Outcome

Intention

The cup holder in my car has space for two cups and the indents for one; however, I do not have a center divider required to allow it to keep two drinks in place. I want to make a holder that allows me to put beverages there without worry.

Context

What my cup holder area looks like:

What my cup holder area is supposed to look like:

But having a divider in the middle takes away some storage space which is not what I want

Process

A cardboard mock up was made first to estimate the dimensions of the holder and where the holes should be. Only one hole was made because the other side will just be mirrored. The sketch is fully parameterized for adjustments later. If I had more time I would have made rough 3D printed prototypes first then adjusted the sketch accordingly.

I traced the logo of my car: "Legacy" onto the cup holder. However, the original plan of having the logo extruded would break the ability for me to print the project upside down for better structural integrity.

The final version has the logo recessed instead, and a coin pocket added on the other side for coins or scrap that I currently throw in the cup holder. 

Product

I didn't have any fountain drink cups in hand for the final photos. The circles are perfectly sized to not be too snug around normal sized bottles while keeping them in place. The cutouts were at the right places as well.

Reflection

I overestimated the precision of 3D printers. Not only did the text not come out well, the coin holder was not aligned either. The coin holder was also too small and too deep. As discussed, a future version would work better with 3D printed feet and a laser cut top plate, and the coin holder could also be glued underneath.