I always wanted to know how CAN bus worked. I've heard about it in the context of automotive communication back to the early 2000s, when my friend who worked at Halfords, used to regale tails of accidents involving screws and CAN bus wiring, leading to all kinds of unrelated systems suddenly changing their behaviour. I had absolutely no idea how it worked, but understood that it was some kind of network allowing data to be fed around the car using fewer wires than a conventional toggle switch and relay type system. Fast forward many years when I first ECU swapped my first Chimaera for the GEMS control unit, I was introduced to the concept of OBD2 and PIDs (Parameter IDs). I understood that the data was brought in using packets at a reasonably high refresh rate, and that the network was bi-directional; if an error code was sent to my OBD reader, I could send back messages to clear the error. Cool! Moving to my current Chimaera project, I knew that I wanted to use the PIDs output by
I really like this part, but it is at the same time really rather stressful. The end result can look beautiful if executed correctly, but mistakes are severely punished. Any flaws in the design are placed on display for all to see, likely rendering the part scrap or resulting in something that will not function as intended. For this reason I have been very thankful for the rather cheaper and quicker additive rather than detractive machining process of 3D printing. Across the interior design, I currently have a number of machined pieces which comprise the switch plates to sit either side of the radio, and the instrument pod. I am considering some rather challenging air vents to add to these but for now I want to get the electric related parts completed so that I can continue with the car wiring harness. Deciding to start with the simpler and less expensive assembly first, I began by having all of the components printed in white PLA. The surface finish isn't brilliant, but with a l