Carbon Fibre Emotion Control Unit

[Calculator]

I would be interested in the Volvo unit

[mb1]

macpaul said:

Second that.

MB1, do you have all the contact details of those who are interested, Volvo and ECU, for when the thread is deleted?

I trust PH understood that all we are doing here is grouping together to make a limited run of special keys for our cars. And I am pleased to see the thread is still running without problems.

Yes, I have all details.
So far 19 firm orders for the ECU out of 35 members who raised interest.
24 interest recorded for the Volvo fob.
I will wait for the first prototypes of the ECU before starting anything on the Volvo (except CAD geometry).

Everyone on the ECU list should have been contacted privately now. If you have not been, just PM me.
I will contact the Volvo list as soon as I am ready to launch tools.

Mb1

[v8woollie]

mb1 said:

Quick status Update.

ECU:
16 firm paid orders in, which is enough for me to proceed with the manufacture of the tooling. I am trying to find a slot with the CNC machine shop now.
I will have to give final numbers for the first batch of CFRP ECUs within the next week or so.
Please contact me if you want to secure a slot by then.

Volvo fob:
Enough interest to get going on CAD. Trying to find a spare key with one of the dealers. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for your support !

Mb1

Any news on the Volvo non-emotional control unit?

[mb1]

Tooling is being made up for the ECU as we speak - I will be posting pictures as soon as i have something worth sharing.

A UK dealer is sending me this week a Volvo fob so i can create the CAD models.

I will then wait to see the quality of the ECU parts before launching the Volvo fobs.

Just a bit more patience ;-)

Mb1

[v8woollie]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to seeing the design

[johnnyBv8]

Is the Volvo unit as compact as it could be? I find it surprisingly bulky but don't know whether this is dictated by the internals or if there's an opportunity to slightly slim down the fairly nasty 90s style fob!

[Gdc]

mb1 said:

Tooling is being made up for the ECU as we speak - I will be posting pictures as soon as i have something worth sharing.

A UK dealer is sending me this week a Volvo fob so i can create the CAD models.

I will then wait to see the quality of the ECU parts before launching the Volvo fobs.

Just a bit more patience ;-)

Mb1

Mb1

Pls put me down for one ECU

Thanks
Gdc

[roderic]

Hi,
Please also add me to your list, I'll be one of the first from Australia.
Email if needed [e-mail]

Regards
Rod

[konrad.holl]

I'd be interested in a Volvo version as well.

Thanks

Konrad

[WantanewV12V]

I am interested in a CF ECU for my V12V - am I too late for the first run at £150 ?

[mb1]

WantanewV12V said:

I am interested in a CF ECU for my V12V - am I too late for the first run at £150 ?

No, you are not too late. Still going through the mould machining. Trying to get a first prototype in time for the Hever get together next week but it will be very tight.

I will email you later today.

Thanks.

[mb1]

Hi All,

A short update on the carbon fibre ECU and Volvo fob projects.

+ ECU:
Due to the parts being small and all the good machine shops full with large automotive and motorsport projects, it has proved difficult to get a slot.
I did not want to go with a supplier I did not know so I had to wait for my preferred supplier to give me a slot. They had issues with their 5-axis machine resulting in 3 weeks delay on all projects...

The good news is that they finally started to cut the patterns this week. So getting closer to tools being ready and the first prototype.
More progress and pictures as we get nearer to prototype.

+ Volvo fob:
I have received one of those from a dealer this week and will start CAD work this week.

Thank you all for your patience...

1 of the ECU Patterns:

[vince1972]

Please, add me for the Volvo unit

[ChrisGreener]

Very interested in the ECU product. Do you have any pics CAD or actual?

[SupercarEngineer]

Have you mocked up an ECU with the carbon fibre casing and tested its operation? The reason for asking is because obviously the fob emits an RF signal, which will be significantly more attenuated by carbon fibre (or metal) than it is by plastic, meaning the working range for the ECU could be less.

It may not be a problem, but is something worth checking.

[mb1]

I should get the first 2 prototypes of the ECU shortly.

I do not think range will be affected. The carbon layer is very thin. Also the glass key has a lot of metal in it and it seems fine.
But I will be able to test shortly and post pictures of the actual parts (there are pictures of the CAD on this thread if you go back to the start).

Mb1

[notsaV8V]

Mike,

How's the project going?

[mb1]

notsaV8V said:

Mike,

How's the project going?

Thanks for asking !

Not as fast as I would like...

I decided to go with a company that can make quality components but because it is a small project and they have a lot of work at the moment (plus it is the holiday season), it is not progressing very quickly.

They finished the moulds a couple of weeks ago. They are doing the first prototypes now. There is one part (the top cap) which is causing them some issues and they are working their way around it.

I am still planning to do the volvo fob, but only when the ECU is sorted and shipped to the people who kindly supported the project.

I will post pictures of prototypes as soon as I have them in hand.

[mb1]

A quick update. Getting there slowly...

They finally did a few parts this week. Good result on the body of the ECU as you can see in the attached picture.
However, the cap is still not good enough.
So, we will redo one of the mould to include the cap, which will work a lot better and remove all the little details that are actually not needed on the CFRP version.

I will send more news as soon as the new mould is ready.

[tonyhall38]

put me down for ecu..one...