Mazda2 / Demio DJ and CX-3 center console cover

youmagine

Motivation The model I want to share is a center console cover for my Mazda 2 DJ1 Kizoku Intense. The first thing I was annoyed of after buying the car was the open center console with the multitude of connectors. Plugging in a USB-stick, the Android Auto USB cable, a USB power adapter and finally devices like a mobile phone and (in my case) a WIFI access point for the online services is a mess. You can't even place your phone in a serious manner. I nearly never use my CD player, so I thought a cover to hide all this and hold my devices would be a good idea. It took several test prints and model changes to have a thing which fits. You can simply put it in and remove it instantly. The foam rubber stickers prevent the center console from scratches and give it hold without rattling noises. The steps The first usable print was quite ugly as to the surface, hence I glued on an oddment of brown leather, hoping, it would match the car's brown leather applications. It didn't - and glueing it directly on the plastic led to a poor, bumpy surface. You should use a thin, flexible filler or something. And hitting the exact leather colour is also not easy. The final print should be more appealing. I sanded it two times and used XTC 3D resin for smoothing. The surface was even enough for wrapping it into a foil. I got a piece of matte carbon design DI-NOC CA-421 foil from 3M, which is quite similar to the Mazda's fake carbon in the center console and glued it wet on. Use the stencil I added as an attachment to cut it out and double check, that the printed size is really 100%. Try a sheet of paper on the 3D-print before cutting the foil! Last, stick on the foam rubber pieces some millimeters from the edges to give the part a neat hold. You could also secure the bent corners of the foil with strong tape (white on the fotos) where needed. Experiment with different designs if you like – maybe you prefer the HG-1201 black high gloss, LE-1171 black leather or a foil from another manufacturer. Or simply sanding and finishing it with a resin. Printing The model has several errors, but Slic3r PE had no problems to slice it. Using a 0.6mm nozzle and rework the print let most errors disappear. I prefer black PETG filament, but ABS should resist higher temperatures. The complete print took about 11 hours on a Prusa i3 MK3 with 0.6mm nozzle and black Prusa PETG filament. Print it upright and you need supports. It is a nasty work to remove the supports - if you have a dual extruder or Multi Material Upgrade, I recommend solulable interfaces. Post Processing When sanding and applying XTC 3D, you could make the phone holder on the front glossy black (if you printed black filament) to reflect/cite the double clear coat surfaces of the car interior. Cables and devices My phone is a Moto G6 with silicone protector. The access point is a Huawei E5330 3G-WLAN-hotspot. The cable is a short USB-C cable from HAMA and a short micro USB cable for the Huawei. If you don't need the holes for the access point or USB cable, you can hide it with the foil. I will add a model without the Huawei holder and holes later, so you can modify it as you need (e.g. drilling and cutting holes for your cable). Warning I didn‘t test it on hot summer days. I suspect it will warp or the foil will separate, so you should keep that in mind.