Hello everyone, I'm Doug, a long-time Tesla enthusiast and mechanical engineer who enjoys creating things. Throughout my adult life, I've designed engines and even electric skateboards. Also, I am a new vendor on TMC as of today (but I guess my vendor tag is not live yet?)
I like to challenge myself and make something new to customize my Model 3. I sought a bit of extra storage and a dedicated space for my sunglasses to prevent scratches. While there are similar solutions available, I found them either too bulky, diverging from Tesla's design language, or poorly crafted.
Moreover, I wanted to engage with the Tesla community, gather feedback, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating a product from scratch, including insights into mass production.
In the first photo, you can see it both open and closed. I did not want to take away from the minimalist approach of the interior.
In the 2nd, this is my first prototype but it had a lot of parts (ball detect to open and close the lid, a soft close hinge, and a bar to latch the sunglass holder to the screen). But this was too complicated so I went back to the drawing board.
In the 3rd, I created a whole lot of prototypes that I used to get the fitment just right and without any rattle, but also reduce part count, simplified manufacturing, and a better open and closing experience. This took me about 6 months and the hardest part was getting the fitment perfect. My 3D scanner is really bad and it’s so hard to get a scanner behind the screen.
In the 4th and 5th, I said screw it and got a shop to make a mold so I could mold the part. This was not cheap but I really wanted to get the part strength and fitment just perfect. Even SLS or SLA was not strong enough and felt flimsy.
In the video, you can see I got the fitment just right. I am so excited about it.
I will be sharing more progress on the sunglass holder and some other behind the scenes things!
Update 3/8/24:
Doug
I like to challenge myself and make something new to customize my Model 3. I sought a bit of extra storage and a dedicated space for my sunglasses to prevent scratches. While there are similar solutions available, I found them either too bulky, diverging from Tesla's design language, or poorly crafted.
Moreover, I wanted to engage with the Tesla community, gather feedback, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating a product from scratch, including insights into mass production.
In the first photo, you can see it both open and closed. I did not want to take away from the minimalist approach of the interior.
In the 2nd, this is my first prototype but it had a lot of parts (ball detect to open and close the lid, a soft close hinge, and a bar to latch the sunglass holder to the screen). But this was too complicated so I went back to the drawing board.
In the 3rd, I created a whole lot of prototypes that I used to get the fitment just right and without any rattle, but also reduce part count, simplified manufacturing, and a better open and closing experience. This took me about 6 months and the hardest part was getting the fitment perfect. My 3D scanner is really bad and it’s so hard to get a scanner behind the screen.
In the 4th and 5th, I said screw it and got a shop to make a mold so I could mold the part. This was not cheap but I really wanted to get the part strength and fitment just perfect. Even SLS or SLA was not strong enough and felt flimsy.
In the video, you can see I got the fitment just right. I am so excited about it.
I will be sharing more progress on the sunglass holder and some other behind the scenes things!
Update 3/8/24:
- Now available on Amazon at: Amazon
- My website www.DockCharged.com with a 15% discount "TeslaMotors"
Doug
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