oldManTan

started the mold, didn't realize i'd need 3 tubs of quikrete, gonna have to get like 4 next time for the other lens, hopefully it won't crack, i mean it's concrete so it shouldn't. so that's gonna set over night, i put lithium grease inside it as a mold release so i can get the lens off, not that i really care, the lens is completely broken anyways, hence when i'm trying to make new lenses. this weekend i'll go to my friends house who's got tons of mdf and tools and we'll cut the female end of the mold to press the plexiglass down. also started modifying the spare housings i have for the 3D printed parts, i decided that once i 3D print and they fit, i'll be blending them into the housing so they're not sticking out so blatantly. i'll pick up the new print tomorrow and post pictures, very excited.


and the cuts i made so far. really hard to get in there

after some sanding

oldManTan

i did the concrete wrong i just realized, instead of layering it and letting it dry, i just poured it all in and it's been 2 days and the center still isn't dry, i'm gonna try to keep going with it though, fill in any imperfections that i can and hopefully get a good mold since the outside is pretty stiff.

oldManTan

newest prototype of the headlights!!! it's way off, but it's the first print so it makes sense, just need to move the second light back and then i'll be modeling the turn signal onto the side of that as well.

oldManTan

latest model!!!! decided to make the outside L shape the turn signal along with the strips on the side. will have to figure out how to make the LEDs turn off and switch to orange LEDs when i trigger the turn signal. if anyone has some tips let me know!

oldManTan

small update!
started working on the diffuser lenses, got a sweet idea for them, gonna be a Lexus overload lol. smoothed the final prototype model so no more jagged edges, doing a test print this week, if everything fits, onto the wiring! my goal is to fit all wiring into the housing so it's basically as close to plug and play that i can get.

here's some pictures of the models.

oldManTan

got the diffuser lenses detailed, gonna do a test print of just the housing this week, then if it fits, the lenses will be next!


i'm also gonna try doing the Ls smaller and diagonal, see how that looks

oldManTan

update on the tails on my other thread

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...ml#post9005918

oldManTan

got an update! hopefully this is the last proto version and i can start refining it and making it look sleek

here's the last print, obviously not fitting well at all


and here's the adjustments


everything got moved back, especially the second (right) beam which was moved an inch and a half back. the angle of the outer edge was also slanted more.

chnk

iTrader: (12)

How did that concrete mold go?

oldManTan

not well, i didn't layer the concrete so it never dried, it was too cold too, i'll have to try that again next summer, my main goal now is to just finish the headlights, then build another set of tail lights with stock lenses. this print is submitted so i should get it this week, if it fits, i'll start working on the electrical side of things.

oldManTan

started doing some cardboard mock ups for the tail lights, the entire inside of the light will be flat, i'll probably just lay fiberglass over it, then start attaching lights straight to the FG. still not sure what material to use to build the housings for the diffused parts of the light. i'll be using either wax paper or white foam that photographers and videographers use to diffuse their LED light stands.

as for the lights themselves i'll be using LED strips for the diffused parts, they're easy to use, reliable and i've never had any issues with them. for the non diffused part i'll either be doing puck lights or LED strips, i'm not sure of the look i want yet. the reverse light will be deleted and i'll be making a custom bumper mounted reverse light that will fit in with the rear diffuser i'll be installing on the car as well.

the turn signal i'll probably either do fully diffused or i'll 3D print some sort of pattern to diffuse the light in a cool way. the hardest part is getting the housing ready for the lights and light diffusers.
here's an idea of what i'm going for.

another problem i have is how to have the vertical part on the IS light go up, since our red part of the light is pretty small, i'm thinking doing a full red light and having the vertical part go up into the turn signal and separate them somehow.

ThatSCguy

I'm subscribed! I've seen vids where people make the shape of perforated board for the LEDs into however they want the leds to look like and cutting out an identical acrylic plastic (like tupperwares) to diffuse the leds like the tails for the Audi led tail lights look but it sounds tacky.. very interested on how you'll make the headlights and taillights look like the new gen IS! Its amazing the kind of possibilities these 3d printers have brought us

ThatSCguy

Look up switchbacks! thats what the bulbs for that idea are called maybe you can start from there and copy how their circuit board is bc i know pre 97s don't have switchback signals. Have you considered leaving those outside as orange LEDs but when you turn your signals on it pulses brighter? If so, you can use the same concept as the rear brake lights when it gets brighter as you step on the brake. specifically the 1157 plugs/bulbs are the ones I speak of.

oldManTan

i've thought about that, but i really don't like the look of dual filament bulbs. i like separate lights for every function so i'll be separating the turn signal for sure.

ThatSCguy

I hear ya, it defeats the purpose of the updated headlights. Do you plan on making your own led boards or will you be using plug and play led bulbs?