SaphGreyC63

That's also a great idea!

Roswell

Props to those involve in this project, can't wait to see the prototype.

Mort

Me too.

Autosport7

I got your PM.
I will ship this your way as soon as I get back in town.
If it makes life easier, why not just ship my set to him instead of wasting all that time with CAD and machining a sample set. Send him mine and let him reverse engineer it....?

Ingenieur

Might be best to use a set of real paddles
Have a machinist weld extensions on, shape and finish
He might need to cut them to get a good shape to weld to
That way you know they will fit perfectly
He can use them for tooling or programming/CADD

These would be easier/better cast but you need qty to make it worthwhile
The mock ups could be used to make the moulds

princealidds

Interesting posts! Like it.

mr747

I'm in for a pair

Ingenieur

Another thought
Find a local artisen who works in metal
He'll have a kiln, can make moulds, finishing equipment, etc
Cut the paddles top and bottom
Weld in an extension and then weld the ends back on
Finish/shape
Make moulds and reproduce

An artist who works in metal does stuff like this all the time to reproduce his work
He might be willing to do this to make some cash on the side....

As long as he/she is not a hipster hippy who has disdain for yuppies or gex x ( or whatever they are called now) who rape mother earth with gas guzzling 500 hp machines lol

Rockin_AMG

Good idea, but welding on a cast aluminum piece is really difficult. Also I'm thinking of some additional design rather than just adding in extensions. Getting the CAD and model done is free, so once that is complete everyone can chime in on the design and then we can get a quote for cnc or even mold if thats the way to go. But getting the portion of the paddle that mates up to the steering wheel is key. That has to be perfect...

Ingenieur

It doesn't need to be strong, only required to make the mould
Brazing might do it

You are correct, the wheel connection point is critical
It's a fairly intricate piece, probably why they cast it?

SaphGreyC63

My manufacturer, while a standup guy who can get things done, doesn't really have a creative bone in his body.

If I send him this and tell him what I want it will take much longer and be infinitely more frustrating than my proposed method. Let's just say hes much better at simply bring my CAD files to life or even better, copying an actual samples that I send him.

Rockin_AMG

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=347248

I like the style of these paddles. We can change it up a bit so not to completely copy something from the bimmer world. Anyway, was thinking we could Machine a two piece paddle, take our existing paddles and machine off the hand portion just leaving the mounting portion in tack, then thread two mounting holes and bolt on the paddle extension. That would be pretty cheap and still look from the front like a one piece paddle.
Anyway, my point is there are plently of options for us and depending on everyone's consent and price, we can decide the best option.

SaphGreyC63

Autosport has sent me his stock paddles. Right now my plan is as follows:

1) Wait to receive paddles
2) Create a CAD of the stock paddles as is
3) Using the CAD of the stock paddles, keep the same CAD area untouched of the connecting points of the paddles and simply extend and manipulate the shapes of the paddle from the top and bottom.
4) Machine a sample set here in the US from the CAD
5) Test.
6) If everything works and people like the design then I will send a sample set to my manufacturer in China and tell him to copy it and quote me.
7) Offer them to my fellow members at whatever the cost is for all to enjoy.

Steps that I may need help with that could save me some money are steps #4 if someone has access to a CNC machine. and Step #3 if anyone wants to try their hand at coming up with different designs.

So if anyone wants to help on step #3 once I have a completed CAD I would be happy to share it.

deadfission

I like the idea of the paddles being solid aluminum. The solid feel, to me, makes the shift feel more solid

Autosport7

I apologize for the delay fellas, but paddles will be leaving PA today hopefully, I have been super busy and today will be my first chance to get them in the mail.
Once they leave my hands I will shoot "SaphGreyC63" a pm with tracking.
Not really interested in a set for myself as I already have the cf paddles, just happy to assist others any way I can. Lets just hope my oem shifters make it back into my hands without being hacked up... lol

SaphGreyC63

Lol I will do my absolute best to return them in the same condition I receive them.

Autosport7

Before I shipped these out, I wanted to do my due diligence as well.
I am waiting on a quote from my 3D Scan / Low Production Manufacturer here in Pittsburgh.
I will post back up in here as soon as I hear back from them.


Here is a pick of the direction I told them to price up, what you think?
Obviously without the Brabus logo, and switching it up a bit so I'm not getting sued by anyone, but something similar to this:

bhamg

^ Def like these! How could one be sued? Is there something so distinctive that a simple cutout design can be copyrighted?

SaphGreyC63

Not bad. I like it except I would probably make the cutouts smaller. And instead of the Brabus logo maybe an AMG logo?

I think at the end of the day we are going to try to get 3 or 4 variations and then just put up a poll and see what the majority would want and go from there.

rentzington

such a cool thing you guys are doing, the more i drive in M the more i think those paddles were meant for midget hands

Autosport7

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I just spoke to the PM that will be handling the costing of this project.
They are toying with the idea of making each paddle into (2) pieces. This would make the build MUCH more affordable due to the low qty we would be in need of.
I know most would prefer it be (1) solid piece, but the good news is, you would never know it was (2) pieces, especially once installed.
The reason for the (2) pieces being cheaper, would be due to the amount of material that would be wasted trying to build it as (1) piece.
Not ruling out the solid (1) piece, just trying to think outside the box to reduce costs if necessary and will let the audience be the end-all-be-all.
My guess is that is why most places that are in the $400 range are all snap on parts and not full replacements. The cost to make the entire part as a whole is very costly.


Now another thing to think about would be colors.
Since they would be made of aluminum you now have the option to anodize. How sick would these be in red if you had red stitching in your steering wheel and shift boot, or... I think black would be killer as well.


Oh well just some other things to think about.


I will post back up once I learn more.

zcct04

The BMW paddles in Rocking_AMGs link don't look bad. Price is pretty good too - they are offering BMW extensions for $52 in aluminum and $66 in CF. I've pushed them a note asking about doing AMG paddles.

http://www.360infiniteusa.com/interi...-c-24_193.html

SaphGreyC63

I think that would be the easiest thing for all of us if they can do it.

Man, $65 for CF paddles. Would jump on those immediately.

gunnyosu

Just wanted to thank ya'll for organizing this, good group of people on here! Looking forward to the end result!

Case1906

Any updates, activities or other alternatives?