Drippy (ice cream) shifter/gear knob

Inspired by the drippy bucket I wanted to challenge myself to designing a dripping ice cream cone. From this I wondered how it could be used practically and thus spawned the drippy shifter.

This design is made up of multiple parts with tight tolerances to allow the transfer of stresses between parts and increase overall product strength. The design requires the use of a M6x16mm (for the M12 version. For the M10 versions see the below updates.) cap head screw to hold the assembly together and the assembly is designed to fit a M12x1.75 shift rod. The M6 screw location is shown in the cross sectional image of the assembly. It is designed to cut its own threads into the gaitor clamp so that the screw stays positioned during assembly (the screw then mimics a stud). The flange at the bottom of the gaitor clamp is to allow for the possibility of the gear gaitor to be fitted over. This doesn't mean it will work for everything out there but it is what works for my car (MK3 Golf). If you have a request for altered versions of the gaitor clamp to fit different vehicles, please leave a comment with the new thread and/or gaitor interface change and I'll see what I can do. Happy printing!

Update 08-01-2022:

STEP files of the core components added and M10x1.5 STLs added. The M10x1.5 version will require an M5 screw as an M6 head won't pass through the centre of an M10 thread. As such an M5 version of the ice cream top has been added to accompany the M10 gaitor clamp.

Update 04-02-2022:

Two new M10 gaitor clamps added with increased bore sizes below the threads to clear the shift rods of certain vehicles. One with a 13.2mm bore to clear a Nissan/Infiniti shift rod as per FatTony's measurements and one with a 14.45mm bore to clear a Nissan Micra Y2000 as per Wolfiss' design and make. Both of these work with the M5 version of the ice cream top as per the existing M10 gaitor clamp.

Secondly two more gaitor clamps have been added that work with the standard M6 ice cream top. The first is a snap fit style to fit BMW shift rods that is still to be tested but is available if someone would like to test it out. The second is to fit MK6 Golfs/Jettas with the indented “D” shape shift rod. This design uses two M6x6mm grub screws to secure the gaitor clamp to the shift rod. This design has been tested and verified on a MK6 Jetta.

Update 27-07-2022:

New M12 x 1.5 gaitor clamp added which will work with the standard M6 ice cream top.

Update 08-08-2022:

New large ice cream top and matching cone base to suit have been added in both M5 and M6 variants along with their source files, please see the last image showing the comparison. I have also tried to group everything into folders to try and make things a bit easier. Identify the gaitor clamp you need in the relevant folder and the matching ice cream tops will be in that folder too. Then all that is necessary is to identify the cone base to match the chosen ice cream top (original for original and large for large).

Update 11-02-2023:

New M10 x 1.25 gaitor clamp added which will work with the M5 version of the ice cream top as per the existing M10 gaitor clamp. Also added M12 x 1.25 gaitor clamp which will work with the standard M6 ice cream top.

Print instructions:

General - print these components out of a material suitable for the in car temperatures that you will experience in your location.

Cone base - is purely decorative so can be printed with standard print settings without the need for any supports.

Ice cream top - is the main bulk of the assembly so I would suggest printing this pretty dense to increase the weight and improve shifting feel. I personally printed this with 5 perimeters and 50% gyroid infill and it feels nice and solid and weighty. Supports will be needed for the drips but not for the central geometry that your slicer might try to put in. I just used a support blocker to stop this as shown in the second from last image.

Gaitor clamp - is the main structural component so needs to be printed solid with a material that you are confident you can get good layer adhesion with. No supports needed.