Factory NAV Replacement

[Z4Kevo]

likely going with a set of rear tabs (blue) that holds the back of the unit into place with the only screws being the two in front.

[Z4Kevo]

Android fitment into the trim was right on. Yay! Moving onto the next rounds...

Turns out that lowering the unit only causes a traffic jam between the two sets of mounting holes. The trim mounting holes have to stay where they are since they mount to the dash...and raising and/ lowering the seat moves the android mounting holes either into or out of the way. I ended up going with a height that is the lowest possible without having to notch or cut the existing dash opening...so to get a few extra millimeters I notched the seat to clear the dash instead. A happy medium.

Also added a nice little return on the overhang...dress up the edge where it ovewrhangs the dash similar to the original nav...and a little bit of ///M bling!

I will likely produce several .STL files with varying degrees of roundness and/or angularity so suit your preference. This one is more angular with less fillets and rounds. I prefer this one.

[CJW2OO4]

Friggin sweet! I can’t wait to print one of these.

[Z4Kevo]

Great news...I just pulled out of the printer the very first part that allowed me to snap the head unit into position with ZERO tweaks! So, i can finally put that part of the dash mount to bed.

All the adjustments on the current print were mere millimeters instead of the rather large shifts in position i had been doing prior. The print times are long enough that you are essentially forced into making multiple changes simultaneously instead of just one small nudge at a time...often leading to a three steps forward one step back situation by creating a brand new issue altogether.

When i went to install it on the dash the mounting holes were spot on with the existing nav mounting holes. I am having to slide the rear lift tabs a little bit further back to get a good seal on the backside on the trim PLUS I am making the front overhang a little bit longer to dress it out a bit more.

The only major changes for the next print will be a hood redesign from the orignal that will make any sort of surface finishing or vinyl wrap easier to apply since there wont be a really hard and deep crease where the hood meets the top on the sides of the trim.

I am also going to be pushing the unit further down still (you can see how far forward mounted the unit is in the side shot). I found a good way to create room by combining the two mounting brackets into one while reversing the direction of the android mounting screws to go from back to front instead of the other way around. The goal of those screws is to stop the unit from lifting out and regardless of which way you run the screws that goal is achieved.

The ///M logos i have removed for now since i want a good flat surface to prep without anything in the way. I will likely print them separately and apply them later.

My hope is that by Sunday morning i will have what i believe to be a final part that i can prep, surface and get mounted next week. With this as the proof, i can then work on getting a few variants ready for download.

[CJW2OO4]

👌😃

[Z4Kevo]

This is not the final print, but a print that was close enough to do a surface prep / vinyl wrap test to see how the matte carbon would look next to the carbon leather. Not a bad look imo.

I sanded down the print lines...then filled in with bondo spot filler, then sanded more, then used a primer filler...then sanded even more. I do not need a perfect surface, but one that is good enough to provide a somewhat blemish-free backing while also increasing vinyl adhesion.

Notice in the side shots where the vinyl is pulling away in that deep crease? This is the crease that I am removing in the next print with the modified hood that flares out wider. This should allow a far better wrap...one that does not suffer from all the knock-on effects created by the added heat required to make this hard angle.

[Z4Kevo]

Just pulled the latest print off the bed and after having wrapped three of these things i can already tell this one will be far easier and yield better results.

Anybody who has ever printed larger items such as this (that require dimensional accuracy) know that over this large of a part area there are numerous opportunities for something to go wrong.

An odd first to happen issue...even with controls in place to mitigate the temperature gradient across the part, half way through on this print the left side of the print warped enough to break the brim loose and lift it off the print bed about 2-3mm. Subsequent layers were still placed at the proper position creating a weird "kink" in this side of the part compared to the other side. On a part that has to be printed to a very specific arc radius across its surface this is problematic in that it does not sit perfectly flat against the dash on this side. Bummer. I am working to salvage the part while I attempt yet another print to use as its possible replacement should i not be successful. I will post up a few pics showing the process.

All this to say...these are 3d printed parts and your mileage may vary when it comes print time. People have different printers, slicing software, filament material, setup techniques and other quirks when it comes to printing... and i am pretty certain that those of you who will be taking a crack at printing one of these is well aware and willing to live with those pains.

I am pretty confident in the geometry and quality of this part in order to share, so i will be working toward that goal here shortly.

[Z4Kevo]

The warped part was unsalvagable...i could correct for the visual aspect of the kinking but could not remove the slight twist that ran through the entire part. Good news is that the replacement part is printing flawlessly and i expect to pull that off in the morning.

For those that have been waiting for this part for what seems like an eternity i am putting together a Zip file that contains four different versions of the base model (in .STL format). Wide hood / Narrow hood with a rounded and angular version of each. You should be able to load them into any slicing software and print away.

When i pull the print off in the morning i am going to do a final check on the fitment and if it goes well then i will upload the file for sharing. If i have to do some small tweaks then i will get those done first. But I want the files to be as good as possible before releasing them.

[Z4Kevo]

The latest print came out great...still working on the finish. To allow for variation in each vehicle I made a few small adjustments to give them a bit of breathing room instead of having them fit as tightly as it does in mine...we're talking 1-2 mm of wiggle here and there. Shimming should be easy if required.

Since the mount is just catching the backside with the two legs (not using the three screws...maybe a future improvement) it doesn't snug down tight to the dash until you tighten up the two front mounting screws. Once i did that it sat right down...hoping it does the same for you.

I made two notches in the rim of mine to allow for the GPS wire and a radar detector power line to route underneath (see pic), but i did not add these notches to the actual print model. You might not want these (if you do they are easy enough to hand cut) and i didn't want to bung up the models by making them part of it.

Once i get mine finished i will upload a few process pics and final shots of it installed.

Here is a link to the .stl print models...the four that are shown in the pic.

The narrow models on the left side of the image (original based largely on the 3d scan) were a bit uncooperative when it came to adding fillets and rounds to the edges, so there are not many...but the harder edges are easy enough to sand to whatever you like. The wide models on the right side were a deviation from the original and this allowed that me to generate cleaner geometry so there are fillets and rounds on these.

I suspect i will still be tinkering with things over the coming days and weeks...and if i come up with something worth sharing i will let you guys know. Until then, this has been a fun little project and i hope you guys get some good use out of the effort!

[Z4Kevo]

Playing with different ideas but I am liking this one.

[Piper1]

Originally Posted by Z4Kevo

Playing with different ideas but I am liking this one.

I must say I think I speak for all of us in saying that’s just bang on amazing work. Now will you be ready to take orders anytime soon????

[Z4Kevo]

Originally Posted by Piper1

I must say I think I speak for all of us in saying that’s just bang on amazing work. Now will you be ready to take orders anytime soon????

Haha. Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated! Although, i am not really interested in starting a part factory. A part here and there, yes.

These 40+ hour one-off parts are hardly worth the time and materials to make them...let alone any finishing time and materials if that was part of the deal...printing failure rates and support after is another thing altogether. Just like my kidney grille support ring (that is a far lower quality model, but it didnt matter to me) it is the non-existence and impossible availability that makes these parts worth what you might pay. I can't imagine the volume i would have to do in order to get the number to something most would consider reasonable. Not trying to side-step your suggestion, but just know that most would not be willing to pay for what it would cost me in time alone. For any of you still interested after my disclaimer, PM me and and I can give you a number!

To be honest the original part that ships with the PEMP unit (for the X3) does not fit that badly. Just like CJW2004, it can be made to work with very little effort. My suggestion would be for anybody interested in the PEMP unit to buy it and take a crack at installing it as-is. Not all the features of the unit work out-of-the-box (they don't on the early versions of the X3 with a similar computer either) but the ones most of us care about DO! In terms of final fitment after tinkering they might be surprised at how well it turns out!

Even the original unit with mounting extensions (plus side gap fillers to sit flush and cover the hole) and a well done wrap would look pretty good. It would not be sitting vertical and as far forward as mine does, but it is not THAT much of a change to be honest.

Now that might be a comparitively easy thing to design and print up...mounting hole extension and side gap filler pieces to make the original part fit like a champ. Dunno, i'll look into it when i get some time.

My main goal was to get this part designed for my own amusement and make it available to you guys so that we have options in the area of tech upgrades for a car that deserves far more aftermarket love than it gets imo....that has been accomplished! What you guys do with the print files at this point is up to you. If one of you wants to take a crack at supplying them to the forums then by all means we need as many from our ranks supporting the effort as we can get.

[Z4Kevo]

Wouldn't you know it...back at it again with a couple of small items that have been nagging me. LOL

I am trying a new rear leg design that should have a better effect of forcing the rear of the unit downward and into the dash. It seems that just about every edge on anything behind the dashboard is made of razor blades and tend to dig into whatever should actually slide along them...my knuckles can attest. So i am putting a convex curve on the sliding surface instead of just a simple angle...i have seen this used in other applications and should help in theory.

Also, I am leaving the screen where it is but I am making the front face more vertical giving a bit more thickness to the fascia. I was not that happy with how thin the last version was...as i was wrapping the part i heard a bit of protesting coming from that front overhang when i applied a fair amount of force, so i wanted to eliminate a potential weak spot.

But we'll see...

[Z4Kevo]

Anybody that wants to take a crack at printing one of these and has questions about what part orientation and settings i used PM me and i will be happy to share.

[CJW2OO4]

Can you send me the latest print file?

[Z4Kevo]

Print files have been updated...here.

[rsutoratosu]

Awesome work ! They were gonna try to sell this

[Z4Kevo]

Originally Posted by Z4Kevo

Wouldn't you know it...back at it again with a couple of small items that have been nagging me. LOL

I am trying a new rear leg design that should have a better effect of forcing the rear of the unit downward and into the dash. It seems that just about every edge on anything behind the dashboard is made of razor blades and tend to dig into whatever should actually slide along them...my knuckles can attest. So i am putting a convex curve on the sliding surface instead of just a simple angle...i have seen this used in other applications and should help in theory.

Also, I am leaving the screen where it is but I am making the front face more vertical giving a bit more thickness to the fascia. I was not that happy with how thin the last version was...as i was wrapping the part i heard a bit of protesting coming from that front overhang when i applied a fair amount of force, so i wanted to eliminate a potential weak spot.

But we'll see...

The curved leg extensions made a difference for sure. I am glad I modified them.

[Z4Kevo]

Originally Posted by rsutoratosu

Awesome work ! They were gonna try to sell this

Thank you! Who is "they"?

Not that I am all that concerned...more power to whoever "they" are!

I got what i wanted out of it, contributed to the community in a meaningful way and had a challenging fun time doing it!

[rsutoratosu]

Originally Posted by Z4Kevo

Thank you! Who is "they"?

Not that I am all that concerned...more power to whoever "they" are!

I got what i wanted out of it, contributed to the community in a meaningful way and had a challenging fun time doing it!

Skyers group was going to work on this but that would involve selling it for $$$

[Z4Kevo]

Originally Posted by rsutoratosu

Skyers group was going to work on this but that would involve selling it for $$$

Ahhh...I did not know that. I suppose they still could! If they wanted to use my model as a starting place to make an actual mold and a far better $$$ part than a 3d printed one...go for it Skyer!

Tech isn't getting any younger...and at some point you just get tired of waiting around.

[bimmernut9002]

I've been following this thread for several weeks now, and just want to say that this is absolutely BRILLIANT! Thanks so much for your willingness to share the STL files for what clearly has been a tremendous amount of work. We have an older Crealogy Endor printer which unfortunately cannot print the entire piece as one unit, so maybe I can slice it in two to later be joined with superglue.