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  1. #1

    Default 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Hi everyone,

    Well, I finally had time this evening to carefully create a 3D CAD model of the 9500ci/ZR4 front shifter heads. Below is a link to a PDF which you can download, print out, and then cut out and tape together to create a paper model of a ZR4 front shifter. It should come in handy to check installation locations and to check where you can mount the shifters behind a grille without blocking it laser detection module if you merely wish to use the shifters in receive only mode.

    I did a much more thorough examination of the front shifters today and confirmed my earlier remarks that the shifters must be mounted very level for best performance. The tolerance appears to be plus or minus 2 degrees for ideal performance.


    ZR4 Front Shifter CAD Template (PDF)





  2. #2
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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    I wonder why Escort placed the shifter leds' so far back.I wonder if them being back that far from the front causes them to lose some effectiveness?

  3. #3
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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Thanks Michael... You've outdone yourself!

  4. #4
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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Quote Originally Posted by WK446 View Post
    Thanks Michael... You've outdone yourself!
    x2 sticky this

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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Quote Originally Posted by hockey005 View Post
    x2 sticky this
    X3, this is a Beauty...

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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Such a cool thread!

    Great stuff, MEM-TEK !

  7. #7

    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Thanks guys!

    For those who are curious, there are three IR detecting diodes located just behind the three holes on the front of the grey laser sensor box. These detecting diodes look like the clear emitter LEDs shown in the drawing. The grey laser sensor box really is the metal RF shield which surrounds the laser detection circuity and the three IR detecting diodes. The fronts of the three IR detection diodes are positioned approximately 3/8 of an inch back from the outside front of the plastic shifter case.


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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Quote Originally Posted by MEM-TEK View Post

    I did a much more thorough examination of the front shifters today and confirmed my earlier remarks that the shifters must be mounted very level for best performance. The tolerance appears to be plus or minus 2 degrees for ideal performance.
    Assuming the diagram is to some scale:
    If the LED's were closer to the front it wouldn't need to be leveled as precisely. why mount the LED's back so far in the housing?
    Last edited by CJR238; 10-02-2008 at 02:58 PM.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    My question exactly..

  10. #10

    Default Re: 3D CAD Model of 9500ci/ZR4 Front Shifter Heads

    Quote Originally Posted by CJR238 View Post
    Assuming the diagram is to some scale:
    If the LED's were closer to the front it wouldn't need to be leveled as precisely. why mount the LED's back so far in the housing?
    The diagram is to scale -- accurate to under 1mm except for the exact distance of the emitter LEDS relative to the front of the shifter housing. This value might be off by 2mm either way.

    I have no idea what the exact IR LED make and model is which Escort uses -- let alone the performance specs. Nor do I exactly know what the dispersion pattern is for these LEDS. I assume that these LEDS have a dispersion pattern of +/-20 degrees at which point the emitted IR intensity has dropped off to 50%. Anyway, don't forget that the shifter heads have a built-in cylindrical condenser lenses on the front. Here is a side view of a ZR4 shifter front head:



    I have guessed at the focus position (based on radius of curvature) for the cylindrical condenser lens, but it is somewhere between the position shown and the front of the LEDs. The purpose of the cylindrical condenser lens is to focus the LED's IR output into a very thin horizontal wedge. I did some really crude raytrace calculations and it appears that the ZR4's front shifter emissions are most intense within +/- 5 degrees vertically of a precisely horizontal shifter head. Note that this is what Escort recommends regarding ZR4 front shifter alignment for best performance. The thing is that, due to the cylindrical condenser lens, the shifter's emission intensity very rapidly drops off beyond +/- five degrees. This is why I have been recommending that ZR4 shifters be aligned horizontally (up-down tilt) within 1/2 of Escort's recommended tolerance or approximately +/- 2 degrees for optimal performance. Like Roy said, ZR4 shifter head alignment is critical for optimal performance.

    Last edited by MEM-TEK; 10-03-2008 at 12:40 AM.

 

 

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