Cup Holder Insert for 2002 - 2006 Toyota Camry

An insert for the cup holder in a 2002-2006 Toyota Camry (most models, I think) that facilitates securely holding smaller cups or bottles. The original part seems to wear out and fails to stay in place. They are difficult to find in the used market and those that you can find may be worn out already and/or are quite expensive. There is currently a 3d printed design available on ebay, but it appears to be not overly attractive and has some negative reviews for functionality.

Updates 5/4/2024:

1. Made the screw bosses only sprout from the top plate, not the bottom. The bottom now has through-holes for the screws, leading to better clamping and easier assembly.
2. Made the TPU pad that actually contacts smaller cups thinner and tapered at the ends which contact the cups. This should lessen the stiffness, make it easier to insert/remove cups, and decrease stress on the whole part.
3. Modified the axle pins so that they mimic M3 x 0.5 x 8mm socket-head screws. This way, you can just use such screws instead of the pins and eliminate the possibility of the pins breaking. I did some torture tests and could break the earlier pins. The new pins are also a little thicker and should resist breaking better if they are used instead of screws.
4. Modifications to the pin and screw holes meant that I didn't have to drill out any holes.
5. Modified some internal dimensions to accommodate the above changes.
6. Made some other modifications to the .scad file to make visualization and slicing easier.

This is made in three main parts plus two little pins (or you can use screws) which hold it in the cup holder and provide the axis on which it rotates between the up and down positions, where it is stowed, or used, respectively. It is partially assembled in-place; please take note that it is a bit fiddly to install. This is sub-optimal but it does then stay in place with no chance of falling out unless something breaks.

The current version uses 6 screws in the assembly (plus two optionally for the pins). It might be nice to have a version using snap-fit connectors, but I didn't find, or want to spend the design time for, any that would fit within a space of about 2.5 mm as would be necessary. This might be a nice extension as might be rounding some of the corners and edges. If you use the printed pins, they are probably the weak point. Using screws on the axis eliminates this, but it seems possible that you then might wear-out the holes in the cup-holder in the car. I'm using the screws.

Printed in ABS and TPU.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Creality

Printer:

K1

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Yes

Infill:

100%

Filament: Matter Hackers and Creality ABS & TPU Black Notes:

The top, bottom, and two little pins were printed in ABS with the middle "pad" portion that actually contacts a cup, printed in TPU. I don't have any reason to believe that PLA or some other material wouldn't work fine for the pieces other than the middle one.

I used a textured PEI sheet with the visible surfaces of the top and bottom pieces down on the sheet. I used a smooth glass sheet with the top surface of the middle piece placed down on the smooth fiberglass.

Tree supports were only used to help keep the shape for the holes for the pins.

Because the holes in the cup holder in a car might have experienced different degrees of wear or for other variations in dimensions, it might be advisable to first print the pins and the top piece and do a trial fit in the car. If changes to the pin or screw dimensions are necessary or desirable, make those in the .scad file, and the required modifications to the other pieces will be done automatically. Once the pins and top piece are satisfactory, print the bottom piece (also out of hard material) and the middle piece, out of a soft material.

Post-Printing

Finishing/Installation Instructions:

1. [Optional... if necessary] Open-up/round holes for pins with a drill bit. Be careful as you are drilling into small holes in parts made of plastic.
2. Tap or otherwise create threads in the screw holes in the bottom piece. Be careful not to push through the top of the top piece. I used an M3 x 0.5 tap to match the screws. The screws can cut their own threads, but the tapered tap helps get them started.
3. Install pins (or screws) in the holes with the heads on the inside of the top piece and the shafts going through the walls, pointing outside, so that they would be in place in the holes in the cup-holder in the car.
4. Place the middle piece on the underside of the top piece, aligning the holes provided with the bosses containing the screw holes.
5. Push the pin heads up against the wall of the top piece so that the pins are in their most extended position. Place the bottom piece on the middle and top pieces so that the pin-retaining blocks fix the pins in place in their final positions.
6. Insert two screws, from the bottom of the bottom piece up into the top piece, on one end of the insert. This will permanently hold the pin on that end in its final position.
7. In the car, probably working from the passenger side, maneuver the insert into its position in the stowed configuration, and place the secured pin into its corresponding hole. The bottom of the bottom piece should now be facing you and the tips of the soft pad should be pointing up toward the ceiling. One end should be in place.
8. Gently bend the free end of the bottom and middle pieces away from the top piece and allow the pin on that end to move such that none of it extends beyond the wall of the top piece. Maneuver the insert into its final position and then, using a slender tool (screwdriver, allen key, bicycle spoke...) push the pin through the wall and into the hole in the cup holder.
9. When the pin is in its final position, squeeze the top, middle, and bottom pieces together and insert a screw into one of the two screw holes on the end of the insert.
10. The insert should now be held in place and its operation can be checked, gently flipping it up to the stowed position or down to its position when in use.

11. Insert the remaining 3 screws. When inserting each screw, apply enough force so that the bottom piece and the boss on the top piece touch and the screw holds them together. Don't use any more force than necessary since you are working with plastic and the screws could strip out the screw holes or protrude beyond the top of the top piece. How I Designed This

I designed this in OpenSCAD from measurements taken from the broken OEM piece plus several trial-and-error modifications. It is designed to be installed in-place so that it is held securely and will not fall out. The pins hold the insert in the car, the retaining blocks hold the pins in place, and the bottom piece, containing the retaining-blocks, is held to the top piece via the screws.

Custom Section

Requirements

I used 6 screws: Black oxide steel M3 x 0.5 x 6mm long with low-profile heads.

[Optional instead of the printed pins] 2 M3 x 8mm long socket head screws for the axle pins.

Also useful was an M3 x 0.5 tap. If the entrances to the holes on the bottom surface of the bottom piece were tapered a little (I didn't do this) or countersunk a little, the screws themselves could be used to create the threads.

Category: Automotive