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Replacement Brera, Spider 159 Silver key Cap Ends

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cap ends silver
8K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  sheener287 
#1 · (Edited)
3D printed end caps, I drive a Brera 2.4 jtdm, my silver key cap ends decided to fall apart , crack bits of silver came away and finely the two parts that clip together gave up. I found it was impossible to buy the silver end cap, you have to get a second hand key or buy new, very expensive, I found a thread here describing this difficulty some months ago, someone had tried successfully to cast one in metal.
I decided to have ago at 3D printing the part and with the help of another design engineering friend have managed to have the part made. Hopefully attached some pictures. Its made from black strong nylon flexible plastic and Im very happy with the results. Uploaded the design file to an online 3D printing company called Shapeways, they did the job and posted part back to me. Its not silver, Ilike the new look black.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
#5 ·
pleased you like the key cap end and thanks for uploading the link to my shop, Shipping to the UK from Shapeways in the Netherlands is about £8 plus the tax takes the price to About £40. Buy more than one save on postage.

Uploaded some more pics..
 

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#10 ·
If you deduct the postage charge Jimbon £8 and the 20% VAT do you still feel it as unworthy of consideration at £26, this includes the manufacturers (Shapeways) cut and material costs, Yes Im making a little,is your career change still inevitable.
How much is that new Key from Alfa £300.00 2'' long bit a plastic.
If you look on ebay you will find someone in Poland selling second hand keys for 199 Euro. Well hes trying.
I nearly forgot the seven test parts I had made over the last four months, the time spent developing the model....? cost me money
I've just released some new materials for manufacturing at Shapeways, the 14k gold plate is £121.41+ shipping + tax. It will never sell but the 3D generated model looks good.
 
#13 ·
Black Strong & Flexible: Black nylon plastic with a matte finish and slight grainy feel.
This how the material is described by the manufacturer, an accurate description.
I don't think sanding will be necessary the surface is ideal for paint, i would spray, then possibly clear lacquer.
Please don spray the internal areas as there are some very precise recesses that receive the internal key part.
i had some test pieces made in silver plastic, they became dirty very quickly the black is far better. Left in its natural state the black nylon dose smooth down, quite tactile, I like this so mine are unpainted. I will paint a test piece and upload pictures.
I will upload to the gallery pictures of the development for those interested.
I have also made available the end cap in metal, silver looks fantastic, unfortunately so do the costs, one for the wish list.
 
#15 ·
But this is purely a piece of unfinished black nylon plastic? You can buy a moulded undertray for a 159 from Poland for less just to give it some comparison. I didnt mean to sound at all dismissive as it is clearly useful as the state of most AR users keys is poor.

Good luck to you with it and hopefully this could open up a whole new owner led market for replacement parts.
 
#18 ·
#25 ·
Take the pin out, I pushed a paper clip in and persevered, photograph of dissembled key at top of page. Once pin out blade slides out, silver plastic cap can then be removed. soaking the key end in some warm water that helps loosen thinks up. Just the cap and blade, NOT the key fob with the push buttons..
just takes time.
 
#26 ·
Hi! Ordered one for me too (apparently first customer to try in in polished nickel steel) so can't wait to finally get it.
Unfortunately for me the process of disassembly was not very easy and at the end I got angry and just ripped that thing apart. Apparently the previous owner already tried to disassemble the key as there was some metal piece broken and stucked inside the hollow pin. I had to use a bit of a force to get in :-D So in case you have similar issue or just don't need to save the old piece here is a simple how-to:

First I pushed a needle in between the silver and black plastic pieces (guess small screwdriver would work too) and bent the plastic out a bit. Please be careful and insert it from the side (where the 'nipples' are) because if you try to approach if from the pin-side you will damage also the inner plastic as they overlap there. Once you have made a small gap in between the two parts you can insert a bigger screwdriver or knife and peel/bend it out even more. From that point just use pliers to rip off pieces of the silver plastic until you make some room around the pin. From there you can grab it with pliers and you are done.

Now I am just praying the new cap will be fine as now my key is even more sad than it was before :-D
 

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#27 ·
Update on the METAL end cap printed in Nickel plated polished steel. It arrived yesterday and I had unfortunately some hard times with it.
I don't know how the plastic ones fit, but with this one the original inner part just did not fit in. I had to grind all sides with a file to make it approx 0,5mm smaller and also drill the pin hole with 2mm drillbit because it was just about 0,25mm smaller than it should have been. But after that all voila!

The key now weights like half pound so it really is THE KEY now :-D
Thanks for all the great work you did on developing this!
 

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#32 ·
Old thread I know but I have just bought a Brera and I think the previous owner carried both keys around with him in a bag of stones!

Quick search brought me here and have just ordered two of the black nylon caps - price has come down since this thread was last active :)

Thanks for the link and all the advice
 
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