3D printing: Helping the other Steemians!

After I posted my priviest article, 3D printing: Burning iron, @heinze4 gave me a challenge and I decided to accept it. The challenge was to print a new cover to the door phone case to hide an old one. In my mind, I had a plan how to proceed right after @heinze4 gave me the dimensions.

The plan was to print a thin shell around the old one. I had to divide the cover into two separate parts because Ultimaker2+ was a little bit too small for that. Only thing what worried me was the joint between the parts because it might be too visible after installation. My plan was also to grind and paint the printed parts. Based on my experience, I know that the printed surface that is against the build plate is shinier than the rest of the part. Grinding and painting also balance the colour between the cover and the phone.

I designed the middle area of the cover to be hollow to ensure enough space for electric wires. Because the cover is built in two separate parts, @heinze4 doesn’t have to remove the wires back and forth when installing the new cover.

Enjoy the workflow!

Picture 1. Designing the cover.

Picture 2. The geometry downloaded into Cura and some printing parameters.

Picture 3. Printing the parts.

Picture 4. Grinding the surface.

Picture 5. Painting the parts.

Picture 6. The old cover VS the new one.

The challenge was good for me in two ways. First, the job was relatively short and it required only a couple of meters of a filament and I had one leftover spool to cover that job. So, I was able to get rid of that spool. Second, this challenge was actually the first time for me to paint printed parts. However, the result was pretty good as you can see in picture 6.

-markos86