Finally! A simple & effective solution to "locking" your Ford NACS adapter -- 3D Print Lock

[carys98]

Bet you could sell quite a few of those here if you ever decided to do so for the right price. I’m not yet into 3D printing yet…. I’d love to get one for myself soon though.
So out of curiosity, once a person gets a printer and appropriate filament, if you factor out printer cost and time involved, how much does it usually cost to make something like this? It doesn’t appear that they would weigh that much if that’s how people calculate things.
I’m going to have to take the plunge here in the new year on all this is my plan is why.

It takes about 5.5 g of filament to make a set and you can buy filament for $15 or less per kg so about 8 cents. I print the lock in black to make it blend in with the adapter but I print the key in color so I can find it in the console.

Sponsored

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

It takes about 5.5 g of filament to make a set and you can buy filament for $15 or less per kg so about 8 cents. I print the lock in black to make it blend in with the adapter but I print the key in color so I can find it in the console.

Thanks for that suggestion and such an awesome idea, love the black with the blue key, so smart. Man I’ve gotta get me one of those asap before I lose my adapter. I’ll have lots of learning to do after I get a 3D printer.

 

[StevenC56]

Where does this piece go on the adapter?

 

[Fastnf]

Where does this piece go on the adapter?

See video in first post at the beginning of this thread

 

[StevenC56]

I printed the lock, but it's too large to fit with my adapter. So I'm resizing it to see if I can get a good fit. Apparently all adapters are not exactly the same on the lock area.

 

[StevenC56]

Got a pretty good fit scaling 95/100/70% on the X Y Z axes.

 

[carys98]

Got a pretty good fit scaling 95/100/70% on the X Y Z axes.

Which adapter are you working with?

 

[StevenC56]

MUETUX Nacs Supercharger to CCS1... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJX928CD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[molarband]

I printed the lock with my resin 3D printer. How do you get the key out? It is stuck.

The only way I can get it out is if I wedge a small flathead screwdriver in to pull the key back out.

Is there a simpler way to get the key back out?

 

[OMO7]

Probably not the worst idea to design the lock to work with the key that comes with the fob. That way it isn't proprietary if you lose it while charging.

 

[carys98]

I printed the lock with my resin 3D printer. How do you get the key out? It is stuck.

The only way I can get it out is if I wedge a small flathead screwdriver in to pull the key back out.

Is there a simpler way to get the key back out?

The key needs to flex to come out. The resin is probably too rigid. I printed some with PLA and they work great. Others have had success with ABS and PETG.

 

[molarband]

The key needs to flex to come out. The resin is probably too rigid. I printed some with PLA and they work great. Others have had success with ABS and PETG.

how do you get the key out since it has hooks at the end of it to prevent it from being removed? Do you push it in all the way through and out to the other side? I cannot pull it back out the way it went in because the hooks prevent it from pulling back out.

 

[StevenC56]

Got my A2Z adapter today. FYI. The primary lock on the A2Z adapter completely resides in the cavity where this locks goes. So although this 3D printed lock is a great idea, it won't work with the A2Z.

 

[LUXMAN]

how do you get the key out since it has hooks at the end of it to prevent it from being removed? Do you push it in all the way through and out to the other side? I cannot pull it back out the way it went in because the hooks prevent it from pulling back out.

IDK with resin, but with PETG it is flexible enough that I can just yank it out. I can also squeeze the legs a little to pull it out.

 

[Mmiketa]

I printed the lock with my resin 3D printer. How do you get the key out? It is stuck.

The only way I can get it out is if I wedge a small flathead screwdriver in to pull the key back out.

Is there a simpler way to get the key back out?

Resin is definitely the wrong material in this application. It is brittle and prone to breaking, you'll likely break the key in just a couple uses, unless you use something like SirayaTech Tenacious.

This is better to be printed on an FDM printer, ABS is probably the best material followed by PETG and then PLA.