The last is the one tested by @JR-Fi, with splits width increased, upper hole added and cooling holes (not sure they will cool down but they are cool).
The first incorporates all the modifications except the increase of thicknesses and internal dimensions (which are the same as measured on my phone, making it pretty snug). I do not exclude that further adjustment may be required.
I am in front of a dilemma : the first flexible version (because of the tinnier dimensions) or the v1.1 (because of the back hole)… I think I shall sleep and decide not know, it’s wiser ^^
Again thank you for hashing shared all those jobs and knowledge !
I took a quick look with Slicer and may have found a bit of confusion. The top hole now has bottom edge at level with the audio hole, but actually I meant the new hole’s center should be at that level. It shouldn’t be necessary to fix that now (can do it later) because the “better err on the side of safety” size of the hole should be large enough to work. It’s just not center on that hole. Very minor detail.
The heat holes were a good idea but the placement may not be right. That’s where the wifi-module is now. I think their placement is based on those images of older Dogwood versions where cpu was placed differently (Evergreen has different cpu and heating/cooling arrangement). Just by touching my phone I can tell that the corner where they are now, is not the biggest heat concern.
If you have the patience still, I think it would be good to have one plain base rigid version that doesn’t have the new heatholes and also does not have the slits. That way it would be a solid rigid case (unusable as such) that anyone can then modify anyway they like (add holes, saw slits, remove ends, add bells and whistles etc.). It would be a startingpoint for developing new versions.
If I may ask, in what file format do you have the design files? Blender compatible? Could you share that for anyone to make their own modifications?
I’ve centered it based on the position of the hole on my phone. It’s an Evergreen
No problem.
It’s a commercial CAD: NX by Siemens. I’m a strong supporter of open source software, but when it comes to CAD systems there is nothing as effective and productive as the commercial pruducts.
It isn’t tinier, it’s wrong. I’ve tried with the rubber case of a spyphone: no way to stretch it by 1 mm. We have been sidetracked by the starting file that, in retrospect, seems to have nothing to do with the Librem5
Well, I quess it’s about what your comfortable with. I’d still have to use Blender, hence the question, but no worries, I just realized Blender can work with stl-files directly. Now if I just had the time to really get into this…
As I don’t have a 3d printer nor experience with the file format etc can anyone recommend where I might send these files online so I could get a case shipped to me in the US ?
The stl-file is the “jpg” of 3D printing in how common it is, so you can use pretty much any 3D printing service or find a friend or a club that has one. It’s more about the quality that you need or want (vs. what you can afford) beyond that. The hard plastic case in the pics was made with an Ultimaker 3 which is a hobbyist printer.
To take it a bit more seriously, file extensions seem to be chosen so that they work on the widest possible range of systems, rather than relying on support for 8-bit ISO Latin 1 characters (as above) or Unicode characters, and whether some particular character might have a special meaning in some shell or operating system.
As you point out, superscript would not be supported.
Yes they choose the widest possible support among all character sets. I remember the teletype days when mil coms were all caps. They were loathe to go lower case until the majority of systems also supported lower case. (I imagine someone had to program an upshift table for systems that had not yet converted.)
Back to the topic at hand: has anyone else printed / had any of these printed by a service? What do you think? What materials did you use, what precision, what colors, price etc.? How did you like them? Pics?
I tried to order it to be printed from I.materialise.com but they said it would be to thin on the sides and canceled my order… so if anyone can recommend a site that will print the rubber model that @fiacco posted the .stl file for (and maybe which materials should be selected) it would be much appreciated.
I can imagine. 3D printing is dependent on the print material, I don’t think they have yet to do commercial 3D printing with that can handle much stress. (There may be methods in the military/industrial complex however.)
It is unlike the chemical bonding you get with plastic (includng rubber) molding. Then there is the first article, whice is usually machined on aluminum. But since you’re only talking about a one-off, a first article is all you’re going to get! (Which would cost about as much as the phone itself.)
Cheap solution? Find one of those thick rubber bands you get around fresh aperagus or broccoli.
Hello, I received the improved version of the flexible TPU case (see the picture where I twist it). And I have to say that I am satisfied with it compared to the prototype.
For those who are wondering, it’s a TPU Multijet process with a chemical treatment finish.
The point of improvement is the one I already imagined at the time: there is still a gap of 2mm vertical and 1mm or 2mm horizontal. It’s not a scandal because the phone holds in place but it is not firmly held in the shell. For the rest the holes are aligned, the thickness is much thinner than before and it doesn’t feel like it tears easily. Here are some pictures with comparison between prototype and @fiacco improvements, hoping that @fiacco can help us to update the STL file for a final version :
Nice look. Can you share how much was the printing cost and what were the material specs, as there are multiple hardness levels (as posted)? Is it just just soft or also flexible? And what do you think, is the case edge enough on top and over the phones edge to hold it - it’s good with the hard case but does the material have any effect on that grip?
Sure, no problem, but I’m a little bit confused: no doubt the dimensions of the STL file match those of the phone, so I don’t understand where the 2 mm gaps come from. Probably the printer introduces an error, let’s hope it is repeatable and, therefore, predictable at least.
The top edge (which surrounds the screen) is thick enough to protect the screen (although there is always a risk of breakage). Now, the problem is that there is a gap which doesn’t allow the shell to hold the L5 very firmly (and therefore, the edges “loosen” a bit, increasing the risk of poor screen protection). That’s why I insist on this point.
Finally, the grip is great, it doesn’t slip, but it’s not too grippy either.
It’s still possible. But my understanding is that this company prints for car manufacturing parts, medical shoes, etc. I think their machines are really accurate. Maybe the problem is somewhere else : for rigid case like @JR-Fi , the STL file is perfect, but for flexible case, maybe the material change proprieties after cooling or maybe holes in the case lead to loosen areas around the screen. With the printer company I use, I can say that :
from jack audio to USB-C port, you can decrease easily by 2 mm,
from kill switches to volume buttons, you can easily decrease by 1 mm (and maybe more)
Hello, this is a good remark. Actually, the TPU flexible case is stretch, this is why I ask to reduce it by a few mm.
I have stuck a screen protector and due to the 2.5D shape of the screen, the screen protector does not cover the screen from end to end: there is the whole part of the screen in relief that is not covered by the protective glass.
As the shape of the shell is a bit loose, I’m not sure that this raised area is protected depending on the angle of fall because the shell could retract instead of playing its role of shock absorber.
Another point (this time very positive): the 3 holes on the back that @fiacco made on the STL file play their role very well! I can feel the heat released by the smartphone (Wifi module?) through these holes, the rest of the shell remaining cool, so it’s a very good thing to have kept them on the STL.
