Project Spotlight: Custom 3D Printed Fog Light Bezels
There’s a common misconception that custom = expensive and that unless someone wants to spend an arm and a leg for a custom part, they’re better off settling on a lackluster off-the-shelf option.
At Accurate CNC Services, we’re intent on proving that misconception wrong, and we offer a combination of customer-friendly rapid prototyping services that enable us to do just that:
Here’s a look at how we leveraged these services to create custom 3D printed fog light bezels for a returning customer.
The Ask: Custom Fog Light Bezels
The customer came to us asking for custom bezels to fit fog lights to the new bumper on his truck. Fun fact: the bumper he ordered is “kangaroo-proof” since he purchased it from an Australian company—but we digress.
Unfortunately, many of the off-the-shelf fog light bezels available for purchase are rather poor quality. The ones that came with our customer’s bumper are made from ABS, a flimsy plastic that’s not particularly UV or wear-resistant. While designed to fit most fog lights, the fit, in this case, would be less than perfect.
So, the customer turned to Accurate CNC Services.
Rapid Prototyping Services in Action
The customer gave us the fog lights he wanted on his bumper and one of the off-the-shelf fog light bezels to guide us, and we took it from there. (We could have completed this project without an existing bezel, but we probably would have needed the bumper for a week or two to take measurements and verify clearances.)
Step 1: Designing a CAD model
Our first step was creating a CAD model. While it was certainly helpful to have the off-the-shelf bezel in hand, we would need to design custom angles, shapes, and mounting points to achieve a perfect fit.
Step 2: Building a proof-of-concept prototype
Left is 3D printed part, middle is proof-of-concept prototype, right is the original part
We knew we would need to test the fit of our design, so we built a proof-of-concept prototype. Proof-of-concept prototypes serve as midway points between CAD designs and final products. We use inexpensive materials and processes to create a tangible prototype that allows us to verify the fit of a design before finalizing it. Customers love this approach because they have the opportunity to visualize their final product before signing off on production.
In this case, we 3D printed a cheap proof-of-concept prototype that was aesthetically rather ugly but still dimensionally accurate. Dimensional accuracy was all we were concerned with at this point, so it did the trick. Best of all, it cost only $3 to make.
We had the customer bring his truck to our shop parking lot so we could test out the prototype on his bumper. After a few adjustments, the customer was ready to order his final part.
Step 3: 3D printing the final product
We went over the different options for 3D printing the two custom fog light bezels. 3D printing is a fast and inexpensive way to produce small batches of parts or single one-off items, so it was perfect for this project.
The customer was on a tight budget and opted for filament 3D printing. Our printer isn’t large enough to complete a bezel in one piece, so the customer approved slicing the model and having us glue together the pieces.
Regarding the material, we recommended PETG, a durable plastic offering better UV and wear-resistance than ABS.
The customer is thrilled with the final result—and with the experience of working with Accurate CNC Services. Thanks to our customer-friendly approach to rapid prototyping services, he received top-quality custom fog light bezels quickly and cost-effectively.
Our team loves making custom parts for interesting applications, so if you have an idea in mind, please reach out!