Rearview mirror for tailgate down use (3D Print DIY)

[Cosmos78]

I had published a previous version of this. I recently dropped it on the floor and it broke so I took the opportunity to improve the design a bit. Now it is more streamlined, provides more visibility and is tougher (can withstand a drop). I originally called this a goofy project but honestly it is one of my favorite, most-useful 3d printed accessories for the truck. Model can be downloaded for free here:

Penta-prism for CyberTruck rear view camera

You will need a large-format printer such as the PrusaXL to print the 5x30 version which is recommended for maximum visibility. However, I did also provide a 5x20 which works well enough and can be printed on a standard 3d printer.

1.25X:

1X:

hello.

Good afternoon. This is amazing, I like your idea.

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[TickTock]

This is really neat! I'm interested in the shelf you have with the spare tire. Was that DIY? If so, how did you make it?

Yeah - that is something I welded together recently. Got tired of having to pull the tire out of the bed every time I needed to carry something large. Some more details here:
https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/custom-spare-tire-rack.55177/

 

[scaots]

@TickTock Great accessory! What is the lid? Is that just a cover for the mirrors when not in use?

 

[TickTock]

@TickTock Great accessory! What is the lid? Is that just a cover for the mirrors when not in use?

Yeah. Mine lives in the smugglers bay along with a lot of other loose tools, etc. I wanted to protect the plastic mirrors (and help prevent dust accumulation).

 

[mbrockus]

I'll be printing a few of these off tonight with black PETG. Going for full size on the Bambu H2C. Ordered the mirrors and magnets to be here tomorrow. This is a must have for the smugglers bay to keep it handy. Thanks for the build and sharing it! I'll print a few if someone is interested.

H2C is a sweet machine. I’ll printing this as well.

 

[CarMan ElecTruck]

Uhmm.. the stock mirror works great when tailgate is down.

 

[HaulingAss]

I had published a previous version of this. I recently dropped it on the floor and it broke so I took the opportunity to improve the design a bit. Now it is more streamlined, provides more visibility and is tougher (can withstand a drop). I originally called this a goofy project but honestly it is one of my favorite, most-useful 3d printed accessories for the truck. Model can be downloaded for free here:

Penta-prism for CyberTruck rear view camera

You will need a large-format printer such as the PrusaXL to print the 5x30 version which is recommended for maximum visibility. However, I did also provide a 5x20 which works well enough and can be printed on a standard 3d printer.

1.25X:

1X:

hello.

I'm wondering how sensitive the size of the design is to the distance between the lens and the mirror. I'm thinking it would be considerable smaller if the mirror could be within 1 mm of the lens?

Also, can you clarify, it provides a mirror image of the normal rear camera view? Wouldn't this mean that FSD cannot effectively use the rear camera to avoid accidents? Or does the software figure out it's looking at a mirror image and reverse it? That would surprise me.

 

[TickTock]

I'm wondering how sensitive the size of the design is to the distance between the lens and the mirror. I'm thinking it would be considerable smaller if the mirror could be within 1 mm of the lens?

Also, can you clarify, it provides a mirror image of the normal rear camera view? Wouldn't this mean that FSD cannot effectively use the rear camera to avoid accidents? Or does the software figure out it's looking at a mirror image and reverse it? That would surprise me.

The image is not a mirror image nor upside down (thanks to the pentaprism configuration). Except for the lower height of the camera, it is the same as you get without the device installed. Good thought though - it would cause accidents if it was a mirror image!

I actually have it parameterized and played with a lot of different mirror sizes (that is readily available on the marketplace). You are right, with a smaller set of mirrors could make the whole thing smaller and closer to the camera but that reduced the field of view. There is an interaction of mirror sizes, angles, and maximizing the field of view. With lenses, it could get really small and increase the FOV but I'll leave that for someone else to design (not an area I am comfortable in). As it is it is lucky that there exists a solution that works for the portion of the camera you see in the rearview. If you bring up the camera app, you'll see that it blocks 75% of the full camera view (so no surprise FSD is not happy with it). My prior, bulky, design used 4" mirrors and had a higher FOV in the camera app. This time I decided to just focus on making the rearview images work and shrink it as much as I could with that constraint. 2" seemed to be the sweet spot.

Someone more clever than me could probably take advantage of the flexibility of the mirrors to turn them into lenses to really open up the view.... ;-)

 

[HaulingAss]

The image is not a mirror image nor upside down (thanks to the pentaprism configuration). Except for the lower height of the camera, it is the same as you get without the device installed. Good thought though - it would cause accidents if it was a mirror image!

I actually have it parameterized and played with a lot of different mirror sizes (that is readily available on the marketplace). You are right, with a smaller set of mirrors could make the whole thing smaller and closer to the camera but that reduced the field of view. There is an interaction of mirror sizes, angles, and maximizing the field of view. With lenses, it could get really small and increase the FOV but I'll leave that for someone else to design (not an area I am comfortable in). As it is it is lucky that there exists a solution that works for the portion of the camera you see in the rearview. If you bring up the camera app, you'll see that it blocks 75% of the full camera view (so no surprise FSD is not happy with it). My prior, bulky, design used 4" mirrors and had a higher FOV in the camera app. This time I decided to just focus on making the rearview images work and shrink it as much as I could with that constraint. 2" seemed to be the sweet spot.

Someone more clever than me could probably take advantage of the flexibility of the mirrors to turn them into lenses to really open up the view.... ;-)

OK, that explains it, I saw the pentaprism referred to as a "mirror". At the very least, that should be plural. It also explains why the design needs to be so large to achieve a full field of view (because the pentaprism puts the mirrored surfaces further from the lens).

 

[xnhlo]

Uhmm.. the stock mirror works great when tailgate is down.

Unless there's lots of cargo in the back blocking the view

 

[mitch9]

Uhmm.. the stock mirror works great when tailgate is down.

The stock mirror is fine for the human driver.
This device gets FSD working.. 2 different issues.

Mitch

 

[L3it3R]

I own a 3D printer farm and would be willing but need to test run it with some abs for durability if TickTock didn’t already plan on distributing these or selling them. I refuse to steal prints for resale.

Count me in for one too

 

[Coolhandz]

If anyone is interested I printed off one successfully and it came out pretty good. Starting a full batch today and they'll be ready to go out this weekend. Shoot me a DM if you're interested.

 

[zathras]

Great idea, thanks for sharing! I printed mine today and awaiting the magnets and mirrors.

 

[evlfred]

Yeah thanks going to print the full size (K2 Plus will fit it) in the morning once these router rack mounts are done. What’s everyone printing it in? I usually use ASA for car bits due to its uv and heat resistance.

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