rear light re-design

[Mr X]

well, I finally have gotten around to ordering the led rings and centre parts I need to design a new set of rear lights.
IMO the only thing toyota got wrong with the mr2 are the rear lights. The FL ones do look better but still.... meh!

Here are the lights I brought from ebay





Break and rear sidelights lit up:


Indicator lit up:


The pan is to 3d print a section that replaces the clear coloured part of the cluster that comes off..... with a bit of a chop to the plastic part the bulbs go into to make space, the cluster can then clip into the original backing that then fits back onto the car.   s8) s8)

[Fin]

I'd love to see your end result on this! I've been thinking of trying to mock up a new set of tail-lights. I agree, it's about the only thing I actively dislike about the car.
I don't understand why you can buy 'Lexus Style' lights for loads of rubbish cars on the road, but not a Toyota!!  s:( s:(

[no1trancefan]

second that about lexus style lights not on toyota

keep us posted how they turn out

[Mr X]

haha true! But would you want a set of lexus lights seen as they're on the back of every saxo and golf this side of pluto?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

ok, so here is an update.. they've already had a re-design once so ive had to do some re-printing  s:? :? s:?

this one is from before my modification... As you can see, I've also made the rigs slightly staggered. Hoping to make them both slightly visible from the side.


I added a slot cutout along the bottom... the bit in the middle is a reflector.


left one done....


right side currently on the way.


all I need to do after this bit is finished is print the face.
Then, I will print the surround that makes up the rest of the light to fill the standard hole.

I'm, off on holiday for some sunshine on friday for a week but hoping to buy a 3D scanner when I come home. That should then speed up the rest of the work and make it fit 100%!   s8) s8)

[no1trancefan]

you should build a handful i want some now seen them

[ayresyboy]

Really good project this. Cant wait to see the end result.

[andyroo104]

Really good project this. Cant wait to see the end result.

+1  :-) :-) :-)

[Mr X]

you should build a handful i want some now seen them

haha I wish the printer was quick enough to do that!

The cluster holders (part that holds the led ring and inner light together) 2.5 hours each.
The light tubes (part with the slot in that holds the cluster to the light) 5 hours for the right one and 5.5 for the left.
The outer faces takes 3.5 hours each.
So 22 and a half hours so far on one light! I still need to do the ring that holds the reflector and then all the rest of the light I need to design to so it all fits in and screws on.
Then print a mirror image for the near side! lol

















The second outer face is printing now so that will be going until 2am.
That will be it now until I'm back from Egypt   s8) s8)  hopefully, the rest will be done, sanded and painted soon after.... I'm gagging to see what it looks like installed!

[Anonymous]

Nice bit of kit, FairPlay for using it for something so unique!

[Mr X]

Well, I got back at 4am this morning but was awake enough today to order a 3d scanner to scan the original lights.
Also, I did  bit of sanding to my prototype light. This one wont be used so I won't paint it up but it gives a good idea of how it should look. The final one will be made up of less segments stuck together.

[Mr X]

well, that's the scan done! Doesn't look to shabby   s:D s:D  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J21PfFRQYxM

[Breakz]

I don't understand why you can buy 'Lexus Style' lights for loads of rubbish cars on the road, but not a Toyota!!  s:( s:(

That's because they became all the rage on the mk2 at one point and then a short while later everyone realised they looked crap and laughed at you if they saw you had a set on your car.

Nobody dared bring out a set for any MR2 after that!  s:D s:D

[phaeton]

^^^^^^^What he said, why would you want to make your MR2 look like a Shitron Paxo or a MGHGF

Alan...

[Breakz]

I don't think the lights the op is building actually look like Lexus lights. They remind me more of the rev6 lights Rogue brought out for the mk2.

I am interested to see the finished product.

[Mr X]

I don't think the lights the op is building actually look like Lexus lights. They remind me more of the rev6 lights Rogue brought out for the mk2.

oh go no! I don't want any lexus ones!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  yeah, the rogue revisions 6 ones looked awesome! I always wanted a set and I did have some on order to go on my first mk2 turbo but i had a bit of a prang in it and had to cancel them   s:( s:(  
I think the rings might actually be the same ones!

anywho.... here's another update! Nearly ready to get printing!

[mikey P]

Cool project. I have printed a few car parts before but my printer isn't really up to the job of bigger parts as it takes so long and every now and it makes mistakes so often a lot of time is lost. I'm not sure the quality of my printer is as good as your either.

[Mr X]

Cool project. I have printed a few car parts before but my printer isn't really up to the job of bigger parts as it takes so long and every now and it makes mistakes so often a lot of time is lost. I'm not sure the quality of my printer is as good as your either.

thanks  s:) s:)  I specifically chose the printer to have a large print bed (200x270) as I knew I was going to end-up using it mostly for body parts but I still split them up into roughly 150x100 and join them together.

your setup depends on the material you use as otherwise you'll get poor results. e.g. PLA needs a nozzle cooler to cool the part quickly and a cold bed. I did some parts in this but had to re-do them as in the summer, it gets too hot in the car and it was turning soft!

ABS is much better and can take a lot more heat. To print with this you need an enclosed printer, heated bed and cool the top half of the head to avod jams. Don't cool the nozzle or bottom half of the extruder as the part needs to stay warm otherwise it will crack.

anyway, I forgot I needed a spacer for the reflector so added this in this morning....



I just need to decide it up, print and assemble... hopefully I will have something close by next weekend   s:D s:D

[no1trancefan]

how much are you spending on these printers? almost scared to ask. still want a set  s:P s:P

[mikey P]

My 3d printer was just under £500 but came as kit that took 2 days to build. You can now get cheaper though as this was a couple of years ago. Interesting to hear your thoughts on PLA as I have been using this with the heated bed on 50c as I do for ABS. Will try turnnig the bed off for PLA in future as I do find I sometimes the print lifts and catches the next layer.

[Mr X]

how much are you spending on these printers? almost scared to ask. still want a set  s:P s:P

Mine is a leapfrog creatr. It cost £1600 at the time but it's not that far from any other extrusion type 3d printer. Mine just came assembled in an aluminium box.
They all mostly work with ABS, PLA, nylon etc but they need work put into them to do this. To get ABS to work ok I had to put a door & lid on mine.... Make housing fans for the motors so they don't overheat, rewire it all with tracks , installed fans on the head and got some epoxy resin board to use on top of the glass bed.

both types need at least 4 walls around the bed...

PLA was bed off, 230c head and a nozzle cooling system I got off thingverse. PLA is soft and you need it to cool quickly or it will warp.

ABS is bed at 90c, 245c head, no cooling bar motors & nozzle feed. ABS will crack if it doesn't cool uniformally. Also, to get the ABS to stick to the bed you need to dissolve abs in acetone and smear it onto the bed to make the print stick.

[no1trancefan]

think this maybe too technical for me to invest in one

[SuperArt]

.

[Mr X]

A quick update....
I now have my 1st full size non-test one done. I just need to make a few adjustments to the print and then I can work on the near side. This one on the other hand is close enough to be modified slightly to fit perfectly   s:D s:D  

obviously, it needs a sand, high-build primer and paint.









I will do the wiring when I have a bit of time so I can take some pics of it lit up properly.   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[Mr X]

I see that your lights will be comprised of individual LED bulbs. So I guess they'll look like these?

I don't know if you can get them like that as I like the LED ones so didn't bother looking.

However, I was following a DS3 the other day and thought those rear clusters look nice and would physically fit in the space...


 Any cluster that can fit in the hole could have the surround made to make it look like it should be there! That's if you have the printer and the time  s:) s:)

[no1trancefan]

are there actually any off the shelf clusters for the 2 surprised are not any, ive never found any, like those lights above