Is this a sun visor for ants? 3D print sun visor extension solution

[shawn]

Hi everyone,

Wanted to share an update on the sun visor design.

I was able to eek out a few more millimeters of coverage on the visor extension and that actually provided enough additional coverage to prevent my ears from getting hot.

However, the additional length from the visor extension didn't work well with my "stiff hinges" approach, so during testing, I noticed that the extension wouldn't remain straight when open.

The visor extension still worked from a functional perspective, but aesthetically, it just didn't look very good. The imagery reminded me of the collapsed dorsal fins on the orca whales from the Blackfish documentary and that just wasn't a vibe I was ok with .

I think the issue with the hinges was that they were so tiny that no matter how much I tighten the tolerances, the torque introduced by extra length would overpower whatever friction the tolerances provided. I decided to eschew the hinge approach and use magnets instead.

I've always felt that incorporating magnets into a design makes it sexier so why not go full send?

In this updated design, the visor extension is fully detachable, and there are 2 sets of magnets -- one to hold the extension to the frame when it's not in use,

and another set to hold the visor at full extension.

Here's a close-up of the connection at full extension

With 3 magnetic touch points, I feel pretty confident that the extension shouldn't detach during use, even under extreme turbulence. But this will be something to test out in the coming weeks.

Best of all, my visor extension is a free whale now! The dorsal fin is as straight as an arrow.

I'll feel much better driving around town with this iteration, especially after all the shade (hehe) I threw at Aston Martin in my previous post Imagine the horror if a picture of my drooping sun visor surfaced on the internet

Going forward, I plan to wrap up testing on this iteration before sharing next steps. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions -- I barely passed my intro to physics college classes lol so this is just the best I could come up with my limited knowledge of mechanics... but if anyone has any ideas about a hinge mechanism that's more suitable for this use case, I'd love to learn about it! Thanks everyone!

Also, thanks to @shawn for the velcro strap suggestion -- it looks way better than a zip tie!

Free Willey swims again! Did you do a speed bump test? I mean to see if the bump defeats the magnetic hold when the fin is fully open and closed? Also what happens if it’s partially open? Does it stay put or want to slide open or closed? Finally will it shift when I lock or pull the shade out of its locked position as sometimes you have to yank on the shade to unlock it. These are Some test cases I thought of.

PS Velcro strap looks pro.

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[shawn]

well done
For the perfect finish, you should cover it with this kind of synthetic alcantara!

https://amzn.eu/d/8TX353h

Agreed that would look premium

 

[shawn]

Hi everyone,

Wanted to share an update on the sun visor design.

I was able to eek out a few more millimeters of coverage on the visor extension and that actually provided enough additional coverage to prevent my ears from getting hot.

However, the additional length from the visor extension didn't work well with my "stiff hinges" approach, so during testing, I noticed that the extension wouldn't remain straight when open.

The visor extension still worked from a functional perspective, but aesthetically, it just didn't look very good. The imagery reminded me of the collapsed dorsal fins on the orca whales from the Blackfish documentary and that just wasn't a vibe I was ok with .

I think the issue with the hinges was that they were so tiny that no matter how much I tighten the tolerances, the torque introduced by extra length would overpower whatever friction the tolerances provided. I decided to eschew the hinge approach and use magnets instead.

I've always felt that incorporating magnets into a design makes it sexier so why not go full send?

In this updated design, the visor extension is fully detachable, and there are 2 sets of magnets -- one to hold the extension to the frame when it's not in use,

and another set to hold the visor at full extension.

Here's a close-up of the connection at full extension

With 3 magnetic touch points, I feel pretty confident that the extension shouldn't detach during use, even under extreme turbulence. But this will be something to test out in the coming weeks.

Best of all, my visor extension is a free whale now! The dorsal fin is as straight as an arrow.

I'll feel much better driving around town with this iteration, especially after all the shade (hehe) I threw at Aston Martin in my previous post Imagine the horror if a picture of my drooping sun visor surfaced on the internet

Going forward, I plan to wrap up testing on this iteration before sharing next steps. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions -- I barely passed my intro to physics college classes lol so this is just the best I could come up with my limited knowledge of mechanics... but if anyone has any ideas about a hinge mechanism that's more suitable for this use case, I'd love to learn about it! Thanks everyone!

Also, thanks to @shawn for the velcro strap suggestion -- it looks way better than a zip tie!

How low does the visor add-on hang below the visor when fully stowed? Maybe a picture to see if it obstructs view in any way.

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