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A friend has a compartment in the center console of his car, he has asked me to help resize, reorder and add padding to the compartment.

Basically the kind of things I'd need to know are the dimensions of the overall cavity to know what will fit, how large it should be, how the curves are shaped, etc., to create a unit that will simply be inserted into the larger cavity, but break it up so there can be a part with like a wireless charger and pairings of magnets to keep the phone aligned to the charger, or custom cut foam to house anything delicate (he's a jeweler and while he wouldn't be carrying a lot of items with him, he easily might have an intricate silver ring or a pair of halfway done gold earring with him and wants them to be stuck somewhere where they are least likely to be damaged), etc.

How can I go about measuring the internal dimensions of a center console in a car that includes rounded corners slopes inward a bit as it drops from the top of the console towards the bottom and where the top would be after accommodating for the space occupied by the console lid itself. If I'm not being clear enough I'd be happy to do more, but the clincher giving me so much trouble finding my own solution seems to be that I lack any good, engineer-specific measurements tools.

Any thoughts?

Fred
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  • What materials are you thinking of using? You may not need precise, or any, measurements if you use materials that conform or are easy to shape. Foam, clay, wood, aluminum, etc. And you could get reasonable measurements with a tape measure. If your objective is to create an organizer that looks like it was factory-made out of hard plastic and intricately fits the curves of the space, you'll need to consult a Makers forum and figure out how to use 3D scanning and building tools. –  Aug 20 '21 at 21:15
  • For the shell I expect to use ABS. It's not that I want, necessarily, it to look factory-installed so much as I want the fit to be snug enough that it it's held in place with friction and is not easily dislodged, by which I mean someone placing their plam on the internal wall of the insert and giving a gentle tug won't let it dislodge or wiggle. If that makes sense. I confess I couldn't decide which SE to go with here, but the only link that came up a even a little related was from this SE. –  Aug 20 '21 at 21:52
  • I recommend you don't try to make something that snug fits and rather something with expanding arms to lodge itself in place either via screws or levers. It's already tricky enough to measure something like that with only geometric edges and no contours when you don't have proper measuring tools. Contour gauge, radius gauge, calipers, depth gage, and bore gauge, but you're probably still short and they only get more expensive. – DKNguyen Aug 24 '21 at 04:03
  • Photogrammetry? Plasticine and a flatbed scanner? Contour gauge? – joojaa Aug 24 '21 at 04:53
  • See if you can find an auto repair manual for the particular model of car & see if it has drawings with the information you need. Failing that, go to an auto wreckers yard & see if it has cars that are the same model as your friend's car. Remove the console. & take it home & measure it. – Fred Aug 24 '21 at 10:56
  • Capacity to hold something removable like styrofoam peanuts or pingpong balls? – uhoh Sep 06 '21 at 01:43

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