Custom 3D Printed Shift Knob project (WIP)
 

Hey all - this is a bit of a "project build" thread, as well as an interest thread to see if anyone finds this concept interesting for their own cars, so please leave feedback as I post updates!

For those who don't know me, I've been working in the 3D CAD & 3D Printing industries for several years now and have a fair amount of experience with anything from maker-oriented printers like Prusa's & Makerbots, all the way to professional FDM/SLA/PolyJet and more. I've played a hand in several one-off projects and fun trinkets over the years and learned a lot about the performance and applications of various plastics and polymers, so I'm always interested in finding real applications for my car for aesthetic and functional purposes. One example of a project was a custom insert for my automatic shift knob in my old VW GTI mk6 - it had 2 inserts that managed to snap off on me one day and when I tried to buy a replacement, VW obviously wanted to sell me the whole assembly for ~$300.

I wasn't having any of that and decided to reverse engineer my own inserts and 3D Print them. A few revisions happened and I eventually ended up with some great quality ABS inserts with a little of my own flair thrown in:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7f32696345.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7703584bf.jpeg
Final result with some gloss epoxy finishing :biggthumpup:

Fast-forward to the other day - I noticed the shift knob in the G is showing some wear and tear. Nothing terrible just yet, but I wanted to see what kind of options were out there for Auto knob replacements... and the pickings were slim. The most interesting thing I found was a service where you send your knob to be resurfaced and covered in Carbon fiber for a few weeks and a pretty-penny.

I recently picked up my own 3D printer and thought to myself "why not give it another try?" so I picked up another ruined knob off eBay to sacrifice and tore it to shreds. I then hopped on Onshape and went to work reverse engineering the pretty curves that make up this knob and gave it a test run...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a3698aa5d8.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...0f6507ac06.png


After a few revisions I was able to get much closer to the shape of the actual knob and add some interesting geometries in...
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2291f2dbc6.png


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...3bf32ce6e.jpeg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e9728ec84a.jpg

I'm doing a bit more adjusting: rev 3 turned out really close to what I want and I was able to experiment with LEDs as well :D
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2ea14076f9.jpghttps://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ef367db092.jpg


As I develop this I should be able to customize any design into the shape and make it look unique, but we'll see how things evolve! As mentioned above please leave feed back and let me know what you think - constructive criticisms are welcomed!

Update 2: Looks like I was able to nail the overall shape finally! Got it to finally clip onto the original shifter very snug without using any adhesive :biggthumpup:
Got this version sanded up and prepped for some paint/gloss sealant, hoping to experiment with some different finishing techniques this week - look for some more updates soon and let me know what you think in the meantime!
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7fa845370.jpeg


Also was able to find a way to diffuse the light better, might be experimenting more this week but it already looks much better than it had before imho - let me know if there are any colors you guys think I should try, I'm in between white or blue at the moment :D

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...006787a5de.jpg

Had some time to seal the cover with some heavy clearcoat and smooth it out a bit & got it installed!


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...889862f5c9.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...d1ab571866.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...0b1e00a18a.jpg


Still hoping to seal it with some resin for the final version, but I've been playing with some other possible paint schemes and designs, not sure how it'll print but thinking about this next:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...516e58b1de.png

Thanks so much guys! And I really appreciate it GdaddyNY - that just made my day to hear :D

Just a side note, I had several people ask me if I could make them one, so I put together a little survey to figure out exactly what people would be interested in if I made more of them - if any of you are interested in one or even just helping me by giving some feedback, it would be awesome if you could fill it out quickly - shouldn't take more than 5min!
https://goo.gl/forms/ODOcTq4LBukzlh7H2



In the meantime, I've been playing with another design because I can - V2, whaddya'll think?
I'm thinking of calling it PentaCraters or SpaceGem since it looks like some sort of alien gemstone when lit up, ha

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...184a86e74d.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...01fabff2c8.jpg

Can you do one with a Carbon Fiber Weave pattern? (no lighting)

Also, very nice work!
I use CREO at work, so I do understand 3D Design.

Thanks a lot man, always great to meet another CAD-junky! I'm usually a SolidWorks guy myself, but I did this in Onshape since it's more of a personal project and I was pretty impressed with the surfacing tools!

As for Printing Carbon Fiber, it's definitely possible but it doesnt have the same weave pattern you're used to, it's more of a CF-reinforced Nylon filament and a bit pricey. Alternatively I could hydro-dip it with a realistic CF texture and then clearcoat it to make it look like you'd expect and keep the cost down...

Definitely a great idea either way - I actually put together a quick feedback form to gauge interest and get insight on what people would want if I started making some for people - just gathering input for now but any feedback is appreciated if you have a spare minute :)
https://goo.gl/forms/tVHjiS53OljRnqCk2

^ I believe that you may have misunderstood my question.

I wasn't asking for actually printing with Carbon Fiber, but to have the plastic or ABS or whatever you would normally use in the 3D printer to "give the texture/appearance of Carbon Fiber". Then it could be painted any color (to match someone's interior colors) and then clear coated several times.

Sorry for the delay - definitely missed your message. Unfortunately there is no way to print it with the texture of CF at the moment, the best I could do is print with CF & Nylon to mimic the strength characteristics or hydrodip it to make it appear like CF. If you're just going for the appearance there are some pretty convincing hydrodips out there that can make it look real and the PLA is already rather light so it could still achieve what you're aiming for. :)