Ok, I’ve got a draft made. Needs a bit of polishing and if @fiacco (or anyone else) can and wants to make the fine tuning in time, I reserved time for tomorrow to do a better quality print (need the stl-file before 11.00 CEST or I have to print something else [or try next week sometime]). But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
So, I printed using draft quality 0.4 (PLA in gray) which took about 1h50min with setting that i wasn’t very specific with.
It came out looking like an L5 but due to the design an L5 will not go into it.
So, I did some minor surgery, trying to do least damage. I opted to saw on the bottom sides, just inside the edge. The idea was that then the side would flex to let me slide the L5 in and the end would still flex and clip to place. It kinda did, as you can see. Wraps the phone around snugly and the edge raises just above the glass (even with my makeshift screen protector film on [note: it was for a One +1 but I just got a better one that is for a Vivo Y81, which has the correct shape and width and almost correct length that can be cut]).
And then the notes on what to work on:
- As it went in, the drafts left side’s top edge split along the print. Possibly due to draft quality and fixable by glue. Adding a minor increase in the side wall thickness seems prudent (at least with this rigid PLA version - TPU may be ok). Something in the area of +0.5 perhaps [edit: for increased protection a full 1mm all around is of course better but at some point the gain will make using the buttons more difficult], which would only add to the width (back is supported flat against the L5’s back while top and bottom are shorter spans - only sides really flex).
- The inside width was increased but it seems the inside length needs to be adjusted by +1,5mm [edit: added 0.5 to previous just in case]. You should be able to see that the bottom doesn’t quite reach the edge of the screen. In comparison, the top front edge looks perfect.
- The bottom and side holes have good shape and position. However, I would reconsider making the bottom hole one wide hole. Splitting it into three would make the bottom a bit more sturdier (I’d use the same shape for the hole edges as now, not the sharp 90-degree corner “pillars” that the earlier draft had). Also, while printing, the middle sagged a little (for some reason the printer though it would not need to use temporary supports for the holes and it kinda did not [edit: meaning, the design could include temporary support pins/pillars that are meat to be cut off - other possibility being, that the printer/slicer will know if they are needed and ads them]).
- Right side hole (power and volume) was easy enough to use. The bottom edge of the hole is very slightly nearer the volume rocker (compared to the top and power button), and that edge could be moved to make the hole longer, about 1mm [edit: decreased earlier by 0,5mm].
- The left side hole is like the right, the bottom edge could be moved, about 1mm towards the bottom. But functionality-wise it has less meaning, as the HWK-switches are a bit different to use - you probably end up using fingernail or pen or something. The hole is a bit narrow and deep to use that kind of switches easily (at least with rigid material like PLA), but at the same time, widening would probably make the side too brittle - at least at the hole. I suggest not modifying this for now, as anyone can make the “quick-kill-hole” with a file or a knife, if they so choose.
- The camera and flash holes are close and usable but a bit miss-aligned. I suggest moving camera hole 1,5mm towards left side and 0,5mm towards bottom. Flash hole 1mm towards left and 0,5mm towards bottom.
- Top hole for the audio jack is slightly miss-aligned and seemed just a tiny bit too small (may have been the miss-alignment. Move center towards left side by 0,5mm and increase
radius diameter by 0,5mm is my suggestion [edit: may not even be needed after re-alignment].
And as for making this usable for a rigid material version, how to get the L5 in and out, making the bottom similar to what I did now (sawing the bottom open) seems like a quick first version. I can either saw the new version again, or the needed cracksslits could be included in the design (but the I’d also add 0,5mm extra to the bottom thickness and additional thickness/edges of 0,5mm or so to the cracksslits, on the outside - just to make sure they do not become too much of weak points).
A different version alltogether: I also saw another type of protective rigid case (the orange picture) and it would also give (some) protection, while allowing easy removal and insertion of phone, and while being easy to get and cheap. Can this be a possible new “open ended” type? [edit: needs someone to cut the ends off in the design file]
[edit: By the way, looks awfully like the early prototype images of L5 with that grey
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