[7786]

So I figured I'd post some of the progress me and a friend have been making on creating a 3D printed custom mount for the 2013 nexus 7. We've been working on this since august and still have a couple months to go before it'll be ready, but here's a few pics of our first printed prototype. (This is our first print and to save cost we had it rushed and printed at a low resolution, so the pieces should fit each other much better once we get a higher quality version printed in a couple of weeks)

Also, please excuse the dirty car and tablet

[mkPOTO]

very nice

[sparkymarky]

Nice. could be even nicer if you made it fit where the dash grill for the logic 7 centre speaker normally goes..... That would be perfect for me!

[jdamore]

Look cool! Could you print it so it has the same surface pattern as dash?

I'm going to have to look into a 3D printer!

[7786]

Originally Posted by sparkymarky

Nice. could be even nicer if you made it fit where the dash grill for the logic 7 centre speaker normally goes..... That would be perfect for me!

The original plan was to go that far back as you can see from our previous designs, but the limitation of the 3D printer (overall size, orientation of printing, etc) had us cut it back quite a bit.

Originally Posted by jdamore

Look cool! Could you print it so it has the same surface pattern as dash?

I'm going to have to look into a 3D printer!

Even if we were able to replicate the surface texture, you're still going to get those individual layer lines (another limitation of the 3D printer). We're hoping to either plastidip it, paint it, or wrap it in matte black vinyl wrap. Hopefully we'll be able to explore all our options on the next print.

[soursamo]

Very nice! In for one

[ctuna]

Are you going to make this for other pad like devices?
Maybe you could make some adapters for those.
Also how is being held in place from the top ?
Suction Cups?

[strongheart]

Thats a really good idea. I have the same dashboard as you and have been trying to figure out how or where to mount a touch screen nav/video/audio system maybe running off of a Samsung Galaxy TAB or NOTE but I dont have a 3D printer. Seeing your design gives me an idea to make a mount out of fiber glass.

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by strongheart

Thats a really good idea. I have the same dashboard as you and have been trying to figure out how or where to mount a touch screen nav/video/audio system maybe running off of a Samsung Galaxy TAB or NOTE but I dont have a 3D printer. Seeing your design gives me an idea to make a mount out of fiber glass.

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

[7786]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Are you going to make this for other pad like devices?
Maybe you could make some adapters for those.
Also how is being held in place from the top ?
Suction Cups?

The first version will be for the 2013 Nexus 7 since thats what I own and thats what I plan on using. Next we'll make one for the ipad mini. Then after that we can definitely consider other tablets if it's feasible to do.

Right now there is a tab in each of the back corners thats meant to be held down with dashboard tape or automotive velcro (for easier removing). We're still waiting for the complete model to see what works best for securing it to the dash.

Originally Posted by strongheart

Thats a really good idea. I have the same dashboard as you and have been trying to figure out how or where to mount a touch screen nav/video/audio system maybe running off of a Samsung Galaxy TAB or NOTE but I dont have a 3D printer. Seeing your design gives me an idea to make a mount out of fiber glass.

Thanks! Yeah the original idea was to create something like the F30 idrive screen, since I'm not a big fan of placing a tablet where the radio is due to the weird shape of that area, as well as the hassle of having to relocate the headunit (and I have logic 7 which makes things even more difficult).

Haha that's my biggest problem as well, I don't own a 3d printer so I have to get that part outsourced. Which costs more time and money unfortunately.

[335m]

If these end up being sturdy and blend well with OEM materials I will definitely be interested in one. There is a serious lack of OEM style phone/tablet integration on e9X's.

Any plan for adding charging?

[soursamo]

is it ready yet? :P

[08TUNDRA]

Since this seems to be something people are really intrested in I think I should post what I did with my nexus because i think it looks great and I went for oem and very diy friendly.

[335m]

Originally Posted by dmikhael619

Since this seems to be something people are really intrested in I think I should post what I did with my nexus because i think it looks great and I went for oem and very diy friendly.

Please write a DIY with pics? Nobody does them anymore that section is getting stale

[7786]

Originally Posted by 335m

If these end up being sturdy and blend well with OEM materials I will definitely be interested in one. There is a serious lack of OEM style phone/tablet integration on e9X's.

Any plan for adding charging?

Yeah the big question is how the finish is going to blend in with the car. Right now we're shooting to have it resemble (as best as we can) the OEM plastic, so we'll be playing around with a few different paint colors when we get a little further in. I was hoping to also try vinyl wrap but I'm not sure how well that's going to work with a complex shape like this.

And yes, this is designed with enough room in the back to add on a wireless charger, and we should be able to squeeze in a USB cord into the microsd port (for wired charging as well as USB otg so you can add external storage)

Originally Posted by soursamo

is it ready yet? :P

The next iteration should be in next week. Slowly but surely we're getting there

[relentlessone]

This is awesome.

Where are you having it printed?

[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.

[335m]

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.

Link?

[ctuna]

This is the major one if you do a NBT search

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...&highlight=nbt
There are several more at the same forum that will pop up to .
Also there is now a whole idrive/nav forum here now .

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16

I shot neo_anderson a email (he is the guy that sell the nbt kit)
and asked if they had ever done this on a none nav/idrive car he said no.

[byebyev8]

Im really interested in the mount. A nice I drive and navigation alternative. The nbt swap is for cars already equipped with I drive not for those without, so you would still have to buy the dash etc..

[08TUNDRA]

Originally Posted by 335m

Please write a DIY with pics? Nobody does them anymore that section is getting stale

Ok will do i think its great look and I will have some time over the weekend to do A write up.

[ctuna]

I think the only reason you need the new dash is
for some way to mount the screen . If you had another way
to mount the screen it would reduce the cost and complexity
of the install. Also the way the screen mounts in the F30 suggests
there are easier ways to put a screen in than to buy a new dash.
Is there something I am missing?

The other side is that BMW has been behind the curve on electronics
and they charge a high price for options that will soon be obsolete.
But it would be nice to be able to integrate something that would do
Waze , Backup camera , and maybe a blind spot detector wireless
through a portable device.