2001 Acura CL-S Samsung Galaxy Tab, some experiences with casting

**crutonius** · 06-04-2011, 05:11 PM

Okay here goes. This is my second car pc system. This first was a pretty standard atom based motherboard going to a xenarc 7 inch touch screen. Sorry if this post if a mess I don't make a lot of complicated posts.

Hardware
Samsung Galaxy Tab(Sprint)
Galaxy Tab Cradle Dock
HDCP HDMI to VGA + SPDIF RGB Component Ypbpr Converter v1.3b
Audison BitOne processor
McIntosh 6 channel amplifier
JL Audio TW5 subwoofer
Some kind of components up front and 6x9's in the back, can't remember the model

Software
Android Froyo(Soon to be Honeycomb!!)
Tasker
Rockplayer
Google Navigation
Pandora
Power Amp
Rhapsody

The Bezel
It seems like the bezel is always the hardest part of a car pc project. This was way worse to make than the last one. The xenarc was small enough that I was able to modify a double din stereo card with a lot of epoxy and patience.

A Galaxy Tab however is slighter larger than the foot print of a double din bezel. Also there's its peripherals that need to be open to the car's interior so the entire front has to be exposed. So to make it look as 'factory' as possible I had to cast a bezel with resin. The bezel in these pics is the fourth I've made so far.

The first was polyester which isn't strong enough for the job. The second was epoxy and on that cast I learned the importance of a release agent the hard way. The third was also epoxy, this was actually usable but I quickly found out that epoxy will deform under the kind of heat that a dashboard is exposed to.

This fourth cast is Alumilite urethane superplastic. It seems to stand up to the heat much better than the other resins I've used. Hopefully it'll make it through the summertime heat. I also poured this one around an aluminum frame. I had Lowes make a quart of paint that matched the color of the dashboard. I painted the mold with it and when I poured the cast it chemically bonded to it for a very smooth paint job. Too bad it didn't end up quite matching the color and flatness of the rest of the dashboard though the camera makes it look worse than it actually is.

Next up, handling that nasty mess of wires in the trunk.

**dna59** · 06-04-2011, 07:36 PM

Damn that tablet fits nicely in the front there. Nice audio equipment!

**pierrotm777** · 06-05-2011, 02:48 AM

Cool , i like

**RipplingHurst** · 06-05-2011, 10:58 AM

Very cool bezel.

**Meltz014** · 06-05-2011, 08:56 PM

Wow, I didn't know McIntosh made car equipment (unless they don't and you're just that awesome). Do you have more info on that amp?

**crutonius** · 06-05-2011, 11:30 PM

That's an MC440. I got it for around $800 on Ebay a while back. It sounds beautiful(I'm kind of an audiophile). It's nice because I can drive my whole system with it, but it doesn't drive subs so well.

**robtrevino** · 06-07-2011, 08:26 PM

Props man! Looking good. I was thinking of doing the same thing with a motorola xoom, but in vertical config.

How are you liking typing on the thing?

**crutonius** · 06-07-2011, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by robtrevino

Props man! Looking good. I was thinking of doing the same thing with a motorola xoom, but in vertical config.

How are you liking typing on the thing?

Thanks,

When it's in the car I don't type on it much. Voice commands actually work reasonably well. When I'm just using it as a tablet it's ok to type with. I'm one of those weirdos that prefer a physical keyboard though.