I actually have this one on the way right now
1 Like
2 Likes
https://forums.puri.sm/uploads/default/original/2X/8/8e9ca6426cc02687a2311b21a48aa49252f6d272.jpeg
Just checking out case designs - I looked through the thread and didn’t notice a comment about what those three “slash” openings on the back of this post were. (Next to the back camera and flash.)
Anyone know what’s up with that? Is something hot running there and the slots are for heat to escape?
2 Likes
Yes and yes:
5 Likes
Oh thanks, I missed that!
For a hard case, I wonder if putting a sheet of metal (like a heat sink) in between the case and phone would help at all.
Or maybe remove the plastic back case entirely, and have the “heat sink” right next to the phone components (but I can’t remember if there’s any circuits exposed that would be a problem)… so put some kind of non-conductive thermal transfer pad in between to transfer heat into the “heat sink” better?
2 Likes
Now that we’ve got Librem 5 3D models, maybe that helps improving or creating cases.
5 Likes
Oh cool, official ones? Is it more accurate than the one on this site? Files · master · Librem 5 Case Creating Community / Librem 5 model · GitLab
It’ll take some time before I make any progress (inexperience) but I’m working on this stuff to see if I can come up with anything useful that’s different from what’s been done already. I want to see if anything can be done to keep the phone cool while also protecting the user from sensing heat.
I also wonder if we can do a mega-thicc case which brings a huge upgrade to the battery and maybe even add some active cooling and/or a heat sink. I’ve seen someone with a regular phone before that was WAY thicker than an L5 due to some major battery upgrade, so I know it’s been done before. And I wonder how much heat comes from the battery itself? Would retrofitting a battery that has a larger capacity reduce that at all?
Lots of crazy ideas (probably infeasible but it’ll be fun to try anyway)… I just wish this thread was as active as it used to be.
3 Likes
I did some research into the “best” (materials for) phone cases, plus additional critical thinking, and have some solid suggestions:
- Raised lips and corner bumpers for front screen protection of the Librem 5.
- Button protection that provides tactile feedback.
- Switch caps for the hardware kill switches indicating an orange colour when toggled downwards.
Here are some other speculative ideas that may or may not be of value:
- Kickstand.
- Slim wallet case.
- Accomodation for additional accessories (breakout board, magnetic mount holder).
If you decide on using metal as a phone case material, you will want to design it so that it does not interfere with the cellular antennas or Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connection under normal operation.
2 Likes
I don’t know. There is already a dedicated thread to the STEM file release article.
3 Likes
Just in case: You know such pads exist, right? I think that is what you meant. Like those pads to transfer heat from a CPU to a heat sinks. Recently I notices that they are also available as adhesive tapes.
There are thermal
3 Likes
I’m not as worried about protecting (my own) from physical damage since I’ve never broken or even damaged a phone before, ever. Anything that protects from damage is a bonus. Heat management is what I want to focus on, with maybe the fantasy of an auxiliary battery and some physical protection as secondary.
I guess all this stuff is possible in theory, but actual hands on engineering tends to bring your ideas back down to Earth.
Yep, the stuff they shove between heat sinks and electronics is what I was thinking of.
1 Like
Metal would be the material you would want to work with for heat dissipation. I would probably focus on attempting to replace the plastic back cover first with a metal variant to minimize expenses and whether or not the idea is feasible before considering a full encasement. There may be other design optimizations that can be done with the Librem 5 internals if you want to dig deeper into the issue.
1 Like
Here we go… we need one of these 4mm fans embedded into the case:
That would mean it needs to be at least 5/6mm thick, or more. But at that thickness, I wonder if it’s possible to “engineer it” so a double-thick battery can go in place of the normal one, replacing the normal back case cover entirely.
Double battery capacity (or more) plus active cooling, and a cooler phone, just by going thicc. Which might seem weird, but there are those Android phone battery cases you can get which also turn a phone thicc! So we’re still within the bounds of normal! (Right? …Right??)
Powering the fan would be challenging though. Maybe a 4th “kill switch” for the user to manually toggle it? It’s too bad the L5 wasn’t built with Raspberry-PI like I/O pins… (You reading this Purism… V2 maybe? 
)
Okay… maybe the fan and even the battery thing is too much, but I am still going to try doing a case with better cooling.
1 Like
Bad idea if you still want to make calls etc. If you just use it as PC replacement without any wireless connection - go for it. Or reroute the antenna somehow outside. But signal strength was one of the main reasons for the plastic cover as far as I know.
2 Likes
Already addressed:
2 Likes
Coming very late to this.
Seeing as though I will be using my L5 as my daily phone I need a case. I see that people have been ordering them in this thread. Can a kind soul point me to a link for such a thing? My search for this was a nightmare and I’d love to get some type of case for it.
2 Likes
OMG! So in theory… maybe an active cooling fan case is possible…?
So you’re telling me there’s a chance…?
3 Likes
Having way more fun with Blender than I should be while messing with this.
I think it’s safe to say that I’ve gotten completely sidetracked with trying to improve the accuracy of the phone model… just to be used to assist with case design.
Don’t think ever I’ve had to use digital calipers or a dial indicator gauge to this degree. I mean this is just silly, trying to make this model accurate to .1mm. … WHY? lol
I’ve already (wasted time) replaced the kill switch buttons with realistic versions, fixed some differences with the power/volume buttons, cleaned up the model’s geometry some, and fixed up the cameras so they’re slightly recessed instead of protruding.
5 Likes