3D printed caps for interior door handle bolts

[Bdesign]

They're black with the BAP

I like the screws as is. With "FORD" stamped on them they add a little class to the interior.

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[Cancunbadlands]

I like the screws as is. With "FORD" stamped on them they add a little class to the interior.

Ford? I didn't know it

 

[Rlb080]

I was able to print some. My issue is that I couldn't get them to fit. The protrusion that goes into the allen head screw was too large. I tried scaling down but when it would fit into the allen heads, the diameter of the main part was way too small.
I was not able to get them to stay on so that I could take a photo. My allen heads are already black. They take a 3mm or 1/8 inch allen wrench.

 

[MattTX]

I was able to print some. My issue is that I couldn't get them to fit. The protrusion that goes into the allen head screw was too large. I tried scaling down but when it would fit into the allen heads, the diameter of the main part was way too small.
I was not able to get them to stay on so that I could take a photo. My allen heads are already black. They take a 3mm or 1/8 inch allen wrench.

Yeah unfortunately scaling the entire model won't work since the fit is so tight all around. I had the outer diameter walls a little thinner at first but that made them too fragile, so I went with about the max thickness that still fit around the bolt and in the door handle indentations which leaves basically no room for adjustments (at least, not global adjustments).

In my testing I found that 1/8" was too big, 7/64" too small, and 3mm just right. Making it a little more challenging is that the hex opening narrows at the bottom - it looks like there are actually rounded protrusions that narrow the bottom so it doesn't even fit any hex size. I put a chamfer on the end of the cap post to account for the narrow bottom, and I did leave the post a little oversized (about 3.12mm) to account for shrinkage and also to insure it was a snug fit. I just re-measured each corner in the original file and see that some of them are 3.12mm and a couple are 3.19mm, which still worked for me with the PLA and PETG I have, so you must not have had as much shrinkage as I did.

I'm going to make a couple adjustments and will send you those files. I'll make the cap post closer to 3mm all around and I'm also going to try making one with the cap post smaller, but then have an area near the end of the cap post that will friction fit the rounded protrusions inside the bolts. And if you have any other suggestions I'm open to them, I'm self taught and the level of precision needed with these is higher than anything else I've ever made, which is exactly why I wanted to get some others to test them before releasing the file to the masses.

 

[Rlb080]

The printed posts are averaging around 3.5mm. I've used Sunlu Orange PLA and Bambu Black Matte PLA using an A1 Lab bed slinger.

 

[Rlb080]

Just used the measure function in Bambu Studio and I measure the post on the STL file to be 3.195 mm. So it looks like the steps on my Lab A1 maybe off or the printers flow calibration is off. Will print the caps again using flow calibration.

 

[Nw_adventure]

The orange filament arrived this afternoon so I made some caps with it. It's quite a bit lighter of an orange compared to the Maverick, though when the caps are on the bolts the difference doesn't jump out as much as when they are side by side. I've used two different orange filaments and both are the same color as the caps in the photos. I'll see if I can get an accurate reading of the Maverick orange so I can compare that to filament colors that are available.

Forgive the print quality of these caps, I opened the package and put the filament right into my printer to see how the colors would look, without drying or running any calibrations on the filament. Calibrations can be done fairly quickly but drying PETG takes 8+ hours, so I won't be able to have that done until tomorrow. I'm going to dry them overnight so I can get the filament dialed in better, I have one more roll that is supposed to arrive today (translucent dark blue) so I'm waiting for that before starting the drying. Though not being dry or calibrated doesn't affect the color, mostly just the strength and visual quality of the print.

This is pretty spot on -

 

[MattTX]

Just used the measure function in Bambu Studio and I measure the post on the STL file to be 3.195 mm. So it looks like the steps on my Lab A1 maybe off or the printers flow calibration is off. Will print the caps again using flow calibration.

Thanks for the follow up, as I was reading your first post I figured something wasn't set right with your printer. I did have the chance to make some adjustments to the file including some that I hope will improve the visual quality (at least if you are using the 3MF file). I'm getting ready to make some more prints to see how they look and feel once installed. I'll upload an updated file to the same folder I shared before when it's ready, which will probably be in the next few hours.

 

[Rlb080]

Status update. I'm still trying to get my Bambu to print the post at the correct dimension. The interesting thing is that the outer diameter and the post height are the same dimensions as the STL. I'm trying a flow calibration now, but I don't know why that would change the post width. We will see.
So I decided to fire up my Creality S2 Pro, which I haven't printed anything on it for over a year. It printed the STL model more accurate. Outside diameter was a little undersized (12.99 vs 13.02) and post height was right on. The post width was much closer with the creality. The width was 3.22, which is still too tight. The caps pop out very easy. At least they stayed in long enough for a quick photo

 

[MattTX]

I set all the cap post sides to 3.1mm and my test prints came out at 3.06mm. It goes in easier than the previous caps but should still snug up as you push it in, so I think it will still stay in. I also updated the 3mf file, the only changes I made were to lower the Layer Height to 0.12 and turn on Variable Layer Height with Quality/Speed set to 0 (max quality). The new files are at the same link I shared before, if anyone wants to test the fit again.

 

[MattTX]

This is pretty spot on -

Thanks for sharing that, with a bit of search-fu I was able to find this site with exact color names and codes. Does this look right to you?

I compared those with color readings of some better photos that I took today. The RGB values don't quite match up but it's also not a mile off, and there is a similar ratio between the colors. So I feel like the door handle color is pretty close to this color code.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Thanks for sharing that, with a bit of search-fu I was able to find this site with exact color names and codes. Does this look right to you?

I compared those with color readings of some better photos that I took today. The RGB values don't quite match up but it's also not a mile off, and there is a similar ratio between the colors. So I feel like the door handle color is pretty close to this color code.

Maybe a little too much red- Here is the stock phone storage tray and the little console

mat I painted with the Hugger Orange-

 

[Rlb080]

Status of trying to print the 3d bolt caps. This will probably be my last post so pardon the length.

Went through the entire A1 calibration process including printing the rate of flow calibration coupons. No changes were needed, so the printer was basically in spec.

Decided to print the caps using my Bambu Labs blue basic PLA, but this time using a 0.2 mm nozzle and a 0.1 mm height. The post came out to be 3.12 mm, but the outside diameter came out to be 12.7 mm instead of the as drawn 13.0 mm. These caps fit allen head bolts perfectly. Nice and tight to the point the had to be pried off.

So I printed the caps with the SUNLU orange PLA using the 0.2 mm nozzle and 0.1 mm layer height. Post came out to be 3.2 mm and the outside diameter came out to be 12.8 mm. These caps also fit, but a little tighter. So the SUNLU profile needs to have its shrinkage profile adjusted.

I then printed your new *.3MF file using the 0.2 mm nozzle and 0.1 layer height using Bambu Lab black PLA. The post came out to 3.09 mm with a 12.8 mm outside diameter. The SUNLU orange PLA was used to print the new *.3mf file with the 0.2 mm nozzle and 0.1 mm layer height. The post was 3.08 mm and outside dimension was 12.8mm. This also fit really well.

I then printed the caps with a white PETG that I had on the printer. Not sure the brand. The post came out 3.05 mm and an outside diameter at 12.8 mm. These also fit great.

So your new *.3mf file worked great for me. I had too much variation using the .4 mm nozzle, but the .2 mm nozzle worked great on a variety of plastics.

 

[Mistergks]

Hi everyone! I just finished designing and testing some 3D printed caps that fit over the bolts on the interior door handles. I don't mind the industrial look of the bolts but figured I'd give it a shot and see if I liked having them covered better, and I think I do. I made prints using a couple of different colors, some on a textured plate, others on a smooth plate which I think looks the best. I don't have a filament color that is close to the door colors for a really seamless look but black actually looks pretty OEM since the top of the handle is black. The translucent blue actually works pretty well with the gray door panel.

Anyway, before I post the files publicly I wanted to see if there are a few people here who can print them and see if they fit well for you. The dimensions are very small and the room to fit anything around the perimeter of those bolts is very tight, so sizing tolerances are pretty important (I also have a couple of bolts that are slightly off center, making the fit even tighter). I intend for them to be printed with PETG since it's going inside a vehicle but I did also test with PLA+, the PLA prints are a little tighter since PLA doesn't tend to shrink as much as PETG but the PETG prints also go in snug. I'm using a Bambu Labs P1S and they should be able to be pressed in with a finger, and I'm able to remove them with the tip of a knife with a bit of careful prying.

Let me know if you want to test it out and I'll send you the 3MF file or the STL if you prefer that (and I'll include my recommended settings).

And just for the heck of it...gold may be a bit gaudy, but I actually kind of like it. Did I just increase the value of my Maverick?

 

[Mistergks]

I would like the STL file. thanks

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