Thanks once again Marcello. I'm getting excited to see those prototype shots when your allowed to post them. Keep up the excellent work. :nice:

Marcello - I just saw where you are located. I'm moving to Patrick AFB next month. How bout I just come pick up those louvers when they are ready!? :)

Ok on picking them up Packman - once they are ready!

Update:

Had our meeting today with the mold shop, hammered out the details and went over some stuff, this is what is going on...

The part cannot have a "border / lip" because it would create mucho problemo in the flow of the material, which would then interfere with the vent area. It also would tend to warp the part because it will expand and contract at different rates than the rest of the part due to being a different thickness - and of course it would drive the cost up due to the above problems and the material cost and the pressure requirements... so basically no raised lip - but given the drawings I've seen, you're not going to miss it, trust me.

Scanning of the glass is done - we have over 500,000 coordinate points to develop our part from - basically we have a perfect (within .001") computer model of the contours of the glass - and there were a couple there we didn't even expect or see by eye that showed up. This is going to allow our vents to follow the factory contour and not be straight pieces like some others out there - this will fit the OEM opening perfect.

Speaking of openings - we have nailed down the vent sizes, as well as the color of the tint being used to give the smoke appearance. Depending upon the angle you look at the part from, it will have varying degrees of smoke tint, all the way to black, which is going to look really neat for those who decide to not paint their part - as a matter of fact we are going to be doing 3 versions it looks like - black, paintable, and non-painted (which could always be painted if desired). They are listed in what we believe will be order of cost. As of yet we still are too far off to nail down a price, but we will be competitively priced, and bringing a nicer piece to market as usual, so the value/dollar ratio should be real good for everyone.

Next round of drawings incorporating the actual contours should be ready by the end of next week. As soon as I approve the design, it goes off to prototype, which will take 1-2 weeks depending upon their backlog. After approval of that, we order and start cutting the mold bases, so we're still on track for end of summer release if all goes well. Even if we hit a couple bumps in the road on the way, which is not unexpected, we should still be able to have product on the market in customer's hands by early fall.

Start getting your friends interested !

I am getting more and more excited for this part with every post I read!

Once again, Marcello, you come up with the goods. :woohoo: Thanks for the newest update. Can't wait for pics of the prototypes.

very interesting thread- quick comment on the glass though- I dunno about all, but one of my windows and quite a few others Ive seen are wavy- really wavy- not sure how your scanning software maps surfaces, but you wouldnt want to copy mine for sure :) I didnt know if your scanner makes a 'best fit curve' on each pass or not- just curious.
love the progress so far- didnt realize how long this thread got till tonight. I see what you mean about the lip- as Ive read thru the thread, everything Ive been wondering already popped up- the square lip is desireable, but looks like a oversized pictureframe with the cutout restraints, so the round corners will just have to do.
on the corners- are they going to be 'trimmed' or actually molded to size? Would be cool to tighten that gap up as much as possible and even fill with urethane window adhesive- although removal might mean breaking :)
also will the outer edge be finished square or radiused to match cutout radius on outside sheetmetal? square fits tighter, but matching radius 'matches'...wondered what your thoughts were- also if a concave/sharp edge could be provided to leave like a minimal gap(.030?) to the sheetmetal, to be filled with black urethane? just wondering if a tiny straight black line could be there, along with one less place to blow out after washing.(also- on the car will these drain to the outside(is gill bottom tapered out?). keep up the good work! cant wait to see the production parts :)

Will the black match the OEM black clearcoat paint, or will it be matte?

Okay, let's see what I can answer...

Black should be a gloss black and a matte (depends on the area as to the finish), don't know how close it will end up matching OEM black, but we'll see about that. I actually didn't even think about it on a black car, was thinking more along the lines of on a yellow car in my head for some reason, but this is a valid point - I'll see what we can do on that since we have not ordered the resins yet.

Gap will be close to OEM - reason is the PC expansion rates are not going to be the same as glass or steel, so you have to allow room for that, along with being able to remove them, paint tape around them, car to car variances, etc.. I know what you're talking about with the water - I'm guessing in about ten years a lot of Mustangs are going to rust in that spot...

That said, you should be able to add more urethane glue on install if desired. you could come close to filling it out if you wanted.

As to the corner edge, it will not be radiused like the glass - mold design will dictate a slight release angle me thinks, but I haven't seen the new round of models yet.

Finally, on the wavy glass - it's not really going to end up wavy like the glass looks - I know what you're talking about, I see it on our car too. We're averaging the arcs, and should end up with a pretty nice piece that approximates the arcs that are there on purpose while minimizing duplication of the waves that really aren't designed in there.

Oh, and as to trimming to fit... no. The parts are going to be molded to size, the shutoffs for the parts should not require any trimming after the fact.

Next round of models should be on my desk Monday for approval to go to prototype stage.

On a somewhat related note - the center rear medallion replacements have been approved for production as of today. I expect to be able to release photos in 2-3 weeks, and production pieces should be ready for shipment in about a month. :) Check out the taillight bezel thread to catch up if you haven't seen anything about them yet.

:)

can't wait to see these.

Very excited to see these products :)

BUMP. It was on page three, and I wanted it so Marcello can find it easy.

Thanks - I tried to post the other day but was having computer problems and it wouldn't accept the post (but computers are supposed to make our lives sooo much easier...)

Anyway, I rejected the latest round of models, I wasn't happy with what happened to the part when it was transformed into a full 3D object with the contours in it.

The shop understands my concerns, and I may have a new set of models by this evening, or maybe tomorrow. The hope is to get it to prototype by next week if I approve.

Darn details.... but it should make for a better completed part.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/attach...1&d=1147361734

Anybody got any more pictures of this car? I'd like to see what the louvers look like with the entire car in view. :wub:

Try the SEMA show pics.

THANX!

Bump!

Drawings are approved for prototype stage - patent paperwork can go out probably in a few days should we choose to pursue it, then it can get trotted out for everyone to see when we get the prototype - maybe.

You guys are going to like it - they are sweet! I made a couple last minute changes to a couple little details to add to the look, and even though it cost me more money (it always does...) I think the finished product will reflect the level of detail we're putting into them.

Can't Wait!

Thanks again Marcello, can't wait to see the pics. :banana:

Bump....Hey Marcello, are you able to post some of the sketches of the louvers yet? Thanks for the info.