01 May 2006
Fabricating The Dashboard Chassis, Pt 2
)Published on May 1st, 2006 @ 08:20:37 pm, using 481 words, 2770 views
It was a very productive weekend for the Acura ITX carPC project. At the end of the day, the dashboard chassis is complete, and the only thing that remains is the faceplate mounting bracket and its related parts.
If you missed Part 1, you can read it here:
Fabricating the Dashboard Chassis, Pt 1
Picking up where we left off, the various cutouts have been made in the chassis which allow it to mount very snugly into the existing mounting bracket that is part of the dashboard in the Acura CL.
A quick fitting of the ABS burlwood trim over the headunit assembly gives a (very) rough idea of what the final assembly will look like. (The protective film over the woodgrain trim has not yet been removed, so the color is not quite true, and creates an array of reflections and visual distortion. However, the general idea is there). Cutting the ABS plastic was relatively easy when done against a metal straightedge, and required only 5-10 easy passes with a sharp utility knife.
The next step in the process was to cut the mounting slots through which the Alpine headunit and the MTSVO-SC touchscreen will be secured. This took some precise measuring, remeasuring, and cutting with the dremel wheel. (By the way, Craftsman dremel wheels are garbage. They wore down in no time at all).
The entire process took a decent portion of the afternoon, since I didn't want to have to scrap the chassis and go back to square one, wanting to finish the project in the next week or two at the latest.
An initial test mounting of the chassis, with the slots cut, and the Alpine headunit mounted, shows an almost perfect fit.
Additionally, the vertical angle against the plane of the dashboard is nearly 100% perfect, which should provide a seamless fit against the woodgrain trim once the carputer faceplate is complete and can be mounted. The Alpine and MTSVO-SC touchscreen cables will be dropped behind the chassis, once installed, and run down the centerline of the car and into the trunk, where they will be connected to the mini-itx car computer.
Aluminum standoffs were used between the two units to ensure an exact parallel spacing between the two units prior to cutting the slots for the MTSVO-SC retractable touchscreen.
The next stage involved the cutting to-size of a large sheet of tinted plexiglass. This will be used as a standoff layer and will sit against the dashboard chassis, and under the burlwood trim. The proces of fabricting the chassis faceplate will be illustrated in more detail in Part 3 of this story...
Continue on to Part 3 of the dashboard fabrication story:
Fabricating the Dashboard Chassis, Pt 3
or, What my speakers are currently pumping...
Peter Tosh - Equal Rights
This post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
mobile computing, carputer, carPC, mini-itx, Acura, touchscreen, LCD, fabrication
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