This is just to see if there's any interest in this idea. I'm going to re-design my eyeball vents and make some improvements, like the ability to close them completely, and reduce/eliminate lazy eye. I can 3D print them in several materials, all of which will be UV resistant and able to take the heat, and possibly glow in the dark. I'm not sure what the price point will be, but the idea would be to make them reasonable, certainly less than OEM (which run $30-$40). Would there be any interest in buying such a thing?

 

it's a neat idea, but you'll have a hard time beating the bang-for-buck that the eclipse vent retrofit offers. it offers everything you listed, but for 40-60 bucks for all 4.

 

Hmm....but do they come in glow in the dark?? Thanks though, I should have known there was already a work around. Maybe I can improve on the eclipse vents too.

 

If you could create a method for using eclipse vents that allow them to "snap" into place kind of like an adapter, that would be really neat and I would be in the market. The eclipse vents I have used were kinda "slip fit" and while they looked good they didn't feel factory quality.

(I would also be interested in better eyeballs)

 

Ok, thanks for the feedback! I will look into the Eclipse vents; maybe I can create a hybrid between the two. Let me know if you think of any other inputs, I'll see if I can incorporate them.

 

The reason I haven't gone for the Eclipse vents is because my interior is set to feel old/vintage/retro. They just don't go along with the feel. If you could produce something that gave the old feel with the function of the Eclipse vents, I'd be all over them.

 

this. eclipse vents are ugly as ****. as much as function>form, i don't wan't to be staring at ugly *****.

 

The eclipse vents work pretty well if you can chuck 'em in a lathe and turn them down a bit. They'll sit flush, and you can put in a groove that'll hold them into the tombstone.

 

Ok, I'm glad to hear there would be interest. So far, the design objectives are:
1) Close all the way
2) Eliminate lazy eye
3) Look as close to stock as possible
4) Direct snap fit

Anything else? I think this is feasible; I'm going to start sketching up some CAD tonight.

 

I would be interested in something like that. Would be willing to pay 80-120 for a full set depending on how nice they are.

Main thing to me is ability to close them fully and not be overly loose like (old) stock ones are. I don't care for the eyeball design myself, would rather have some that are just flaps. I have eclipse vents in the tombstone but not the outsides of my NA because they don't fit very well on the outside.

Maybe you can find a center section and basically 3d print a adapter of some sort?

 

Agree 100%. Glow in the dark is an awful idea as well. The last thing I want is more flashy **** on the dashboard.

OEM vents work just fine, if they're loose, buy a new one from Mazdaspeed on the cheap or from a used vendor for $5. There might be a market for this stuff, but it isn't me.

 

What? You can get new eyeball vents? Never thought of buying them new.

 

Ya'll never stuck a piece of felt in them to tighten them up?

 

First rough prototype printed off last night; looks promising! One cool feature is that I was able to print the moving parts all at once, so there's no assembling. This will let me have tighter clearances and more solid parts. There are some aesthetic issues with this first design, so I'll wait to show pictures till the next iteration.

 

The ideal eyeball vent would be one where you can adjust the air flow direction AND rate granularly. The Eclipse vents let you adjust direction, and somewhat rate, but rate is binary--open or closed.

 

Ok, I have developed what appears to be a pretty solid design. I'm now waiting for my high temp PLA to arrive so I can print off the first real one. The basic material will be black, high temp PLA, which is UV stable and guaranteed not to deform below 250F. I will provide pictures soon.

Original design targets:
Look similar to original vents ------> Achieved
Be able to close completely ------> Achieved
Reduce/eliminate lazy eye ------> Possibly achieved, need long term testing to make sure
Direct snap fit ------> Achieved

Here's my proposal: Since these are untested and new to everyone, the first 3 or so sets will cost $40 per set, or $10 per eyeball, shipping included. I would ask, then, that for these beta testers, if you run into any issues, please contact me directly, and I will make efforts to solve the issues.

Does that sound reasonable?

 

PLA is junk, no matter how many letters you stick in front of it.

Wouldn't trust it on my dashboard.

 

Please refrain from making uninformed derogatory comments. This PLA has the following properties:

• Tensile Strength @ over 6,000psi
• IZOD Impact Strength (notched) @ 40 Newtons
• no deformation up to 125c (250f)
• UV Stable

This is in fact stronger and higher temp than ABS, which deflects at 206F, and has a tensile strength of 5500psi.

If the material turns out to not perform as advertised, I will, of course, obtain another material. However, I see no reason why these properties will not be sufficient for this application.

 

For further reference, the vaunted Amphora 1800, which is considered one of the strongest and most advanced 3D printer filaments in existence, has a deflection temperature of 158F. It does have a higher yield strength (7300 psi), but this is not a high stress application, so it seems that the higher temperature capability would be a more useful property.

 

In for Pictures