3D Printed Key Fob - Bye Bye Cracked OEM Shells (1 Viewer)

[TheForger]

Any update on the possibility of a Flat Dark Earth color option??

^^^Reminds me of the Quicksand color available with the 2016 TRD Pro's, one of the best looking 4Runner's IMHO. I'd be interested in a FDE color as well

 

[suprarx7nut]

I don't feel the need to replace it but I am missing one of the screws on the battery cover. Your shell seems to hold everything in place without issue though!

Yeah, the shell does hold everything in place, but I guess I'm thinking about the screw clamping the O-ring to seal out moisture. Although with a 16 year old o-ring who knows how well it seals at all...

Very impressed with your "invention". I'll be ordering momentarily.

Received and your fob shell should ship out today!

Any update on the possibility of a Flat Dark Earth color option??

I would LOVE to offer this, but I can't figure out a dying process that works well. I've had good results painting some red samples though, so perhaps I need to try that with the FDE colors. I'd like to offer an FDE and Gun metal grey.

Good reminder. I'll try to snag some paint and experiment.

^^^Reminds me of the Quicksand color available with the 2016 TRD Pro's, one of the best looking 4Runner's IMHO. I'd be interested in a FDE color as well

Noted, thanks!

 

[suprarx7nut]

Just a little somethin-somethin' I've been working on lately. Basic render, first prototype, don't judge the aesthetics too harshly.

Titanium or Stainless Steel band in the center, rugged plastic on the front and back faces. Dare I say a far cry better looking than the [not-to-be-mentioned] Amazon shell.

This will use your existing key blade AND internals for both Lexus and Toyota.

 

[mrbigboy]

Duuuuuuude.......yes please.

 

[TXSunDevil]

Just a little somethin-somethin' I've been working on lately. Basic render, first prototype, don't judge the aesthetics too harshly.

Titanium or Stainless Steel band in the center, rugged plastic on the front and back faces. Dare I say a far cry better looking than the [not-to-be-mentioned] Amazon shell.

This will use your existing key blade AND internals for both Lexus and Toyota.

I was hoping you would use the same material that your other fobs have. I prefer the key with the buttons and I am not happy with the cheap Amazon setup.

 

[TomEf]

Titanium or Stainless Steel band in the center, rugged plastic on the front and back faces. Dare I say a far cry better looking than the [not-to-be-mentioned] Amazon shell.

My cheapo Amazon key has just started to crack and I was thinking about the fob, but I like this way better. Any chance they can be ready for HIH?

 

[TXSunDevil]

Can you inscribe lock and unlock?

 

[suprarx7nut]

I was hoping you would use the same material that your other fobs have. I prefer the key with the buttons and I am not happy with the cheap Amazon setup.

Yup, same material as the other fobs I make. High quality, durable nylon.

My cheapo Amazon key has just started to crack and I was thinking about the fob, but I like this way better. Any chance they can be ready for HIH?

I'll be at HIH (at least as of now) and I'll be giving away some fobs (this version and/or the separate key one) and I'll try to get a discounted "pre-purchase" deal ready for anyone interested in these. Unfortunately I don't think I will have finished final versions ready to sell by then, but I do hope to have the design finalized. If we don't touch base before then, catch me Saturday at HIH and we'll figure something out.

Can you inscribe lock and unlock?

I was planning on inscribing the lock logo like I do on my other fob shells. That mimics the factory shell and looks pretty classy, i think.

 

[Captramrod01]

Tag. I need this integrated setup.

 

[beerock]

dude i would buy them for all the busted toyota keys I get

 

[beerock]

im guessing the original toyota key screws onto the metal in the middle?

 

[beerock]

the titanium in th emiddle will be costly to manf and tooling to thread it is expensive. id go with stainless but thats up to you

 

[crimsonaudio]

Just a little somethin-somethin' I've been working on lately. Basic render, first prototype, don't judge the aesthetics too harshly.

Titanium or Stainless Steel band in the center, rugged plastic on the front and back faces. Dare I say a far cry better looking than the [not-to-be-mentioned] Amazon shell.

This will use your existing key blade AND internals for both Lexus and Toyota.

View attachment 1487726

I've never had a key break, but based on reports here, it will likely happen overnight while I'm asleep...

Either way, this is intriguing.

 

[suprarx7nut]

dude i would buy them for all the busted toyota keys I get

im guessing the original toyota key screws onto the metal in the middle?

the titanium in th emiddle will be costly to manf and tooling to thread it is expensive. id go with stainless but thats up to you

The original key will be screwed into to help hold everything together. There will be other fasteners to help provide extra support that the OEM key didn't have.

The titanium or stainless will not be threaded (clearance holes, instead) and will likely be watercut. I've got a waterjet guy that I've used for various products so I've got a good feel for the cost. Printing is an option with stainless steel, but may not have enough precision to look nice in the final product. My prototyping will be done in printed SS and my usual plastic so I should have some crude examples to show in a couple weeks.

I expect pricing to be higher than my existing fob shell option, but I'm not sure by how much. If I do titanium I'll have to commit to a large batch to make it feasible so pricing will be higher or I'll try a group buy. I'd probably want to get 50-100 cut at once. If I do the printed SS, I can keep costs more reasonable in very small quantities, but it's not nearly as cool as water jet grade 5 titanium, haha.

 

[Otter]

Yeah, the shell does hold everything in place, but I guess I'm thinking about the screw clamping the O-ring to seal out moisture. Although with a 16 year old o-ring who knows how well it seals at all...

Well, it seals out the moisture from my 10 month old, who has taken to gnawing on the key and fob. There was drool everywhere.

 

[TheForger]

Man I'm definitely interested in one of these, I'm on my 3rd key shell so far and I really prefer the key w/fob 'all-in-one' rather than just the fob. Keep us updated with the progress!

 

[SmoothLC]

Sub'd

 

[DuckLN]

i read bye bye but really its a maybe bye bye if it all works out. Im all in if it does.

 

[suprarx7nut]

i read bye bye but really its a maybe bye bye if it all works out. Im all in if it does.

The title is in reference to my first fob shell, which in my completely biased opinion is a pretty foolproof solution to the cracked OEM shell. However, lots of folks want an integrated solution so I started the discussion of the new one here. This effort will eventually get it's own thread once I get the prototypes back and have some time with them.

The thread might be something like: "An OEM key shell alternative that doesn't look like Hello Kitty" haha.

 

[suprarx7nut]

First prototype came back from the printer. I had the middle section 3D printed in aluminum with a Metals Laser Sintering Printer. The piece came out better than I could have imagined. I've had various metals printed before in Titanium, 17-4 Stainless, etc.. but never aluminum and never anything so thin. Very cool stuff.

I'll get it assembled and see how stout it is soon, but here's a teaser. I think this is going to be really good...