iPhone car mount (Polo 9N)

So I was in need for magsafe mount for my iPhone in my Volkswagen Polo 9N. I allways had those universal which can hold many phones and can be mounted into the fan grill, but damn they are flimsy, clunky and annoying to deal with…

Requirements

• sturdy
• magsafe mount
• rigid, it will not move
• not setup needed

Model

The biggest challenge was to find a place how to mount it. Of course easy or logical way is to use fan grills, but that solution sucks. It relies solely on friction and strength of the parts and let me tell you that PLA “failed" in a day due to temp, PETG was slightly better but biggest issues is plastic in general. It was easy to mount, but flimsy, not sturdy and definitely not rigid.

So I went to look for other options where to mount it. There is storage pad, I was playing with idea to just screw the mount into it and call it a day, but then I kept looking. Due to my budget trim I had 5/6 buttons unpopulated and they are only covers with nothing behind so I found perfect place in good location for the mount.

Few measurements and prototypes later I had perfect solution with captive nut that holds strong in summer and winter.