NEW - RIVIPARTS Ultimate MagSafe Charging Pad Kit

[RWerksman]

Pricing is super reasonable. I'm printing it now; I'm debating if I want to vinyl wrap the whole thing or just the front pocket liner because I don't have TPU and my PETG never turns out 100% smooth

I feel bad for getting all this stuff for free from you, do you have a donation link?

I was asked this on a different forum, and I'll post here what I said there: I humbly decline any donation.

At the end of the day, I'm a Rivian owner first. I am 100% not here to make money off this as it's more important to me that the community benefit more so than myself.

When our community is alive and thriving, we as owners reap the benefits via new and interesting developments and by others wanting to join in. (thus increasing the desirability of our vehicles and their values) It's a rising tide floats all boats situation, - it's not just me who makes out and even those who don't print or purchase these items do better because they simply exist.

Also, I think there is enough exploitation to go around these days without me adding in. Anyone who owns a Rivian probably does pretty well financially. That doesn't mean that a $10 plastic part should be double the cost and it doesn't mean that a simple file that only some people can use should be monetized.

When I first started making and posting things for Rivians in May 2022, someone here posted, "I'm glad people like you exist." Months later, that one small, probably throw-away line along with a bunch of other thank you stick with me. They're validating, and a big part of why I continue to do this.


I hope the 3D print works out for you. PETG is a big pain in the butt until you have it dialed in. The best thing I've ever done with PETG was to purchase a textured PEI bed. It cured all of my adhesion issues and eliminated my need for a glue stick. Once that it corrected, I've been able to print consistently as long as my printer bed was leveled beforehand.

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[RWerksman]

1. Yes this is a very interesting item, I followed your previous threads and always liked the way they replaced the existing charging mat and re-used the connector. The larger cut out for camera bumps and other nicknacks is nice. My current car has a little "junk slot" like that that is in constant use. My only question is about the risk of pulling out the pucks when removing something from the

Thanks for the feedback - this is really helpful.

On the first one, it hasn't been an issue for me, but I can easily see what it would be for some. I already have a new version with under-pad support. I'm dialing it in now and expect to have an update on this next week or so. This would be in the batch-produced version and would be posted as an STL update.

My only other comment/question is about options for the finish. 3D printed plastics have a distinct look to them that seems out of place in a ~$90k vehicle. What sort of options are available to dress up the top a bit? Could it be sanded and painted (or plasti-dipped for a soft-touch finish) or wrapped in vinyl or something? Not saying you need to do this, more thinking about it from a self-applied point of view.

I've about this a lot and as of right now, I don't have plans to offer any sort of alternate finishes from the factory, so to speak. Mostly, this is due to the time I have available to devote to preparing, packing, and shipping these. Also though, I think what most people would find is that A) much of the plastic is obscured by the armrest for the center console and/or the phone, and B) there is a bit more plastic inside of the truck that what you expect.

I have thought about posting a template for a sticker on top of it, if people wanted to DIY one. Not sure if this helps though.

 

[RWerksman]

This is a superb item, and my favorite design so far. My responses to your questionnaire:

1. This is the best option I've seen so far and the only recommendation I have is to find a wiring kit that can directly accept the USB-C connectors from the MagSafe pucks - which I know doesn't exist anywhere as I've looked extensively
2. TPU is OK, however, I'd love to see a solution made out of any material that has a grippy/non-slip top surface that doesn't look 3D printed. If existing casting can be coated or covered in a rubber-like material, or covered with a rubberized mat, that would be my recommendation.
3. I'd offer the soldered wiring kit preassembled, and ditch the screw-together connector
4. I would offer the casting and wiring kit only. Let customers source their own MagSafe pucks. These things can fail, and also arrive DOA. Let the customer handle their own exchanges, rather than bother you for replacements, return shipping costs, etc.
5. Echoing my previous response, do not offer the sale of MagSafe pucks with castings and wiring kit.
6. Maybe offer casting of two versions - single puck and double puck. Single puck includes the blank, double puck does not.
7. Skip both options on wiring and just use the molex connector that can mate directly with the Rivian OEM harness.

This is excellent feedback as well. Thanks for your time putting it together. I concur with nearly all of it. My only question back is what would be a requirement vs a nice to have?

Generally, what you see is based on what I have available to me. I can craft items easily in PETG and TPU in a variety of colors. I can potentially do cutouts of vinyl. Much above that is beyond my capabilities currently.

Also, in regard to the wiring, the plan was to not solder on my end. I did that for the first batch my old kit and it was more time consuming than I hoped. I can potentially revisit that here, but there would likely be an extra cost for that. (it was $20 last time) Happy to hear feedback on this as well.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

These designs are starting to get pretty great. My only concern is the 3d-printed nature of a visible part. Does anyone have experience with injection moulding? Once a design gets really fleshed out it would be nice to go from prototype-look to production-look.

 

[jebinc]

Pricing is super reasonable. I'm printing it now; I'm debating if I want to vinyl wrap the whole thing or just the front pocket liner because I don't have TPU and my PETG never turns out 100% smooth

I feel bad for getting all this stuff for free from you, do you have a donation link?

My PETG never turns out smooth either! Ender 3 s1 pro

 

[RWerksman]

These designs are starting to get pretty great. My only concern is the 3d-printed nature of a visible part. Does anyone have experience with injection moulding? Once a design gets really fleshed out it would be nice to go from prototype-look to production-look.

This is tough, unfortunately. Injection moulding doesn't make financial sense due to the low volume of items like this. You need thousands of units for viability.

Even my post popular part - the 17MM phone mount - doesn't get into that area and people have purchased hundreds of them.

My PETG never turns out smooth either! Ender 3 s1 pro

Me too, at times.

I tried to solve that as much as possible with this by making the item print upside down. This means that the part that shows the most is the best supported area and cleanest portion of the entire print. I have a textured bed, so the pictures that I've posted show a nice wrinkle in the exposed area. YMMV.

 

[jebinc]

This is tough, unfortunately. Injection moulding doesn't make financial sense due to the low volume of items like this. You need thousands of units for viability.

Even my post popular part - the 17MM phone mount - doesn't get into that area and people have purchased hundreds of them.


Me too, at times.

I tried to solve that as much as possible with this by making the item print upside down. This means that the part that shows the most is the best supported area and cleanest portion of the entire print. I have a textured bed, so the pictures that I've posted show a nice wrinkle in the exposed area. YMMV.

Textured bed plate here as well. Adhesion is a problem at times with it, even when using a mat as a base. And, of course, a mat base adds a lot more time to the print.

 

[weathermission]

I would buy one, separately ordering the charging pucks, rubber is greatly preferred for noise reduction. I don't have a soldering kit so would need the connector. Great work!

 

[RivianXpress]

Would it be possible to offer a single puck version for the passenger only and open up the storage space ? I have your dash ball mount which I love and only need the mag charger for my passenger.

A half size, single unit might be too hard to make and look clunky however…

 

[swhme]

Nice! When can we order? Also, can I just get the plugs and not the full direct wiring kit? I already have the other parts from your first gen replacement pad

 

[connoisseurr]

This is excellent feedback as well. Thanks for your time putting it together. I concur with nearly all of it. My only question back is what would be a requirement vs a nice to have?

Generally, what you see is based on what I have available to me. I can craft items easily in PETG and TPU in a variety of colors. I can potentially do cutouts of vinyl. Much above that is beyond my capabilities currently.

Also, in regard to the wiring, the plan was to not solder on my end. I did that for the first batch my old kit and it was more time consuming than I hoped. I can potentially revisit that here, but there would likely be an extra cost for that. (it was $20 last time) Happy to hear feedback on this as well.

My requirements:

• Grippy / non-slip texture on all exposed surfaces (casting can be whatever material)
  • Similar texture (not design) as the OEM charging pad rubber cover
• Compatibility with Apple MagSafe chargers
  • Your design offers this; automatic CHECK
• Compatibility with iPhone Max models
  • Your design offers this; automatic CHECK
• Retain SOME small storage area, similar to OEM rubber mat cover
  • Your design offers this; automatic CHECK

My "nice to haves"

• MagSafe chargers use existing vehicle wiring, and not sacrifice console USB-C ports
• Charger assembly casting is separate from grippy / non-slip surface or cover
  • A removable cover/pad would be nice for easier cleaning
• Wiring kit "ready to install" - all I'd like to do is plug in my MagSafe pucks, do some cable management, connect to Rivian OEM wiring, and drop-in.

 

[connoisseurr]

I'd pay up to $150 for a premium solution that matches OEM quality of texture and finish - obviously we know going with aftermarket charging pucks will already do more than the OEM crap pad.

I'll also be using the MagSafe pads in my vehicle because both my personal and work devices are MagSafe compatible, along with AirPods. That's a huge W for me.

 

[Stack]

Great design and I love the idea of a larger bin. I think the TPU is a good idea and I wonder if it is also good for the top piece instead of PETG? My only gripe is the texture and wish it was more of a "matte" finish, but not sure if you printed it face down on a textured pad to get that kind of results. Maybe you have tried it? Other ideas would be to texture the top (probably still shiny though), or to add some sort of rubber-ish matting. Once I get my new Pursa, I'll try it out. Seriously great work!

 

[CharonPDX]

Doing a test print in PLA now. This looks great! My only extra ask would be to mold in the little diamonds like kozak79's design I'm using now. Just keeps that slightly more original look. Although the "mottled" look is at least classier than a flat slab (for plastic anyway.)

Obviously for a final product, a higher-class (yet durable) material would be preferred, but I don't know the costs involved there - if it ends up $150 or more, I'd just stick with my 3D printed at home (plus parts to hardwire, I'm using kozak's with one puck plugged into the in-the-bin USB-C, and the other stretched through to one of the USB-Cs at the rear seat control screen since I have a flash drive plugged in for Gear Guard in the other in-the-bin USB-C.)

Humorously, this marks the third replacement-wireless-charging solution I've done for my Rivian. I bought your original design but never installed it because the pucks you chose then were way too weak magnetically; then printed kozak's design, now printing your updated design.

Edit: D-oh! Ten minutes into the print, and I looked over and realized I'm printing in white instead of black. Oh well, I suppose that's fine for a test - especially since I have way more white filament than black.

 

[CharonPDX]

Well, shoot. My filament jammed and stopped feeding and my printer didn't figure it out when it had gotten about 1/2 day done with the main "top plate" - I came back a couple hours later to find it printing nothing in midair where the "well" should be.

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