[7786]

Originally Posted by relentlessone

This is awesome.

Where are you having it printed?

Right now I'm using external services like shapeways, makexyz, etc. You basically upload them a model and someone out there who has a 3D printer will print it for you for a fee (they usually charge for printer time + amount of material used). That's how I got the first print in the OP done and unfortunately I was not happy with it, pricey and the quality seemed very rushed. YMMV though. I'd definitely like to pick up my own printer down the line though if I can end up justifying it.

Originally Posted by ctuna

Been reading about the NBT (Nav/Idrive)from the F30
Apparently some are retrofitting this in some e9x's
It looks like something like this would allow you to
do the full idrive retrofit without having to buy an new
dashboard.
I don't know if this has already been considered from the
guys from Romania who are offering the NBT kits or not.

Those screens look heavy but if someone wants to go down that route I'd be happy to help out. But like you said I think there are cheaper options out there for superior functionality.

[relentlessone]

Originally Posted by 7786

Right now I'm using external services like shapeways, makexyz, etc. You basically upload them a model and someone out there who has a 3D printer will print it for you for a fee (they usually charge for printer time + amount of material used). That's how I got the first print in the OP done and unfortunately I was not happy with it, pricey and the quality seemed very rushed. YMMV though. I'd definitely like to pick up my own printer down the line though if I can end up justifying it.

The main reason I asked is because I have an XYZ 3D printer that prints ABS and can print up to 7.8" in all dimensions. The quality is good, but needs sanding to get rid of the layer lines. It's not usually running, so I'd be willing to run some prints for just the cost of the material. Only additional cost would be shipping. PM me if you are interested.

[Eat.Sleep.Race]

very cool!

[AntBox]

I actually put a nexus 7 as a headunit in my acura. Im not sure if you're aware of timurs rom or not, but it's a custom firmware for the nexus 7 for in-car installions. The biggest things are it changes the layout to be more car friendly(music playback and volume buttons in the screen at all times), allows usb devices(flash drives, portable hard drives, etc), and for the tablet to turn off and on with the car. I was actually thinking of a way to put it in my 335i. Hopefully you get these into production soon!

[rangomango]

Originally Posted by 7786

Right now I'm using external services like shapeways, makexyz, etc. You basically upload them a model and someone out there who has a 3D printer will print it for you for a fee (they usually charge for printer time + amount of material used). That's how I got the first print in the OP done and unfortunately I was not happy with it, pricey and the quality seemed very rushed. YMMV though. I'd definitely like to pick up my own printer down the line though if I can end up justifying it.



Those screens look heavy but if someone wants to go down that route I'd be happy to help out. But like you said I think there are cheaper options out there for superior functionality.

Subscribed!

Looks like huge potential! Any updates on progress?

[b.lam]

Subscribed.

[byebyev8]

Also waiting

[jan31]

Me too!

[7786]

Originally Posted by relentlessone

The main reason I asked is because I have an XYZ 3D printer that prints ABS and can print up to 7.8" in all dimensions. The quality is good, but needs sanding to get rid of the layer lines. It's not usually running, so I'd be willing to run some prints for just the cost of the material. Only additional cost would be shipping. PM me if you are interested.

I appreciate that, unfortunately one of our biggest issues is finding a printer large enough. The nexus 7 is 7.88 inches in length, and while trying to keep the mount as slim as possible, our overall width has come to 8.5 inches. So we've been having to use printers that have a dimension of at least 10"+. If we end up making mounts for smaller devices I'll definitely get in touch if I don't have my own printer by then. Thanks again for the offer!

Originally Posted by rangomango

Subscribed!

Looks like huge potential! Any updates on progress?

Progress is coming along, a bit slower than I'd like. We're still making some updates in the design, mainly to overcome limitations when it comes to 3d printing. Here are a couple pics of the last full piece we had printed. One of the corners ended up being warped so we didn't bother cleaning this up at all, so it's a little rough around the edges. We have another piece coming in this week, we're hoping that has some of the previous issues fixed.

[relentlessone]

Originally Posted by 7786

I appreciate that, unfortunately one of our biggest issues is finding a printer large enough. The nexus 7 is 7.88 inches in length, and while trying to keep the mount as slim as possible, our overall width has come to 8.5 inches. So we've been having to use printers that have a dimension of at least 10"+. If we end up making mounts for smaller devices I'll definitely get in touch if I don't have my own printer by then. Thanks again for the offer!

Anytime! This is really coming along nice.

[mir-ali604]

Originally Posted by 7786

I appreciate that, unfortunately one of our biggest issues is finding a printer large enough. The nexus 7 is 7.88 inches in length, and while trying to keep the mount as slim as possible, our overall width has come to 8.5 inches. So we've been having to use printers that have a dimension of at least 10"+. If we end up making mounts for smaller devices I'll definitely get in touch if I don't have my own printer by then. Thanks again for the offer!





Progress is coming along, a bit slower than I'd like. We're still making some updates in the design, mainly to overcome limitations when it comes to 3d printing. Here are a couple pics of the last full piece we had printed. One of the corners ended up being warped so we didn't bother cleaning this up at all, so it's a little rough around the edges. We have another piece coming in this week, we're hoping that has some of the previous issues fixed.

Any updates??

[rbtamms]

Wow, I'm excited to see the outcome of this project...

[7786]

Still cranking away. We got a couple mounts in the past few weeks that we've improved upon, have another one in the works currently that should be very close to being our final iteration (we had to rework how it attaches to the dashboard, as well as make a bunch of changes to overcome some limitations in 3d printing). Anyways here are some pics of the last one (excuse the white color, it's the only filament that was able at the time)!

[techwhiz]

Originally Posted by BeastMode335i

I just used a Kuda mount for my Galaxy Tab 4 7", works perfect..

I used a Kuda for my Galaxy Tab Pro 8,
Works great.

I'd post pics but my car is in the shop for paint.

[Watkins01]

Would you consider doing one for us over the pond and our right hand drive e90's?
I'd be happy to take one without a perfect finish as long as fitment was right. I presume it's just a case of inverting the dimensions?

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by techwhiz

I used a Kuda for my Galaxy Tab Pro 8,
Works great.

Love it! Paired with my Kinivo BTC455 for streaming music

[7786]

Originally Posted by techwhiz

I used a Kuda for my Galaxy Tab Pro 8,
Works great.

I'd post pics but my car is in the shop for paint.

Here's a good thread for those that want to go the kuda route:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1093426

I also own one of these mounts but decided to make my own because:
- I didn't want it to look obvious that I had a tablet mounted in the car
- I didn't want any visible wires showing on the dash
- I don't like the look of those plastic clips that are typically used to mount devices in vehicles
- I thought it would be an interesting project so why not

It's all about personal preference though so as long as everyone is happy with their setup

Originally Posted by Watkins01

Would you consider doing one for us over the pond and our right hand drive e90's?
I'd be happy to take one without a perfect finish as long as fitment was right. I presume it's just a case of inverting the dimensions?

That's something I haven't even considered. I would assume the dashes are identical other than being flipped. If that's the case then aside from the camera hole, the rest of the model can be inverted easily. We can certainly explore this further once it's completed.

[dvarela]

Buddy,

Any update? I'd buy a pre-release version now Been following your thread for sometime and I am veeery interested. Anything you need help with?

Thanks.

[7786]

Originally Posted by dvarela

Buddy,

Any update? I'd buy a pre-release version now Been following your thread for sometime and I am veeery interested. Anything you need help with?

Thanks.

Progress is a bit slow huh?

Here's the issue I'm at now, when I first started this project last August, I designed the dimensions of the mount with a specific OTG cable in mind (ninjacable). By the time the 3D prints started materializing, that cable went out of stock and is backordered until sometime in the "fall". They still have the regular charging cable in stock, but of course this doesn't have OTG capabilities. In hindsight, it was probably a stupid idea limiting myself to one specific cable, but it was the best option at the time for keeping the mount as small as it can possibly be. So the past couple weeks I've been trying out different 90 degree cables to see if I can find something else that works, unfortunately that part isn't going as well. I was able to make the tablet slightly wider to increase the room available, but it's still pretty tight in there. And going any wider I'd have to redo everything from scratch, as well as it won't look as good.

Other than that everything else is coming along, the prints are looking good at this point, still making minor changes here and there but the fitment is pretty spot on.

One thing I was thinking of doing, is trimming the right side a bit so you can shift the tablet to the right a bit to make more room for another cable, but then the screen will be offset by that amount in the front and it would look a bit off. As well as the camera wouldn't be centered in the hole, unless I make that an oval which would also look weird.

The other thing I was thinking of doing, is buying the regular charging version of the ninjacable and modifying that to have OTG capabilities, which I have already successfully done. Only issue with this method is it can get expensive and time consuming making that modification.

I still have another cable coming in tomorrow that I want to try, I already know it's too big to fit but I'm hoping I can trim some material off without cutting through the wires. We'll see.

Another issue we ran into is the material we were using (PLA), has a very low glass transition temperature (130 degrees F), where it pretty much melts when left out on the dash in the sun. We've found a supplier that's going to print our future mounts using the material ColorFabb XT, which has a temperature of 167 degrees F (as well as it's superior in every way compared to regular PLA). But you should still be mindful about how hot your cars interior can get while sitting out in the sun during the summer. I live in Iowa so it won't be much of an issue for me

In conclusion, that's pretty much where we're at. If you still want a mount at this stage I have no problem getting you one, as long as you're aware of what you're getting yourself into.










And here's the regular PLA after sitting out in the sun on an 80 degree day.

[dvarela]

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply.

I'm sorry if you explained this before, but why go with OTG cables? Even if the nexus had a rom to put out sound via USB, the car would not recognize it through the ipod usb connection.. Unless you are connecting it to a DAC?

@_@ either way, with my current set up, the nexus would not be connected to my sound system. I just want it for NAV, OBD stats and maybe to control my music on long trips with spotify on a hotspot network through my ipod touch inside my center console.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=837879

How easy is the mount to remove and put back in? I would not mind using this version for sometime until one that doesn't melt is ready. By the way, I have a wcp-300 and a nexus 4 & 5 QI chargers that I can use with this mount.

Great work!

[alexwhittemore]

That's great! I've been meaning to update my kludged mount forever.

Have you considered making it in multiple pieces that slot together to overcome the print area limitation?

Originally Posted by dvarela

I'm sorry if you explained this before, but why go with OTG cables? Even if the nexus had a rom to put out sound via USB, the car would not recognize it through the ipod usb connection.. Unless you are connecting it to a DAC?

@_@ either way, with my current set up, the nexus would not be connected to my sound system. I just want it for NAV, OBD stats and maybe to control my music on long trips with spotify on a hotspot network through my ipod touch inside my center console.

There are oodles of reasons you probably want to use the OTG cable, the big ones are DAC and external flash drive storage. I've got mine running to a USB hub in the fuse box for those things. Although really, I use neither now, I use a Tune2Air WMA1000 for audio.

7786, what launcher are you using? Also, I've been trying forever to find a flat-flex micro USB cable to replace my hacked together nonsense, I'll let you know if I ever get around to making one with FusionPCB.

[7786]

Originally Posted by dvarela

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply.

I'm sorry if you explained this before, but why go with OTG cables? Even if the nexus had a rom to put out sound via USB, the car would not recognize it through the ipod usb connection.. Unless you are connecting it to a DAC?

@_@ either way, with my current set up, the nexus would not be connected to my sound system. I just want it for NAV, OBD stats and maybe to control my music on long trips with spotify on a hotspot network through my ipod touch inside my center console.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=837879

How easy is the mount to remove and put back in? I would not mind using this version for sometime until one that doesn't melt is ready. By the way, I have a wcp-300 and a nexus 4 & 5 QI chargers that I can use with this mount.

Great work!

There is no one way to setup a tablet in a car, but one of the more common methods is using an OTG cable and a DAC. It's definitely possible to use QI chargers for charging and a bluetooth streaming device, but I would feel like I half assed this if I was limited to only one method, especially when my original intent was to be able to use an OTG cable for my setup.

I spoke with the owner of bobjgear over the weekend (super nice guy), and he was able to confirm that his OTG cable could be trimmed enough to fit this mount, so I think that problem should be solved.

As for mounting, in my last post you can see a platform in the back with a stack of magnets inbetween. That's how I'm planning on mounting this. I can send you one of these old mounts once I get the new one in if you'd like, just be warned it won't last too long in sitting outside

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

That's great! I've been meaning to update my kludged mount forever.

Have you considered making it in multiple pieces that slot together to overcome the print area limitation?



There are oodles of reasons you probably want to use the OTG cable, the big ones are DAC and external flash drive storage. I've got mine running to a USB hub in the fuse box for those things. Although really, I use neither now, I use a Tune2Air WMA1000 for audio.

7786, what launcher are you using? Also, I've been trying forever to find a flat-flex micro USB cable to replace my hacked together nonsense, I'll let you know if I ever get around to making one with FusionPCB.

The mount in the first post was a 3 piece design. I decided to scrap that idea because it wasn't as sturdy as I wanted it to be because, and the pins and holes I created to lock them together were too loose. I would have had to print at a higher resolution for those tolerances to fit right and that would have cost me well over a $100 per print because the print time would have been about 35 hours.

The launcher I believe is nova launcher, with the dock/app drawer removed and amazingtext for homescreen text/apps. My friend set the whole thing up, the wallpaper is based on the one you see floating around here but he redid to be 1080p, I'm sure I can get that from him if anyones interest in it.

Although if you're looking for a nice car launcher, check out AutoMate. The beta was released a couple weeks ago and it's pretty much an Android Auto clone. It's a bit buggy but it definitely looks nice and has a lot of potential.