Almost Universal Phone Car Mount
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Published on June 18, 2012
Description
This car mount has been designed to work with practically any phone and any case. It only uses 1 screw(3M that came with my makerbot) and 1 suction cup. The entire rest of the process is printed. There is a possibility of using a 2nd screw to completely secure the "Pressure Spinner" and a couple of rubber bumpers for really tall phones.
It holds very solid if printed to the right size and is rock stable. This is probably the closest you can get to a factory mount off your printer.
I would love some derivatives of this, as it took quite a bit of work to get where it is, but I still feel like it could be much improved.
It holds very solid if printed to the right size and is rock stable. This is probably the closest you can get to a factory mount off your printer.
I would love some derivatives of this, as it took quite a bit of work to get where it is, but I still feel like it could be much improved.
Instructions
This comes in two scad files(Generic Cross.scad and Secure Suction Cup.scad) which print to several parts. Secure Suction Cup.scad requires Thread_Library.scad which can be found at thingiverse.com/thing:8793. It only takes a few steps to customize for your phone, so open up the "Generic Cross.scad" and let's get started.
1. Measure your phone.
2. Fill in the Phone dimension part of the file. If you are printing on a makerbot or reprap you may need to add about 1-2mm to the size. This varies with your machine and how well it prints to scale.
2b. If your phone is taller than your printer can print(Don't forget to try diagonally), you might want to checkout "SuperTallExample.scad" to see how I handled it(This was what was done for the pictures). Basically I used rubber bumpers bought at my hobby store to create pressure on the back of the phone to stabilize it without reaching all the way around. You could probably do it other ways, but this is the way I found that worked.
3. If your phone has a nub or hump on the back, adjust the crook settings. This causes the arm to bend back wherever you specify.
4. If your phone has things in the center of it, such as a camera or power port, edit the length and width hub offsets.
5. Create the STL for your phone.
6. Print both the "Generic Cross.stl" and "Secure Suction Cup.stl" and assemble. On the Secure Suction Cup places the Pressure Spinner on first, then slide the triangle shaped Cross Connector Arm into it's slot. Place the suction cup into the bottom of the Secure Suction Cup unit, it should be a tight fit.
7. You may need to file down any sharp edges on the bottom of the cross before sliding the two arms together(lining up the screw holes).
8. Push the Cross to the Cross Connector Arm, lining up the tab on the Cross with the slot on the Cross Connector Arm and the screw holes. Place screw through the front of the long Cross Arm.
9. You are done, take it to your car, press the suction cup to the window, then screw down the pressure spinner. There is a small T pin that printed off, use that on the left square hole on the spinner when you have it maximum tightness. If the T is too loose for you, just use a screw or something.
I feel like I am missing a lot from here, but hopefully it is enough.
1. Measure your phone.
2. Fill in the Phone dimension part of the file. If you are printing on a makerbot or reprap you may need to add about 1-2mm to the size. This varies with your machine and how well it prints to scale.
2b. If your phone is taller than your printer can print(Don't forget to try diagonally), you might want to checkout "SuperTallExample.scad" to see how I handled it(This was what was done for the pictures). Basically I used rubber bumpers bought at my hobby store to create pressure on the back of the phone to stabilize it without reaching all the way around. You could probably do it other ways, but this is the way I found that worked.
3. If your phone has a nub or hump on the back, adjust the crook settings. This causes the arm to bend back wherever you specify.
4. If your phone has things in the center of it, such as a camera or power port, edit the length and width hub offsets.
5. Create the STL for your phone.
6. Print both the "Generic Cross.stl" and "Secure Suction Cup.stl" and assemble. On the Secure Suction Cup places the Pressure Spinner on first, then slide the triangle shaped Cross Connector Arm into it's slot. Place the suction cup into the bottom of the Secure Suction Cup unit, it should be a tight fit.
7. You may need to file down any sharp edges on the bottom of the cross before sliding the two arms together(lining up the screw holes).
8. Push the Cross to the Cross Connector Arm, lining up the tab on the Cross with the slot on the Cross Connector Arm and the screw holes. Place screw through the front of the long Cross Arm.
9. You are done, take it to your car, press the suction cup to the window, then screw down the pressure spinner. There is a small T pin that printed off, use that on the left square hole on the spinner when you have it maximum tightness. If the T is too loose for you, just use a screw or something.
I feel like I am missing a lot from here, but hopefully it is enough.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
dbeta
on
August 31, 2012
said:
Hmm, it worked last time I tried it, but it's been a while. It is a little hard on a machine, because of the screw threads. You could try updating OpenSCAD if possible. You could also try to compile each piece of it separately. Just comment out each section except for one.
mattwj2005
on
August 15, 2012
said:
I am trying to compile the openscad file Secure Suction and it keeps on crashing openscad. I am using version 12.30.2011.
I love the design though.
Thanks,
Matt
License
Almost Universal Phone Car Mount by dbeta is licensed under the Attribution - Creative Commons license.
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What size suction cup did you use? 2" or a bit larger?
2" is the size I believe. It should be just a hair bigger than the diameter of the base.