General Cup Holders

[murdo316]

Hi All

I'm intrigued about cupholder accessories / mods for the Panda 4x4 2012+.

What recommendations have you got for adding cupholders that will accommodate 'normal' (not ridiculous American) sized hot drinks?

cheers!

 

[crispyy]

Hey there!

I'm also looking for solutions for my panda. I feel like there are plenty of cup holders but they're all not really good.
What happened to me pretty often is driving with my wife and we both buy coffee, and only the big front cup holder fits the cup, we put the other one in the rear cup holder.

I have been thinking about this for a while and have thought of different possibilities, like 3d printing new cup holders that slot into the current ones. I would also want to add gripping arms like you see in Mercedes or other high end cars.
The issue with that would be that you lose a lot of vertical space.
Another thought is completely replacing the middle "tunnel" plastic trim with a 3d printed one with custom cup holders. But this would require multiple prints as the tunnel is too long.

I'm also fairly certain that the 4x4 has slightly different cup holders so what I make for my car might not fit yours

Did you come across any other possibilities?

 

[murdo316]

Hey there!

I'm also looking for solutions for my panda. I feel like there are plenty of cup holders but they're all not really good.
What happened to me pretty often is driving with my wife and we both buy coffee, and only the big front cup holder fits the cup, we put the other one in the rear cup holder.

I have been thinking about this for a while and have thought of different possibilities, like 3d printing new cup holders that slot into the current ones. I would also want to add gripping arms like you see in Mercedes or other high end cars.
The issue with that would be that you lose a lot of vertical space.
Another thought is completely replacing the middle "tunnel" plastic trim with a 3d printed one with custom cup holders. But this would require multiple prints as the tunnel is too long.

I'm also fairly certain that the 4x4 has slightly different cup holders so what I make for my car might not fit yours

Did you come across any other possibilities?

That's a good idea, are there any companies you can recommend who 3D print custom designs?

The only alternatives I've come across so far are the cheap, not very strong ones that clip onto the air vents.

If I find anything more I will post an update.

 

[porta]

I know someone that put that self adhesive weather trim on their golf cup holders, did the trick

 

[crispyy]

That's a good idea, are there any companies you can recommend who 3D print custom designs?

I do all 3D printing myself, and most of the designing nowadays. I think the challenge is actually designing something tailored to the car. If you were to commission the print, including the design, it would be very expensive. There is a lot that goes into it, including for example having access to the car, prototyping, testing, etc.

There are great places out there to find models, and there is a huge community that will design models and upload them online, and you can download them for free. The hard part is finding something fitting exactly what you need. You might end up in a similar place to where you are, finding generic cup holders that clip onto air vents.
Example: https://www.printables.com/

If you lack a 3D printer, it's usually fairly easy to find someone local that can print for you. You just need to make sure they have the appropriate material (temperature / uv resistant). You could also commission it from a company on the internet.
I have no experience with either of those two since I have my own printer.

 

[timmycm850]

What about a twin cup holder fitting into an existing single, fairly universal mafe to suit your cup size preference