Hey everyone,
I am quite upset about the current sliding roof/sunroof situation and i do not want to just complain but make a change. I Have modeled the first part and will soon do some testing. The slider driven lever will be produced with a 3D-Printer, materialwise it will be ABS. The other part highlited in the picture will be CNC-drilled, materialwise some kind of metal, not quite sure yet, but for sure it will not be as brittle as the original.
To conclude, the parts will not look like tho original ones. They are optimized for printing/drilling. In the end they should work as good as the originals, but be a lot more durable. Lets see...


Greetings from Germany (that explains all the missspelled words and grammar issues)
Paulmer

 

Your post was automatically locked for moderation - I've removed the section that caused this and unlocked it. If you are not selling anything then DO NOT seek expressions of interest or quote an approximate cost.

I wish you luck with your project and hope it gets through design, development and successful testing. As long as the thread is limited to discussion of this, it can continue. If there are posts here regarding offering parts to members, it will be closed.

Graham

 

Hi Paulmer, I’m interested to see how your project develops. Because it’s crucial that as enthusiasts of the marque we find ways to keep our cars operational, even improving on factory where possible.

Especially where we’re no longer supported by the manufacturer with parts. Personally I’d expect any platform for enthusiasts to support anyone with the expertise that wants to fill the gaps in the supply chain.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

 

I just pulled a sunroof from a junked car this weekend. I want to look at the pieces and see if I can get them machined as well. One look at the drain channel support shows that there are some unnecessary recesses/ cut aways. I assume it was to reduce product costs, and drag. I want to try and get these pieces CNC machined from some thing stronger as well. I'll be curious to hear what you end up doing in the future.

I know its uncouth to discuss prices. But I for one would like to compare cost for the CNC or 3d printed versions that you either get quoted for, or actually pay to get the piece made.
There has been another thread made by Genetic Billionaire that I am watching carefully as well.

 

Unfortunately, Genetic Billionaire has been very quiet for several months and isn’t answering PMs. I believe he gets very busy with work.

I think finding a solution for sunroof parts that are no longer available and known to not be very robust is key to keeping these cars with a sunroof on the road.

Happy to help in whatever way I can. But if we/someone could recreate good quality parts in a more robust material, maybe aluminium, than the standard plastic then this would be of huge benefit to owners of sunroof X300s.

 

I don't doubt his project will take some time. He seemed very thorough. I hope he gets around in a few more weeks with videos of his new parts.

time, money, connections. they can slow the process down.

 

Note that one of the two pieces circled is already metal. That said, one of mine was broken. But, I believe this is all secondary. I believe the main lever cam support fails first and/or the metal arm attached to the main lever assembly comes lose. Once these things happen binding can occur and the slider drain lever could fail.

Of course making everything out of metal would be great!



Daniel

 

Nothing ground breaking yet, but I did talk to the head honcho at the CNC machining and 3d printing lab that we have on campus. He said they often take on personal projects of faculty and staff. He said bring the parts in some day and we can talk more about how to proceed. Also, they are getting a 3d scanner sometime "soon" that could be a huge boon to this project.

 

I need to do some clarification. First: I was looking very much forward to purchase these parts from the @Genetic_Billionaire . Sadly he is not responding.

Second: Part 1 will be CNC Drilled. Part 2 3D Printed using ABS plastic.

The original part 1 was made from sintered metal. Sintered metal is extremely brittle and that is propably the reason why the parts broke in the first place. Furthermore when you manufacture a sintered metal part you have to make shure that all wall thicknesses are roughly the same. Therefore part one has many cuttings that are not needed when you CNC drill the part wich means that one can have thicker walls on some places. I will try to replace it with CNC Drilled aluminium, which is not the best choice but a lot cheaper when it comes to the production compared to stainless steel. If aluminium does not work out i will propably have to use stanless steel. Part 2 was and will be made from plastic.

As it stands at the moment, both parts are designed and part one is already 3D printed to check whether everything fits nice and snug.

As some of you may see both parts are optmized on some points. As far as I saw optimization potential. Some cuttings might have had a function which I did not see. Testing will show that. In two weeks from now I will propably have both parts printed and ready to be testet

 

This is impressive work, well done for keeping at it.
I need to replace the right hand side Part#1, since mine broke under the strain of dried up dirt, grease and a general lack of maintenance,
I suspect that aluminum would be a better material than ABS, but it will be interesting to see how your testing goes.

 

Well done, This is important development and X308 owners should also be watching. Drain channel supports also needed as they are the main failure.

 

I have to be a bit selfish there. Its a high financial risk i am taking there and even if it turns out good for me i will for sure not make any profit. Therefore I do only care for the parts I need. Furthermore, the "right side Drain channel support" is still available for purchase. https://www.jagbits.com/product/HNB1774AA.html

In case this is sold out you might contact @James83g4kadm, he 3D printed both drain channel support sides.

 

Took a little longer than 2 weeks. The 3D printer broke.
Both parts are now printed and installed. I am quite happy with how part 2 turned out sliding perfectly fine but doesn't rattle around or anything like that. Part 1 gives me some headache. I can barely move it around when installed and only with maximum force. I'll have to find out why this part is so tight and adjust the model accordingly.

 

Great work @Paulmer . Looking good. Once perfected these spare parts will be very helpful for the community.

 

Now we just need all the other plastic parts that break like
1. Plastic frame around the radio and climate controls.
2. The bezel around the shifter that holds the manual auto shifter button
3. That little plastic piece that is in between the console ski slope and the ashtray
4. A better cup holder that does not break every time you open it.
5. The plastic piece that comes off the Abs system it is on the passenger side engine compartment.

I am sure there is more so I may be adding to this list

 

As already written: I do only care for the parts I need as it is quite time consuming to measure und model the parts. Furthermore 3D printed plastic does have a very rough and ugly surface. Therefore the printet parts need to get a nice finish if they are visible. As almost all of your mentioned parts are.

Yes money makes the rules but i bet you do not want to pay hell of money for some small plastic pieces.

 

Short update:
the parts were running untill a few days ago. Sadly I dont know what exactly happened because i did not see them shutter to pieces.
But i improved the parts a bit and they are back in the printing progress.

Furthermore some gesoral information: part 1 is designed to comply with the requirements of a cnc drill. Therefore, once it fits perfectly, the part can be cnc drilled and will hooefully last for a very long time

Paul

 

Another update:
i got the parts laser printed and made of "Polyamide powder filled with glass particles" (glass fibre reinforced plastic). It has a thermal resistance of 110°C and seems to be strong enough to cope with the loads. For now the parts are sliding perfectly fine. Even though i was a bit to conservative on some corners, so the design could have been a bit thicker/stronger. Nonetheless the parts will be installed and testet. In case everything is looking fine, i will park the jaaag in the bare sun for a few hours and hope that the roof still opens.

As i did not mention it yet: a friend of mine recommended me to try this manufacturing method with PA-GF. I do hope that there will be no need to CNC drill the parts, as this laser printing method is round about 1/10th of the price compared to CNC drilling.

Paul



shipping might be around the corner

 

@Paulmer sterling work Sir! Please keep us updated. I'd certainly be interested in a set to keep my sunroof gliding.

 

Hey everyone,
i did not post any updates because im stuck. The parts are pretty sturdy but something seems to be wrong with my design. Everything works except for sliding the sunroof closed. The right side doesnt want to go up to its closed position anymore. When closing the roof one can hear the motor working extremely hard (too hard) until part 1 snaps. I do not have an idea where the mistake might be as the left side is working fine. And both parts are basically the same, just mirrored. So if anyone has an idea then head me up. Otherwise i think that i do have to call this project failed...
Paul