Convertible Roof Locking Actuator Gear for BMW vehicles

thingiverse

A friend's car's electric roof stopped locking properly and produced an unusual noise when trying to operate. Following some investigation, we discovered that the hole in a helical gear for a square shaft had become round instead of its original shape. To address this issue, we decided to create a new part and 3D print it. Our first test fit failed, but only because the initial print settings were too low - it was printed with just 20% infill and two perimeters (0.3mm nozzle). However, our second attempt was more successful: we used 50% infill and six perimeters to create a stronger part. Although I'm unsure how long this fix will last, it's easy enough to print another one if needed. I'll update this post if the new part fails. The material we chose for the repair is Igus's high-quality Iglidur i150 plastic.