I 3D printed my own no-drill cupholder

[volpin]

Yeah, I know. Not as sexy as suspension mods or a supercharger but sometimes I just want to take a cup of coffee to work in the morning.

New NSX owner, but been in and around various cars my whole life. I also happen to own a SFX studio and know a bit about prototyping. Most aftermarket cupholders leave screw holes and don't work well anyway. I just wanted some place to put a drink until I got to my destination, and the cavity inside the armrest was a perfect fit. I know there's a factory pop-up one but it isn't on my 1991 and from what I've read, those kinda suck anyway. Besides, I had an idle printer and some black filament, so I figured I'd crank one out.

This fits the interior cavity, holds cups and coffee (I've tested both!) and requires no modification at all. I made two versions - one with a set of side strakes to hold in in the cavity and the other with some adhesive felt to hold it in place. Both work really well. Only real issue is super tall cups don't clear the lip of the arm rest, but I'm not really a 120oz big gulp kinda guy anyways.

A few photos:

If you're interested in printing your own, you can download the file here!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2803111

 

[TomCat]

Very cool! I wish I had an extra idle printer!
I just had some dash defroster vents made for another car in my garage...I am SOLD on 3D!!!

 

[Chase_acura]

thats awesome!!

 

[AcuraNSX]

Nice job! Why not print up a double din center console trim piece. It would make life a lot easier for anyone who wants to upgrade their stereos to something modern. Any thoughts?

 

[volpin]

Nice job! Why not print up a double din center console trim piece. It would make life a lot easier for anyone who wants to upgrade their stereos to something modern. Any thoughts?

I've thought about this, actually. Along with a printable nav pod as well. My car is nearly 100% stock aside from some springs and shocks, and that factory stereo has got to go. I'd like to retain the stock dash and radio for when/if I ever sell the car though. Planning on modeling out some more stuff for future use. I think a nav pod that could be printed and either leather wrapped or painted to match the factory panels would be a much appreciated add to the community.

 

[AcuraNSX]

I've thought about this, actually. Along with a printable nav pod as well. My car is nearly 100% stock aside from some springs and shocks, and that factory stereo has got to go. I'd like to retain the stock dash and radio for when/if I ever sell the car though. Planning on modeling out some more stuff for future use. I think a nav pod that could be printed and either leather wrapped or painted to match the factory panels would be a much appreciated add to the community.

definitely! We look forward to seeing what you come up with. No reason why these center console pieces made of plastic should be selling for over $1,000. I know another provider is selling double din consoles for $649. seems a bit much when the stereo is cheaper and does a lot more....just my thoughts

 

[volpin]

definitely! We look forward to seeing what you come up with. No reason why these center console pieces made of plastic should be selling for over $1,000. I know another provider is selling double din consoles for $649. seems a bit much when the stereo is cheaper and does a lot more....just my thoughts

You're taking about the Euroboutique stuff I'm guessing? We do a ton of molding and casting in my studio, mostly urethanes but some epoxy when the project demands it. I can see why their dash costs what it does - there's some balance between cost/time/demand, and I'm pretty sure they're doing hand laid epoxy with glass or carbon fiber. Probably takes 2-3 hours to lay out a casting, another 12-16 for cure time, then two hours for trimming then packaging. Cost of the mold is probably a couple hundred bucks but you can get 30-50 casts out of a good mold, but can you sell 30 or 50 to owners?

Hard to say what I'd price them for were I in their shoes, but we don't make car parts here. More like weird space guns and videogame replicas, haha. Stuff like this:

Materials and practice is the same though! I was planning on molding an old dash panel if I could find one cheap (even a destroyed one, since I just need the basic shape) then maybe knocking out a few copies on the buy/sell section to recoup costs. May as well break even if I'm going through all the trouble.

Another idea was molded replacement corner indicators since I can't seem to find a clear set for under $200 and I could just make my own for a third of that!

 

[Lude_2_NSX]

Thank you for providing the files for free. That is what makes this community great.

 

[volpin]

Hm, I had an image post to reply to this about the possibility of modeling dash parts but it seems admins have to approve it first. Had this issue when trying to add a thread to the new NSX owners subforum too, but it never got approved.

Welp, in any case, I'll probably continue to model parts for our car interiors. Will update when I've got something else!

 

[I_M_Legend]

Yeah, I know. Not as sexy as suspension mods or a supercharger but sometimes I just want to take a cup of coffee to work in the morning.

New NSX owner, but been in and around various cars my whole life. I also happen to own a SFX studio and know a bit about prototyping. Most aftermarket cupholders leave screw holes and don't work well anyway. I just wanted some place to put a drink until I got to my destination, and the cavity inside the armrest was a perfect fit. I know there's a factory pop-up one but it isn't on my 1991 and from what I've read, those kinda suck anyway. Besides, I had an idle printer and some black filament, so I figured I'd crank one out.

This fits the interior cavity, holds cups and coffee (I've tested both!) and requires no modification at all. I made two versions - one with a set of side strakes to hold in in the cavity and the other with some adhesive felt to hold it in place. Both work really well. Only real issue is super tall cups don't clear the lip of the arm rest, but I'm not really a 120oz big gulp kinda guy anyways.

A few photos:

If you're interested in printing your own, you can download the file here!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2803111

would you consider making a few more to sell?

 

[volpin]

would you consider making a few more to sell?

Sure thing! Send me a PM, now that I'm not a new member anymore I can finally get messages. We can run a few for you if you'd like.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

You're taking about the Euroboutique stuff I'm guessing? We do a ton of molding and casting in my studio, mostly urethanes but some epoxy when the project demands it. I can see why their dash costs what it does - there's some balance between cost/time/demand, and I'm pretty sure they're doing hand laid epoxy with glass or carbon fiber. Probably takes 2-3 hours to lay out a casting, another 12-16 for cure time, then two hours for trimming then packaging. Cost of the mold is probably a couple hundred bucks but you can get 30-50 casts out of a good mold, but can you sell 30 or 50 to owners?

Hard to say what I'd price them for were I in their shoes, but we don't make car parts here. More like weird space guns and videogame replicas, haha. Stuff like this:

Materials and practice is the same though! I was planning on molding an old dash panel if I could find one cheap (even a destroyed one, since I just need the basic shape) then maybe knocking out a few copies on the buy/sell section to recoup costs. May as well break even if I'm going through all the trouble.

Another idea was molded replacement corner indicators since I can't seem to find a clear set for under $200 and I could just make my own for a third of that!

Eurobotique makes nothing in-house but toilet waste. Almost everything if not everything is outsourced and marketed up. Their consoles are repaired oem ones that are overlaid in carbon fiber.

 

[volpin]

Eurobotique makes nothing in-house but toilet waste. Almost everything if not everything is outsourced and marketed up. Their consoles are repaired oem ones that are overlaid in carbon fiber.

I've been trying since February to buy a trashed stereo bezel to repair and mold so I can cast my own epoxy parts. Asked several people in the sale sub-forum but for some reason I can't get anyone to respond and sell me a bunch of shattered plastic.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

I've been trying since February to buy a trashed stereo bezel to repair and mold so I can cast my own epoxy parts. Asked several people in the sale sub-forum but for some reason I can't get anyone to respond and sell me a bunch of shattered plastic.

Good luck. Myself and a few others currently offer consoles.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

I've been trying since February to buy a trashed stereo bezel to repair and mold so I can cast my own epoxy parts. Asked several people in the sale sub-forum but for some reason I can't get anyone to respond and sell me a bunch of shattered plastic.

Also sorry not to be a downer. Just letting you know the market is all. I think a casted epoxy part may be a good option. Depending. You figure oem new consoles are still made and only around 600 or so? I bought two to stash away. Then sos sells a blank fiberglass one for around 250 which needs a little work. Liftnot sells a carbon console, downforce sells a console I think still, I sell a console, and rick ko sells a console. All have different options with none being a like but none also being molded like what you’re stating since you are doing pretty much a front and back mold like an injection part. I’m not up to date with epoxy other then the resins I use which are different from what you use but the main drawback I
have experienced and know are thermoset plastics tend to be brittle when not paired with reinforcement like cloth. Given the nature of the console and it’s thin sections you would probably need to engineer it slightly thicker in certain areas for it not to snap. Unless you have a type of epoxy that’s flexible and has hg or TG higher then most since some interiors bake and can cause warpage or parts.

But correct me if i’m wrong. I know a little bit about the way you mold parts and make/design your molds but not a ton.

 

[volpin]

I'd probably do a single face mold with glass fiber backed epoxy. Possible we could do a vacuum bag mold with epoxy impreg but that's getting complex without a ton of benefit. I'll have to take a closer look at the complexity of the factory panels to make a judgement. We also work with a ton of urethanes that could work but they're extremely heavy and the temperature extremes in an auto interior wouldn't be a great environment.

I'm not really doing it to make a profit so much as to just have parts I made on my car. I like doing that stuff, and I can make it as custom as I like while keeping the stock parts in a stash for if the car ever needs to be returned to factory spec. I own a fabrication studio and five 3D printers, may as well use them to make car parts when I'm not doing SFX stuff!

 

[Mac Attack]

That's pretty cool. Thanks for providing your file!

A little off-topic, but can anyone recommend a good bang-for-the-buck 3D printer please? Looking to get started in this and would like to keep costs as low as possible for my beginning attempt. Thanks.

 

[jwmelvin]

A little off-topic, but can anyone recommend a good bang-for-the-buck 3D printer please? Looking to get started in this and would like to keep costs as low as possible for my beginning attempt.

I bought a Prusa i3 mk2S because I wanted to minimize the fussiness. It seems to be in a pretty good spot of balancing cost and performance. Now they have the mk3, which is a clear improvement.

It’s certainly possible to spend less but they are all fussy enough that I think that could be risky. I have a friend with a low-cost Monoprice and it seems to work but has a very small print volume and is very slow.

 

[Mac Attack]

I bought a Prusa i3 mk2S because I wanted to minimize the fussiness. It seems to be in a pretty good spot of balancing cost and performance. Now they have the mk3, which is a clear improvement.

It’s certainly possible to spend less but they are all fussy enough that I think that could be risky. I have a friend with a low-cost Monoprice and it seems to work but has a very small print volume and is very slow.

Thanks Jason, that does look like a good model!