Idea for phone holder replacement for ash tray.

[Delorean3610]

Hey, I had my ash tray out and my phone was right beside it, I noticed there was enough room even with my bulky phone case for my iPhone to fit in the ash tray hole.

I don't have the engineering skill required to mock-up a prototype, but I did make a rough sketch of my idea.

The carrier should allow for a charging cable installed into the car, and could if someone can figure it out flip up and swivel towards the driver.image.jpg

[Nicholas R]

This is a great opportunity to teach yourself! Looks like a good idea; start spitballing ways to make it! MDF, particle board, fiberglass, bondo, are all pretty easy to work with. Or download one of the free 3d modeling programs and upload your design to shapeways.com They'll rapid prototype anything you send them. They'll charge you per square centimeter of material usage, at different rates depending on which material you choose. They have tons of materials to choose from; plastics, metals, composites, and more. They'll laser sinter it out of stainless steel if you want!

Looks like a good idea to me. Don't let not knowing how to do it keep you from learning and trying!

[LEVY]

Whatevet you do, keep in mind technology is changing everyday, leave room for changes.

LEVY

[Roman Legion]

I could have sworn I seen a picture of someone making an ipod dock int their D and that's something I considered doing when I get my D. Wish I had an interface for a smartphone on an LCD display so I can Ingress with greater ease.

Whatevet you do, keep in mind technology is changing everyday, leave room for changes.

LEVY

Future proof!

<EDIT> Did a google search for a cool image for future proof and ran into these..lol

[john 05141]

I modified that 5 years ago.
It is acually still the same ashtray, but I removed the plastic on top and glued in a soft black 1mm thick foam.
My phone then fit perfectly but the I phone is just too big.

Jan

[jwrayth]

Future proof!

Why, what a coincidence...

wings.jpg

Back on topic; I'd been thinking about something similar myself. I have a Nexus 5, so I thought above a fold-out mount with wireless charging built in. There are some good instructables on static version, I just need time to work out the mechanics of fitting it in the ash-try space in a non-destructive mannger along with a good folding mechanism.

[kajcienski]

I went a different way and made the ash tray an audio/data hub to my stereo. (there is a thread about it somewhere) I wanted something a bit retro looking. It backlights when the ashtray is open (graphic overlay). I just keep my phone in the coin tray.


image.jpg

[Tillsy]

I went a different way and made the ash tray an audio/data hub to my stereo. (there is a thread about it somewhere) I wanted something a bit retro looking. It backlights when the ashtray is open (graphic overlay). I just keep my phone in the coin tray.


image.jpg

I went similar (and yet different) - chose not to bother with a holder and instead provided sockets at the coin tray (which I've made deeper so the contents don't slide out) since that's where I toss my phone. I used to be a fan of car mounts in my pre-smartphone days, but the number of times I upgraded my phone to a different make/model quickly turned me against the never ending need for different shape mounts/holders. That said, nothing beats simply plonking a phone onto a stand and it staying upright and automatically plugged in...

[DMCVegas]

Are those the straw and ketchup packet holders from Jack in the Box?

[Delorean3610]

Anyone can use the design I drew up, and if they can make a nice one I'll buy it. I literally don't have the free time to make a model in software, produce product, or anything needed to bring it to life.