Custom Front/Rear Bumpers (Design stage)
 

So I was goofing around in some 3D modeling programs and came up with well .......this (I did a rear bumper edit as well)

http://i.imgur.com/yVDxKE1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UzbxS43.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/49Y7LAz.jpg

Two weeks later and this has had me thinking... Why not go the distance and put this mental conception of exotica into physical from? Now heres were the problems arise...

A) I know how to used CAD (wether its Rhino, Cheetah 3D, Autodesk etc..) but obviously I don't have access to the base OEM Front Bumper file to edit, thus attempting to do a rough fit is a no-no (even if theres free CAD files that are close).. For these type of things one need OEM or pretty much nothing else -.-

B) Manufacturing is the next biggy. I know there are 3D printing machines but those tend to be expensive for well... a college student, but then I could always go the optimistic route and see if a shop that has access to OEM CAD files, would make the bumper and not charge me a kidney & lung to afford it..

C) Probably going to cost a hefty penny....


Thoughts on this guys and or gals? Any constructive input wether it be negative or positive is more than welcome

Cool idea. However, I feel that the FT-1 bumper has a theme with the rest of the FT-1 prototype. This bumper on a Twin would look a little out of place IMO.

Interested to see if someone could photoshop this. Might provide a better idea of how it could look in person.

I seriously doubt any shop has the OEM CAD files. That sorta stuff is pretty valuable to the OEM. You could CMM a new bumper and there ya go no cad needed. That'd be hella expensive though not like mom and pop shops have CMM's.

Id think of it as the FT-1's bastard little brother lol

SEMA offers Toyota and Scion data thru their Tech Transfer program, so data for the FR-S and GT86 might be available to aftermarket vendors. At past jobs, I've worked with OEM data from Chevy and Ford, thru this program, but you need a manufacturer membership.

Laser scan could be done too, which would create an IGES, but there is always a margin of error. Romer/Faro arm point cloud would leave even more margin of error, but I've worked with that before too.

Last option, clay up what you want, then pull a "splash" mold off of that, and make your part from there.

Looks surprisingly better than I would have expected. The rest of the car needs some work though to make it flow well. Interested to see what the rear you came up with looks like.

Yeah I read SEMA has manufacturing memberships, but since I'm not with a company that makes parts, I doubt they'd give me access unless I was planning on selling the bumper as a vendor (not that I wouldn't be opposed to it)

In regards to the splash mold, you mean like taking the bumper off molding most of it and then claying the sections that would be different?

I like it!

But I just can't help being reminded of something...

http://i.imgur.com/Z95WRzh.jpg

This is like people putting BMW lights and grilles on their Civic.

Yeah I didn't want to do an exact carbon copy but more of get the same overall "look" more in lines of how BMW's M car's or Benz's AMG's have a similar fronts with slight differences


In regards to the rear. I decided to keep it simplistic (as I like the lines of the rear bumper) to only remove the "plastic diffuser" and replace it with a functional one as well as LED reverse and brake lights.

http://i.imgur.com/QSQUblG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/llgxqIV.jpg

This being said... One would need to cut the plastic diffuser off and as well as a get a custom cat-back (I may change the design for the latter reason as then money starts piling up). The tips are the same width apart, but sit up ~2 inches vertically as the diffuser covers the ENTIRE underside of the rear bumper

The diffuser would simply be attach to the underbody chassis like the Driveway Labs V1/V2, so building it would be cake walk compare to the front bumper

But this is the same brand of car..... so that statement kinda doesn't hold weight

This is quit literally the equivalent of someone getting a m5/m3 styled body kit for their 1 series

You could do it that way. You could leave the bumper on the car, do your clay sculpting, and then splash it. Either way, you'll need the bumper supported, so that it doesn't deform from the clay, or the fiberglass being used for the mould. Nothing worse than having the weight of the mould itself deform the plastic, and you end up with a big depression in the new part. Some will make the splash, pull a new "heavy" (thick fiberglass with wood supports) part, aka a pattern, so that it won't deform. Then do their clay work, correct any other issues, and pull a new mould (again, heavy so it doesn't deform).

Looks awesome! :D wonder if the diffuser could be integrated into the rear bumper while still remaining functional. What I mean is instead of cutting the stock one just replace it with the new integrated bumper.

I'd need OEM CAD files for that like the Front Bumper then.

With a bolt on diffuser you have the benefit of being able to take it off in ~5 minutes (especially if your playing around with different exhaust) opposed to half an hour+ with the entire rear bumper

Oh.. and price