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

[cottony]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to make a post sharing a fix I'm trying out for, what is in my opinion, one of the Macan EV's biggest comfort annoyances that doesn't really get talked about in this forum. Except for one post discussing this topic, I haven't really seen any other discussion about this: the sun visor is absolutely useless when it's rotated to the side window. It barely covers half of the window. I would be shocked if Porsche engineers actually used the visor at all during their testing.

I have a north/south commute to work and the sun absolutely blasts me in the face for the entire drive. I would look longingly at all the other cars around me... literally every car brand has a full-size visor, and I was so envious .

I tried the static film suggestions in the linked thread, but I found it clumsy to pack and unpack and it would leave a residue on my window. I know pilots use this in aviation, and I thought I would feel like a 747 pilot sitting in my Macan cockpit if I used the film, but honestly, it just felt like a ghetto and hacky solution.

Since I couldn't find an existing market solution that I was happy with, I set out to try to model a fix for the sun visor. My goals were as follows:
1) something that doesn't have to be attached and removed on every use
2) not visible when not in use to preserve the existing cockpit aesthetics
3) easy to operate as I will most likely be driving while operating the sun visor (this kind of implies the first bullet point, as attachment/detachment would probably not be easy to operate)
4) does not get in the way when using the visor mirror

I found that I was able to leverage the mirror clip to hold my visor extension frame up. I then attached hinges for the actual visor extension. To ensure that the visor extension doesn't flap open when I flip the visor down, I attached circular recesses for magnets to hold the extender closed.

Interestingly, I found it does not take a really thick piece of plastic to block out the sun; just 1mm of filament was enough to fully block out the sun (I didn't experiment, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes less filament than that -- my guess is maybe even 0.5mm would work). I also designed the print so that the frame could be printed separately from the visor extension. The benefit of these two things is that each iteration/prototype cost extremely little in terms of material costs and was also extremely fast as I could just print the part I was iterating on.

Here are some photos of the actual print and installation in my car:

Here it is, with the OEM visor flipped down -- the magnets keep the print closed and prevents it from flapping open.

Here are some pictures with the printed extension fully opened. In order to prevent the extension from flapping during driving, I tightened the tolerances on the hinges thereby making them "stiffer" are harder to move.

In the pictures above, I also used a zip tie around the frame to create a second anchor point for the frame onto the visor; this was to help reduce flappage as well, but it's not actually necessary; the visor clip is strong enough to hold up the entire attachment by itself.

One downside of employing a zip tie is that it breaks my 2nd goal, which was to not be visible when not in use. In the picture below, even when the visor is flipped up, the zip tie is still visible. I think that is a tradeoff I'm willing to live with, but I'll need to do a longer trial run to get a better understanding of how much seeing that zip tie will bug me.

My main concern right now is whether the coverage of the visor extension will be sufficient. If this version doesn't provide adequate coverage, I think it would be possible to make the extension larger both horizontally and vertically by adding additional hinges+extenders to the other edges.

For next steps, I plan to test this design out (I'll have plenty of opportunities to do so on my work commute ) and I will share an update on the findings afterwards. As always, please don't hesitate to share any feedback or suggestions -- appreciate it as always. Thanks everyone!

 

[PaoloPix]

Another problem is that if there is a passenger on the side who uses the visor the sun passes between his lowered visor and the mirror giving me a lot of annoyance.
I was thinking of putting a band film on the front glass

 

[Argelius]

This is brilliant!

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

Another problem is that if there is a passenger on the side who uses the visor the sun passes between his lowered visor and the mirror giving me a lot of annoyance.
I was thinking of putting a band film on the front glass

I'm not sure what international rules are (and the rules differ from state to state in the US), but for those that have already received theirs, does the windshield have an AS1 line? Most states tint laws, if they allow tint on the windshield at all, only allow it down to that line.

 

[Argelius]

This is what I'm using. It's simple and hides under the visor when not in use. Admittedly, a little tacky in a $100,000 car. Maybe the sun never shines in Stuttgart and Leipzig....


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z9F1MN3

 

[llindenb]

any chance you can share your stl’s on Makerworld or here?

Thanks!

EDIT: dumb autocorrect

 

[shawn]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to make a post sharing a fix I'm trying out for, what is in my opinion, one of the Macan EV's biggest comfort annoyances that doesn't really get talked about in this forum. Except for one post discussing this topic, I haven't really seen any other discussion about this: the sun visor is absolutely useless when it's rotated to the side window. It barely covers half of the window. I would be shocked if Porsche engineers actually used the visor at all during their testing.

I have a north/south commute to work and the sun absolutely blasts me in the face for the entire drive. I would look longingly at all the other cars around me... literally every car brand has a full-size visor, and I was so envious .

I tried the static film suggestions in the linked thread, but I found it clumsy to pack and unpack and it would leave a residue on my window. I know pilots use this in aviation, and I thought I would feel like a 747 pilot sitting in my Macan cockpit if I used the film, but honestly, it just felt like a ghetto and hacky solution.

Since I couldn't find an existing market solution that I was happy with, I set out to try to model a fix for the sun visor. My goals were as follows:
1) something that doesn't have to be attached and removed on every use
2) not visible when not in use to preserve the existing cockpit aesthetics
3) easy to operate as I will most likely be driving while operating the sun visor (this kind of implies the first bullet point, as attachment/detachment would probably not be easy to operate)
4) does not get in the way when using the visor mirror

I found that I was able to leverage the mirror clip to hold my visor extension frame up. I then attached hinges for the actual visor extension. To ensure that the visor extension doesn't flap open when I flip the visor down, I attached circular recesses for magnets to hold the extender closed.

Interestingly, I found it does not take a really thick piece of plastic to block out the sun; just 1mm of filament was enough to fully block out the sun (I didn't experiment, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes less filament than that -- my guess is maybe even 0.5mm would work). I also designed the print so that the frame could be printed separately from the visor extension. The benefit of these two things is that each iteration/prototype cost extremely little in terms of material costs and was also extremely fast as I could just print the part I was iterating on.

Here are some photos of the actual print and installation in my car:

Here it is, with the OEM visor flipped down -- the magnets keep the print closed and prevents it from flapping open.

Here are some pictures with the printed extension fully opened. In order to prevent the extension from flapping during driving, I tightened the tolerances on the hinges thereby making them "stiffer" are harder to move.

In the pictures above, I also used a zip tie around the frame to create a second anchor point for the frame onto the visor; this was to help reduce flappage as well, but it's not actually necessary; the visor clip is strong enough to hold up the entire attachment by itself.

One downside of employing a zip tie is that it breaks my 2nd goal, which was to not be visible when not in use. In the picture below, even when the visor is flipped up, the zip tie is still visible. I think that is a tradeoff I'm willing to live with, but I'll need to do a longer trial run to get a better understanding of how much seeing that zip tie will bug me.

My main concern right now is whether the coverage of the visor extension will be sufficient. If this version doesn't provide adequate coverage, I think it would be possible to make the extension larger both horizontally and vertically by adding additional hinges+extenders to the other edges.

For next steps, I plan to test this design out (I'll have plenty of opportunities to do so on my work commute ) and I will share an update on the findings afterwards. As always, please don't hesitate to share any feedback or suggestions -- appreciate it as always. Thanks everyone!

There may be more attractive alternatives to a zip tie like a Velcro mat fabric strap

 

[cottony]

any chance you can share your stl’s on Makerworld or here?

Thanks!

EDIT: dumb autocorrect

hi I’d like to test it out a bit before I make it available, just to make sure I’m not wasting others’ time/resources with a faulty design!

 

[cottony]

There may be more attractive alternatives to a zip tie like a Velcro mat fabric strap

thanks for the idea! I think that’s an excellent alternative! An additional benefit is that it will have a flatter profile than a zip tie, which has a bump for the locking mechanism!

 

[cottony]

Quick update -- the extender worked beautifully during my commute today! My seating position is more forward, so even though the extender doesn't extend across the entire window, I was satisfied with the horizontal coverage.

My ears did feel a bit hot though, so I'm going to try and squeeze a few more millimeters of surface area out of the extender to see if that helps with the situation.

But other than that, the commute was way more comfortable than usual! I was actually sad as my commute drew to a close haha.

One day does not make a trend though, so I plan to continue testing this over the next few days just to make sure it continues to work as expected and to document any issues that pop up.

===

As a funny aside, I found it really funny that today of all days, I saw this Aston Martin driver struggling to keep the sun out his face! It looks like this driver's solution is taking a jacket and jamming it into the window.

We all have the same horsepower when we're sitting in traffic... I'd gladly trade 400 horsepower for a working sun visor in that situation. I wonder if the Aston Martin forums hate their sun visor as much as I do

 

[shawn]

Quick update -- the extender worked beautifully during my commute today! My seating position is more forward, so even though the extender doesn't extend across the entire window, I was satisfied with the horizontal coverage.

My ears did feel a bit hot though, so I'm going to try and squeeze a few more millimeters of surface area out of the extender to see if that helps with the situation.

But other than that, the commute was way more comfortable than usual! I was actually sad as my commute drew to a close haha.

One day does not make a trend though, so I plan to continue testing this over the next few days just to make sure it continues to work as expected and to document any issues that pop up.

===

As a funny aside, I found it really funny that today of all days, I saw this Aston Martin driver struggling to keep the sun out his face! It looks like this driver's solution is taking a jacket and jamming it into the window.

We all have the same horsepower when we're sitting in traffic... I'd gladly trade 400 horsepower for a working sun visor in that situation. I wonder if the Aston Martin forums hate their sun visor as much as I do

Guess the Aston Martin driver forgot to pick up the James Bond sun shield gadget from Q before leaving headquarters

perhaps you can toss him yours. Preferably during a high speed chase. Don’t worry those chaps like the danger of using partially tested prototypes.