New 80 series Cup holder design:

[bhicks]

Over the last few weeks I have been working on a cup holder for my 80 series. With printing the TEQ badges and trying to add new designs to the line up; I got really delayed on my cup holder project. I finally got the opportunity to print a few rough prototypes out for test fitting and real world use. I have made numerous changes to address all of my issues. I have now gotten the design about as far as I can take it on my own. I am now looking for feedback and what you guys think. If you have any input/suggestions for changes I would love to hear them. I plan to start selling these sometime this summer and I want to get the design all dialed in over the next week or two so I can start fine tuning the print file. (which will take a few weeks of work to do). I know many of you have been wanting to know when the "TOYOTA" front grille badges are coming. Don't worry; I am still working on the last little details. They should be ready to sell very soon. In regards to the cup holder, I used the "Disco" cup holder for the land rover as my starting point. I already have one installed on my LX and like its functionality. There were some minor fitment issues that I quickly addressed on my design. The "disco" cup holder also has clearance issues for the seat. My seat when pushed forward runs into the cup holder. If I move the cupholder forward to avoid that issue then taller cups run into the dash and block the stereo. Where my disco cup holder is currently, I can't move the seat all the way forward which means I can't quite lay down fully in the back when camping. VERY annoying. I knew I needed something that I could move forward or back without any concern of hitting the seat. I clearanced the bottom section of the cupholder to allow for the seat to move by. I also couldn't stand that I could never find a pen when I needed one in the car, so I added a pen holder for my own sanity. I also allowed for two types of attachment. You can use two screws (like the disco cup holder) or 3M automotive adhesive. OR both if you really want it to never come off. I'm also looking at a two cup holder design. That still needs quite a few design updates, prototyping, reworking, more prototyping, etc. etc. It will be a few weeks before I have a 2 cup design to show you guys. So let's here the opinions.

 

[Oranos991]

awesome! I would totally throw down to field test one of these suckers! Are you planning on matching the outer color to the interior brown and or gray of the 80's?

i would also love to see a picture of the ones u printed out for test fitting!

Any idea on cost yet? as these take much more material than the badges it would seem.

 

[bhicks]

awesome! I would totally throw down to field test one of these suckers! Are you planning on matching the outer color to the interior brown and or gray of the 80's?

i would also love to see a picture of the ones u printed out for test fitting!

Any idea on cost yet? as these take much more material than the badges it would seem.

The prototypes were printed rather rough with scrap filament I had left over from other projects. The colors are all crazy and the surface finish isn't too pretty. I plan to print a "fine" setting print soon with pics to follow. I do plan to match the factory colors. I have been buying sample ABS strips of all different colors of brown and gray trying to find the perfect match. No luck yet, but I wont give up. In regards to cost, I'm still not sure. Each prototype took 2/3rds of an entire spool. At $50 a spool for the pro grade, I'm close to $40 just in plastic for each one. When shipping, packaging, ETSY fees, and machine maintenance are added in I'm over $50. I'm really hopeful that I will be able to find a better price on the pro filament soon so I can keep these under the $50 mark. I can also decrease the wall thickness a tad as well. These cup holders are stupid heavy. I need to cut some weight which in turn should allow me to cut some cost. Once I get a finished and perfect design, I will then shift gears and focus on making it affordable.

 

[vapilotda]

Fantastic! Will be anxiously awaiting the final product!

 

[Dissent]

You know, I like the idea but I never liked the placement. For the passenger, that Disco placement is OK but it always seemed in the way and when the seat wasn't the issue, the height was the issue. I ended up with a set of 2 Disco's when I ordered mine online and I was determined to find a place for the 2nd one. I managed to build a U shaped bridge that supported both Disco's over my console on my LX and it is perfect. The console lid clears easily, the shifter goes into low and just clears and the mounts are rock solid and everyone loves them. Can you approach your design with something that could accommodate 2 holders in the center more like what I did? I also came up with a couple of water bottle holders that replace the dinky little holder above the brake lever. These work great for front passengers and especially well for the kids in the back. With 4 large cup holders in my truck now, I have no clearance issues with any seats and can camp without anything getting in the way when I'm moving seats around.

The Toyota console is a bit different in the front but I can see an easy solution with your 3D printing to accommodate something like I put together.

Outside the Car
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yo9lg3vsummh7a0/2013-09-02 15.30.18.jpg

Inside the Car Loaded Up
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwxp2vwmni9z739/2013-09-02 16.04.18.jpg

Bracket
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e2w0sffekt3v22c/2013-09-02 15.31.43.jpg

 

[bhicks]

Your definitely right about the placement issue. I tried mounting my disco cup up on top of the center console exactly like you did. I had it mounted there for a couple months, but eventually moved it back to the lower passenger side center console. I always have my arm resting on the armrest when I drive and when I had a cup in the cup holder mounted up high I always felt like I couldn't get to the shifter. It was always bugging me. ESPECIALLY on the trail. Unfortunately there just doesn't seem to be an ideal spot for the cupholder location. We are trying to make the best option for a really bad design. Your never gonna get ideal when your building on top of bad engineering. I am definitely looking at other options for the driver side right now. Ideally, I would like to offer 3 versions. The passenger side one (which is pictured above), and double cupholder that would be mounted in the same spot, and a single driver side cupholder. That way, people can pick the type that best fits their needs. The passenger side one is just about wrapped up. The double one is about 1/2 way through the design process, and the driver one is currently a pile of ideas floating around inside my head with nothing to show for it yet. it will all get ironed out over the next few weeks. I just want feedback to help give me direction as I work through this process.

 

[Dissent]

I hear you. On the trail I can use one of the other 3 holders and the nice thing about the Disco holder is that I can always rotate the black top off of the unit lowering it's height by 2" if I needed shifter access badly. Of course that holder is out of commission but that's why I have 3 more! Good luck on this, I'll be following along.

 

[Tapage]

neat idea .. I'm with the placement issue too .. with that much space inside our 80 .. seems there is not really much space to fit a cup holder ..

 

[Mr Cimarron]

I like it. If I hadn't already hoarded a bunch of LR cup holders from the pick n pull I would be all over these. I love the pen holder. Maybe adding a slim pocket for cell phone would be bonus? The worthless nook on the front left of the console tends to bake my phone when I put it there. Either way I like the design.

 

[mdandashly]

I'd buy it. I don't like the aftermarket holder the PO had in. I also like the wacky colors.

You mentioned etsy fees, why don't you sell on here and save the fees.

 

[ewillis]

X2 on the cellphone pocket (one big enough for a Samsung please)!

 

[bhicks]

X2 on the cellphone pocket (one big enough for a Samsung please)!

I'm one step ahead of you. One of my prototypes has a slot for a phone. The fitment was a little off so I need to go back and rework that design. Hopefully by this weekend I will be able to show that design as well.

 

[PDoyle]

Subscribed. You're on a roll BHicks. I liked the Ft. grille badge and bought one of those.

 

[ewillis]

I might be way off here, but with regard to the placement, I can't help but think the rectangular/rhombus shaped void directly in front of the center compartment IS the ideal placement. I know it is a deep chasm of uselessness, which would eat gobs of filament, but you could utilize all of your scrap material to make a base that fits within the hole and then design your way up. If you worked up and then "T" out you could fit a double cup holder, pen holder, can of Tres Flores hair grease holder (got carried away there), etc. I would be willing to pay a reasonable sum for that "perfect" solution FWIW.

 

[bhicks]

I might be way off here, but with regard to the placement, I can't help but think the rectangular/rhombus shaped void directly in front of the center compartment IS the ideal placement. I know it is a deep chasm of uselessness, which would eat gobs of filament, but you could utilize all of your scrap material to make a base that fits within the hole and then design your way up. If you worked up and then "T" out you could fit a double cup holder, pen holder, can of Tres Flores hair grease holder (got carried away there), etc. I would be willing to pay a reasonable sum for that "perfect" solution FWIW.

That would be the perfect fit if all 80's had the same center console, but unfortunately that chasm of uselessness doesn't exist on my LX. It's an even more useless subwoofer. If I had a center console from a Toyota to work from for a couple weeks I would be happy to create something. That would be the ideal spot for a driver cup holder and the one pictured above is the best spot (in my opinion) for the passenger cup holder.

 

[ewillis]

That would be the perfect fit if all 80's had the same center console, but unfortunately that chasm of uselessness doesn't exist on my LX. It's an even more useless subwoofer. If I had a center console from a Toyota to work from for a couple weeks I would be happy to create something. That would be the ideal spot for a driver cup holder and the one pictured above is the best spot (in my opinion) for the passenger cup holder.

Ahhh....I didn't realize this. If you would like to borrow my cruiser in exchange for a prototype...we can make that happen!

 

[jcardona1]

You keep printing, I'll keep buying!

 

[indephenit]

Subscribed, I'm looking forward to your design(s). I had intended to pick up the disco balls, but after hearing the difficulty in placement of 2, I decided to hold off, originally considered the nuclear cup holders, but I like the designs of these better.

 

[etarasoff]

I'm the nuclear cup holder guy. Currently I'm only using one of the ram mounts for a cup holder and one to hold my cell phone.

I'd be all over this design. A nice feature would be contouring specific to the 80 so high strength double sided tape could be used instead of drilling screen holes. I'd probably make the '80' a little more discreet too. Or if you keep making cool products you may want to think about your own farm of subtle branding?

 

[bhicks]

Ahhh....I didn't realize this. If you would like to borrow my cruiser in exchange for a prototype...we can make that happen!

I might take you up on that offer. Right now I need to focus on finishing up my current designs before I migrate into something new. I will keep you posted.