Self Leveling Cup Holder 2.0

by jfc115

9.4K259

Intro: Self Leveling Cup Holder 2.0

Hello I am a 14-year-old boy who has experienced many spills while driving up a hill in a car. It has happened so many times, we are going up the hill and one of our cups of soda spills over on our nice carpet barely missing our expensive electronics. And then that smell of coffee soda, or whatever you might be drinking will last forever. But even worse than that Is the times when we would hit a speed bump and our drinks would splash everywhere. But I have the perfect solution a self leveling, shock absorbing, and with a new function, protecting agnaist short stops and short starts too. This cup holder that can level to even the most difficult of hills, can absorb even the bumpiest of speed bumps. And can absorb even the shortest of stops. This can fit into almost all cup holders that are standard. And you can fit any cup in this as you could in a regular cup holder. It can tilt a maximum of 35 degrees which is enough to handle the steepest street in the world, Baldwin street in Dunedin New Zealand! It can also handle even the bumpiest of bumps.AND it can absorb the shortest of stops, with over an inch in either direction. Do to the curved rail it will always be able to spring back to its original form. In this instructable I will be using some of the same steps from the previous project because they have so similar designs.


Here is the link to the finished product:

http://www.123dapp.com/Search/Gyroscopic-cup-holder/content/all

STEP 1: The Part That Will Fit in the Cup Holder

This is the part that will actually go in the cup holder. The dimensions should be anywhere from 2.5 inches wide to 3 inches. And anywhere from 2.5 to 3 inches tall.

STEP 2: The Joints

These are the parts that will allow the cup to tilt. The outer rim is .5 inches in diameter, and .5 inches long the inside shaft should be smaller in diameter but the same length. It is also required that you change the thickness of both parts so that the fit inside each other like in the picture. You should also place them as close as you can to the picture

STEP 3: The Circles

This should be the same diameter as the original cylinder and be .5 inches tall to match the joint. Make the next two circles large enough so that they can touch the rod, but not the part the part around this. Due to the complexity in the joint I suggest that you make one, and copy paste that one three times.

Make the final circle around 3.5 inches in diameter because that is the diameter of the average cup.

STEP 4: The Place for the Cup to Swivel / Move.

Select the weird oval looking thing with two half circles. Make it 10 inches long and 6 inches wide.

STEP 5: Hollowing It Out

Take the piece previously made and extend it up around 7.5 inches. Then take a smaller oval half circle thing and extend it down into it. Change it from a solid to void to make it hollow.

STEP 6: Making the Curved Rail

This is the part where the rod will be able to go forwards and back absorbing the shock of stopping and starting. First make a huge tube like shown. With this tube you want to make void so that it will make a place for the rod to go into. The reason that it is curved is so it can bounce back to the original position.

STEP 7:

STEP 8: The Stoppers.

These are meant to stop the rod from going to far, and to hold up the top piece. For these you want to use rectangles to hold them up. You should change the rectangle angles so that they will change with the oval thing's curve.

STEP 9: Placing the Gimbal

This is a very Tricky step. Doing this to me a lot of time to master. I found out the easiest way to place the gimbal, is to use the arrow keys, since day of the finest level of adjustment.

STEP 10: Putting the Shaft in the Gimbal

For this what you want to do is take the cylinder and make it so the diameter is less than the width of the rail opening. You also want to connect it to the outside of the gimbal so that it can go forwards and back.

STEP 11: Making the Cup Holder Part

This is the part that will actually hold the cup. I improve this from my last Instructables because this one actually has a bottom so that even if it is a skinny cup it will not fall through. You want to make this cylinder around 3.5 inches wide. You want to make it this width Because this is the width of most cups. You want to make it around 6 1/2 to 7 inches tall so that it has enough area on the bottom be able to swivel from side to side.

STEP 12: Placing the Cup Holder Part

You want to place this in the same fashion that you placed the gimbal. What you want to do is highlight the whole thing and then move it with the arrow keys so that it connects to the inner circle of the gimbal.

STEP 13: Finishing Touches

And this that you want to place half circles on each ends of the rod. You want to do this so that the Gimbal stays on the rail. You can also change the color of that how you wish. I chose to this color because it matches the original cup holders in the car.

I hope you will enjoy my invention as much as I did. And remember if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask me. I love hearing tips from viewers because it allows me to know what I am doing right, and what I am doing wrong. Also if you enjoyed this instructable I would love to get a vote for the Full Spectrum Laser Contest. If I were to receive a 3d printer it would allow me to invent much more projects such as this, and overall make more instructables. Once again, I hope you enjoyed my instructable, and if you have any questions whatsoever, don't hesitate to ask.

8 Comments

Meglymoo87 4 years ago

This is a profound design and idea! (I know it was 6 years ago.) Now that you're 20, what are you doing in college or with your career? Did you ever become an engineer or inventor? Great work and wishing you blessings in life! :)

jfc115 4 years ago

Thank you very much for this comment, I haven't been on this site in years and your reply brought me back to it. As for what I've been up to, I'm currently studying Mechanical and Aerospace engineering and after this year I'll be working to implement metal 3D printing to create rockets for the future of space travel. A lot has changed in the past six years, and your comment allowed me to look back at the first time I ever used cad. The cool simple guides that I found on Instructables as a thirteen year old was was one of the reasons why I became an engineer. Thank you for your complements and I wish you blessings in life as well!

Meglymoo87 4 years ago

Wow!! That's amazing!! Your life is exactly the kind of example today's kids need to see and hear about. What can be done with determination, focus, exploration, imagination, and even an outlet for it all (Instructables). Maybe you could share your testimony with youth in some way? To encourage them to do more than they think they can! Thanks for updating and welcome back to the site!! Keep up the incredible work!!

jfc115 10 years ago

Thank you so much for commenting, comments like this make me glad that I started instructables

jfc115 10 years ago

By the way I am currently making something else that I'm sure that will be even better

TheDuderino 10 years ago

I appreciate that there was some definite design and thought into this one unlike others that are robots or something spectacular that it's just the shape of. I really like how it's functional on it's own right out of the printer. This is the kind of thing I think this contest is asking for. Although it isn't the cure to cancer, it is definitely a pretty well thought out and designed invention. This definitely stands out from the rest. You got a vote from me!

jfc115 10 years ago

Thank you I appreciate the feedback

Numbuh1 10 years ago

Very nice, Extremely original!