A/C gauge bezel rings

thingiverse

Have you experienced the threads on the molded plastic bezels of your A/C gauge set cracking?\r\nYou can find replacements for most gauges, but not all, especially if they are older models.\r\nAnd you may face a challenge matching what is available to your specific gauge set.\r\nBut the biggest problem is that new ones will likely break again.\r\n\r\nOn my trusty gauge set, those cracked bezels were taped in place for a long time before I decided to take action.\r\nI carefully trimmed off the damaged edges, leaving just the windows intact.\r\nThen I designed and printed custom rings to hold the original windows securely in place.\r\nThe results are as shown.\r\n\r\nAlternatively, you could replace them with 2.5" diameter glass or plastic disks.\r\n\r\nYou can scale these designs to fit your particular gauges using your slicer, and it's a good idea to print up to the first threads and stop for a test fit.\r\nIf your gauge set has shallower threaded portions on the bezels, you can also print up to the height needed and stop printing, assuming you print with the front ring against the print platen.\r\nAttempting to scale it in the Z direction will affect the thread pitch, so I would not recommend doing that.\r\n\r\nI printed these custom rings in ABS because it stays somewhat flexible.\r\nPrinting them in PLA is also an option, and they should be fine too.\r\n\r\nI hope these designs work for you.