A better cupholder (cointray / ashtray) replacement

[Hejnfelt]

As many of you have probably seen, recently a custom cupholder was featured by DavesZed. This was particularly exciting to me as I was working on exactly the same project right at the same time

I wrote Baldor (the creator) in an attempt to offer a bunch of suggestions for the design that I had in mind in the hopes that maybe I wouldn't have to make my own. Alas I never received a reply and thus I continued on my design.

My goal was to accomodate a standard phone lengthwise by creating a cutout between the cupholders so the space doesn't lose any functionality it had as a cointray. Additionally, Baldor's top surface staircase design just seemed like it would really stand out as non-OEM and I couldn't imagine having that in my Z4 fitted with a piano black center console. A smooth top surface, angled appropriately is what I was going for. Lastly I was wondering what angled sleeves could do to accommodate taller drinks like 0.5L water bottles and I wanted to try that. I've since realized a flat bottom is better but with appropriate spacing of the cylinders.

Today I installed V2.0 of my design which fits perfectly

The V2.0 is printed with a black smoke see-through resin at 50 micron resolution. This type of see-through resin allow seeing the internal workings of places that might still need sanding to fit. But it fit perfectly! Additionally I wanted to check whether resin might be a good fit for the final product with regards to fit and finish. While Resin surface finish is amazing and has great properties such as it's very tolerant to higher temperatures like a hot car in the sun on a summer day and is also completely moisture resistant to cold wet beverages, it's not particularly scratch resistant. It was a good test, but I think eventually I will revert to FDM materials for the final version (Not PLA!!!).

The V2.0 cupholder can accommodate all (standard) size modern phones lengthwise e.g. iPhone 14pro, Samsung Galaxy S23 etc.

As a stability test I have done multiple full throttle accelerations (390hp MHD stage 1+) and the full 0.5L bottle doesn't flinch whatsoever despite how it looks with the current angle

The areas that can improve are mainly the angle and diameter of the sleeves as you will see by the liquid level of the .5L Coke bottle.

I am already working on V3.0 which will feature slightly enlarged (exact size to be confirmed!!!) cupholders moved towards the gear stick by 2mm and be spaced further apart to accommodate ALL modern phones including the monstrous Google Pixel 7 Pro, iPhone 14Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra lengthwise. This new spacing and sizing should accommodate manual gearbox cars better with more space in middle between the cylinders as well as accomodate a wider variety of cylindric beverages.

I am trying to achieve a specific diameter that will make the cupholder compatible with regular aftermarket silicone coaster inserts.

Is the community interested in buying the V3.0 when it's ready end of August?

My target price depends a little bit on the final filament choice and printing resolution. For those who are interested in knowing all the little details, I'm in between ABS, PETG and PET. I could go with Carbon fiber re-inforced PET but I personally think it's overkill and the material cost is twice that of ABS or PETG. As a sidenote, resin is 4x the cost of ABS/PETG so that won't go. ABS is very prone to warping just like polyamide which the original BMW cointray is made of... and it's also warped ABS is slightly stronger and more heat resistant than PETG but is also a bit more nasty to work with (harmful gases) and warped failed prints will increase the cost of successful prints.

A price under €50 is definitely achievable but I would like to get down around €40 per piece. It depends a little bit on how many orders I get and how long the final print time will be which is related to resolution (higher resolution takes 4x the time to print)

If you're interested in buying a cupholder, leave a reply here or PM me and I will make a list while I finish the design of V3.0 and who knows, maybe it becomes V4.0 before I send them out

Anyway - as promised - pictures of V2.0 printed in smoke resin at 50 micron:

[Hejnfelt]

After an excellent suggestion by another forum member, I’ll be putting ASA on the top of list of materials to test out for V3.0. It beats all the other materials in pretty much all property areas at slight premium to ABS.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I’m all ears.

[B21]

Well done..a very useable mod…

I’m not sure how much lateral or vertical g the contents of the holder can cope with..but if you are pottering around it looks great..

Certainly more accessible than the stupid central compartment version..

[KennyP]

Phone slot was a great idea!

The bottom floor needs some texture, rubberised coating to stop things sliding around like the oem tray does/has.
I dont think they would fit, but using the rubber pieces from the original cupholders under the armrest would be nice... worth a look... would make it look more like oem... but i think they have too big diameter.

If they fit one could install cupholders tray to the front of gear lever, take cupholder rubber bottoms from the armrest, add them to new cupholders and then get rid of the cupholder under the armrest all together and install one big storage tray there instead, to make it much more usable. I know such tray exists from Bmw... so you can just order one.

At the moment cupholders are quite rubbish and also you cant really store anything in the armrest. This way we would have a bit better cupholders and also storage area where you could actually put something.

[Hejnfelt]

Originally Posted by B21

Well done..a very useable mod…

I’m not sure how much lateral or vertical g the contents of the holder can cope with..but if you are pottering around it looks great..

Certainly more accessible than the stupid central compartment version..

More than it looks like but of course a tall slim full water bottle won't be as steady as a shorter drinks can.

Originally Posted by KennyP

Phone slot was a great idea!

The bottom floor needs some texture, rubberised coating to stop things sliding around like the oem tray does/has.
I dont think they would fit, but using the rubber pieces from the original cupholders under the armrest would be nice... worth a look... would make it look more like oem... but i think they have too big diameter.

If they fit one could install cupholders tray to the front of gear lever, take cupholder rubber bottoms from the armrest, add them to new cupholders and then get rid of the cupholder under the armrest all together and install one big storage tray there instead, to make it much more usable. I know such tray exists from Bmw... so you can just order one.

At the moment cupholders are quite rubbish and also you cant really store anything in the armrest. This way we would have a bit better cupholders and also storage area where you could actually put something.

My idea is that the bottom of the cylinders should accommodate standard sized 70mm silicone coasters that are readily available online. For some reason 70mm seems to be a standard that nobody diverges from. Fitting slightly large than 70mm cylinders in this small space is really tricky, but I am trying. I have some other dimensional ideas in mind to make this accessory very stable and functional in a way that you don't have to really compromise much.

And yes!! My next project is to convert the center armrest to a storage box somehow but one thing at a time.

[KennyP]

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E8...center_console

You can just order nr 6 part displayed on the picture from the parts catalog.
you will need velour insert thingy (nr 9) aswell.

Should be able to buy from this link:
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/carpa...blagef/?page=2

29eur for the tray and 8 eur for the insert. And shipping on top.

Just ordered new intercooler O-rings from them.

[Hejnfelt]

Originally Posted by KennyP

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E8...center_console

You can just order nr 6 part displayed on the picture from the parts catalog.
you will need velour insert thingy (nr 9) aswell.

Should be able to buy from this link:
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/carpa...blagef/?page=2

29eur for the tray and 8 eur for the insert. And shipping on top.

Just ordered new intercooler O-rings from them.

Yup, I didn't mean to model something up necessarily, just to get rid of those cupholders and the phone integration I have down there which is useless. Thanks for the links!