printer artifacts. It has been finished in heat-resistant wrinkle black paint to get a durable finish that matches the surrounding dashboard. I've attached photos of the finished product in a comment below this thread.

My original plan for this project was to produce and sell these navpods, and as of now I feel comfortable saying they are ready for the market. However, I will not be selling any yet as I am currently in the development process of a redesigned navpod with full support for double DIN head units and would prefer to wait until this model is ready as well.

For now, I hope you all are as excited as I am about the prospect of a proper navpod production run which I'd like to run sometime in the next year.

Spencer

 

[spencer]

 

[viv_yells]

WOW that looks GREAT! Please consider me extremely interested! I'd buy the file for printing, or a printed copy, I'm interested. That looks really clean.

 

[pwnzor]

Very nice work!

 

[fucklovesosa]

good shit

 

[spencer]

WOW that looks GREAT! Please consider me extremely interested! I'd buy the file for printing, or a printed copy, I'm interested. That looks really clean.

Thank you!

The file for printing the OEM navpod is freely available, though it's a 3D scan so I'd personally recommend processing it with mesh software to smooth out the surfaces before printing. I don't have a link off the top of my head but if you search around I'm sure you'll be able to find it. My personal workflow is a combination of Fusion 360 and Rhino into PrusaSlicer.

 

[forringer]

Link to 3D scan file: MR2 Spyder NavPod by SpyderNav

Edit: the file is not mine. I just remembered where I saw it last. If someone wants one printed up, I can probably do it for you. After it is printed (in PLA) it is not immediately useable in the car. PLA melts at in-car temps. If I were doing this, I would line the interior with fiberglass to hold its shape and line the outside with fake leather. [I have not tested this method.]. Better materials exist (ABS, PTEG, etc), but I have no luck printing with them.

 

[DrRobots]

So out of curiosity, what's the popular options for putting in the navpod? (Hardware and software applications?) I've seen some Android solutions out there, but I didn't know if there were some other solutions to consider like Arduino.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

 

[forringer]

So out of curiosity, what's the popular options for putting in the navpod? (Hardware and software applications?) I've seen some Android solutions out there, but I didn't know if there were some other solutions to consider like Arduino.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

Here is an older thread. I like the idea of putting an apple car play head unit up there. Selling 3d printed navpods

 

[spencer]

Link to 3D scan file: MR2 Spyder NavPod by SpyderNav

Edit: the file is not mine. I just remembered where I saw it last. If someone wants one printed up, I can probably do it for you. After it is printed (in PLA) it is not immediately useable in the car. PLA melts at in-car temps. If I were doing this, I would line the interior with fiberglass to hold its shape and line the outside with fake leather. [I have not tested this method.]. Better materials exist (ABS, PTEG, etc), but I have no luck printing with them.

The prints I've done have mostly been PETG with results that I'm very happy with. CF-PETG is a more expensive but stronger option I've explored, and with a few more upgrades to my printer I'd really like to try a run with PA6-GF30, which would be a FANTASTIC material for the navpod (albeit at a higher material cost than PETG or ABS/ASA).

Here is an older thread. I like the idea of putting an apple car play head unit up there. Selling 3d printed navpods

I absolutely agree that I want a 2DIN unit on my dash, but unfortunately the original navpod design is not physically large enough to fit one (I'm talking the outer shell, not just the inner bezel) without cutting into the dashboard itself. The design which I'm currently exploring is much larger in order to support a full double DIN (180 mm by 100 mm) head unit.

 

[firebert]

Look into (ABS like) Urethane Casting instead of 3D Printing. If there are enough interest, it may be economical. You can get a quote from fictiv.

Personally I want a navipod for a mini-tablet or a field monitor for backup camera. I own a Prusa and have a Ultimaker S5 in the office but don't have the time to take on this project so I will gladly pay for one if the price is not outrageous.

For anyone looking to 3D Print car parts I recommend Firm Futura Apollo X. It's easy to work with and can stand up to engine bay temps. I have a racecar running a 3D printed airbox.

 

[spencer]

Look into (ABS like) Urethane Casting instead of 3D Printing. If there are enough interest, it may be economical. You can get a quote from fictiv.

Personally I want a navipod for a mini-tablet or a field monitor for backup camera. I own a Prusa and have a Ultimaker S5 in the office but don't have the time to take on this project so I will gladly pay for one if the price is not outrageous.

For anyone looking to 3D Print car parts I recommend Firm Futura Apollo X. It's easy to work with and can stand up to engine bay temps. I have a racecar running a 3D printed airbox.

I actually have some experience doing urethane casting and it's occurred to me to try it for this part. I'm still pretty interested in trying it, however as I don't consider my design to be 'complete' yet, I've not done any serious quoting and/or mold making.

 

[mr2thomas]

awesome work. I modeled and prototyped similar the other week at work in my spare time. I was considering double DIN but was looking at more modern solutions. My goal was to get these injection molded from one of my foreign buddies if there was some interest.

 

[Jbitzer]

Link to 3D scan file: MR2 Spyder NavPod by SpyderNav

Edit: the file is not mine. I just remembered where I saw it last. If someone wants one printed up, I can probably do it for you. After it is printed (in PLA) it is not immediately useable in the car. PLA melts at in-car temps. If I were doing this, I would line the interior with fiberglass to hold its shape and line the outside with fake leather. [I have not tested this method.]. Better materials exist (ABS, PTEG, etc), but I have no luck printing with them.

petg is the shit. What do you have trouble in with your prints in petg?

 

[spencer]

awesome work. I modeled and prototyped similar the other week at work in my spare time. I was considering double DIN but was looking at more modern solutions. My goal was to get these injection molded from one of my foreign buddies if there was some interest.
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Remarkable model! What reverse engineering software do you use? (Unless you modeled it from scratch, which is even more impressive!)

 

[forringer]

petg is the shit. What do you have trouble in with your prints in petg?

Well the first roll I bought had a lot of trouble sticking to the bed and then, when printing had lots of stringy bits. It's strange because I have no trouble printing with PLA. The second roll had better bed adhesion, but still seemed to struggle with self-adhesion. Maybe I was running the fan too high? I have an Ender 3 Max and a Monoprice Mini Delta.

 

[spencer]

Well the first roll I bought had a lot of trouble sticking to the bed and then, when printing had lots of stringy bits. It's strange because I have no trouble printing with PLA. The second roll had better bed adhesion, but still seemed to struggle with self-adhesion. Maybe I was running the fan too high? I have an Ender 3 Max and a Monoprice Mini Delta.

I can't speak for the Monoprice as I've never used one, but the Ender 3 should definitely be capable of printing PETG. The best advice I can give you is to throttle that fan wayyyy down low. When I'm printing PETG I leave the fan completely off except maybe for bridging (though PETG sags a lot so I'd encourage you to design your parts without bridges for its sake).

As for bed adhesion, make sure that you're using a healthy amount of gluestick (I do a crosshatch pattern) and make sure that your bed temperature is appropriate. PETG needs a much hotter bed than PLA--I use 80 C on the first layer and 90 C on subsequent layers, if I recall correctly.

I hope this helps! PETG is a fantastic material for prototypes (if only it didn't print at a snail's pace...)

 

[scotched]

@mr2thomas

Injection molded would be a beast but Navpod #1 would probably cost $10k+

 

[MRSPONZ]

I would love to see something like this. Bring it out a little bit more, with a nice angle.

 

[evilthorne]

What size is the current opening of your prototype nav pod? I’m looking to put a small AEM cdi 5” screen in it.