The aesthetics of the stock door handle leave a lot to be desired. The powder-coated handle is open at both ends and the gearbox mechanism remains fully exposed. Aftermarket options are available for dressing up this area but I decided to design my own to add some additional features.
Design Goal
My primary purpose for designing my own covers was to add the ability to lock and unlock the copilot door from the inside.
I am using the Aerosport Products Low-Profile Door Handle which integrates an exterior lock. These locks cannot be opened from the inside.
I feel safer being able to unlock the copilot door from the inside as it cannot accidentally be left locked and unable to be opened in an emergency.
My ideal would be to have the ability to unlock from both sides but that isn’t possible with a typical cabinet lock.
I wanted all of the parts to be 3d-printable without supports and I wanted the primary surfaces to be printable on the print bed (I use a textured steel sheet which provides a textured finish on the printed parts).
I additionally wanted a door handle cover that didn’t reduce the finger space between the handle the door.
Parts
The source models and STL files are available via OnShape (a free account is required to access the files).
I printed the parts using Prusament PETG Galaxy Black. The material contains small silvery flecks that provide a nice sheen and visually hide the layer lines. It also goes well with satin carbon fiber which I have in several places on the interior.
Gearbox Cover
The cover has two variants (plain and locking). The plain variant can be used on either door and can be used with or without an exterior lock. The locking variant is designed for the copilot door and has an interior latch.
The covers are installed by tapping holes for #6-32 screws in the C-1006D Handle Face Plate.
The CAD models have 6 parts with two that are used for both variants (the cone and the bracket that attachs the cover).
The locking variant has a latch that prevents the door handle pin from being lifted, preventing the handle from turning. The lifting force on the pin is transferred to the inside face of the door handle through the conical part that covers the door handle spring. This makes it reasonably strong as the door handle pin is taking the load, not the cover. Like the cabinet lock, it is designed to keep honest thieves out and could be broken with sufficient leverage on the exterior handle.
The latch has a hole that can be used to provide a detent (I used a small spring from some pushbutton switches with a small round-head nail). The channel in the cover has indents at the open and closed positions. This provides positive feedback and holds the latch in either the locked or unlocked position. I added a red sticker to the latch as an indicator. The knob is attached with a #6-32 screw.
While it would be ideal to have both an interior and exterior locking mechanism I didn’t find an obvious way to do this so I plan to plug the cabinet lock hole on the copilot door (or obtain/make a trim cover without a lock hole).
Door Handle Cover
I designed a door handle cover to match the style of the gearbox cover. I wanted to preserve the space between the handle and the door (for fingers) so I designed the cover to be installed over the face of the handle (instead of being installed down the length of the handle).
The handle is installed with a single screw. The screw that holds the handle button pivot in place was changed to an AN509 flush screw.
Photos
