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Nokia To Release Lumia Case Design Files For 3D Printers
another random user sends this news from the BBC:
"Nokia is releasing design files that will let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones. Files containing mechanical drawings, case measurements and recommended materials have already been released by the phone maker. Those using the files will be able to create a custom-designed case for the flagship Lumia 820 handset. The project makes Nokia one of the first big electronics firms to seriously back 3D printing."
Apple fanbois not amused.
A seriously awesome move by Nokia. True innovators of the smartphone industry.
Nokia must be really desperate to try this in order to grow a community for the Lumias. Accessories such as cases are one of the most profitable businesses.
The phone manufacturers already sell relatively few of the cases for phones and the ones they do sell come at a substantial premium over everyone else's not because they are better (though they are better than most of the knockoffs, some of the knockoffs out there are great) but because they are offered in a shiny package with the manufacturer's name on it. So they get a little goodwill for free (they own the design and they've already paid for it) and they also ensure that more of the knockoff cases for their phone will be decent, which will help improve the perception of their phone in the hands of the masses.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I'd rather say the 920 is their flagship, having better features and all that.
Thingiverse recently updated its service to include a "Customizer" app, where users could drop in a bunch of OpenSCAD code and get a customized version of any object already on Thingiverse. The 3D model, anyway. You'd need a 3d printer or a Shapeways account to actually get the physical object.
Within minutes Thingiverse's new "thing" stream was flooded with uncountable variations of iPhone cases.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
Nokia has sold so few Lumias that the market size for people with 3D printers seems big.
Nokia is dead. ....
Huh? Did I misss something? Who produced my phone then?
Jolla is the actual Nokia.
Ah, ok. Now it makes sense. You mean Jolla is dead. Sad, but I'm afraid true. Anyhow, hopefully Tizen will life.
Trolling is a art!
Openmoko opened the CAD models of their case (ok, not the coolest case in the world :-) ). People have also modified the design for 3d printing http://blog.slyon.de/3d-printed-gta04-case/ . There is also a wooden case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jRI7InTpE
There's a shop I walk past everyday where I could go and print something in 3D , a phone case would be perfectly harmless thing and cheap enough to just to try it out. At some point I imagine there will be more printers, both at home and in shops.
Shapeways, which is the 3D printing company i have heard mentioned, seems to accept native SolidWorks and Inventor files. For this phone, I estimated the volume based on listed dimensions and estimated that it would cost about $60 to print. I think if you had you own printer it would costs less than $20 in materials. Some places seem to charge based on material and time in printing. That is the thing with 3D printers. They are slow the way inkjet printers were when they first came out. I recall printing a small chess piece when I had access to one and it took a few hours.
One nice thing about using a service is that they presumable will clean up the object prior to shipping. Sometimes the object does not come out of the printer in usable form, and there can be some loss in the clean up process.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I've always liked Nokia. Just bought the wife a Nokia X2, which is apparently a good seller in areas of the world where they cannot afford hand held computers and need suffice, therefore, with phones. I need a keyboard on my phone, and paid full price for the BB 9900. I love the phone, because of the keyboard--I don't use any apps outside of the browser (opera) and email client--and find navigating the user interface better than I did when I tried out Android on the Nexus S I got this phone to replace. Well, I do love the phone but this will be the very last time I pay 700 hundred dollars for one. Playing with my wife's X2 and with the Nokia desktop app, which is pretty polished, I'm thinking that when it comes time to replace my BB, I might just buy the $60 X2 and spend the balance on tablet computer. As long as Nokia is viable, I know I will be able to pick up an inexpensive feature phone that only does what it does but does what it does well. I've trusted Nokia quality for years, and would be very, very sad to them fall off the map. That they are thinking out of the box to please purchaser, doesn't surprise me in the least.
Could somebody who actually knows something about 3D printing comment on the suitability of this material for a phone case? How rigid and/or brittle is the material that comes out of a 3D printer? Is it actually going to offer substantial protection to a phone? Is it durable; will it become scratched, warped, or discolored sooner than more conventional materials?
That that is is that that that that is not is not.