aha, OK. So your M2 is kept in the case by the long edges, I imagine. ½ * 1.86 = 0.93 mm. That is quite a lot, so unless the edges of the case are curved almost 1 mm inwards to catch and hold the phone in place - they will not function as designed. I mean: the shorter edges in your case. The longer pair is probably tight enough to hold the phone in.
EDIT: yeah, that is what I see in the picture - a gap between the M2’s top and bottom and the walls of the case. By the way: what’s the story with that part of the case sticking out just above (left of in the picture) the Volume +/- button? What happened?
I fear the flat side walls of the M2 phone itself make it not so easy to come up with a good case design. I just checked my Xiaomi to make sure - yup, it has round side walls, so if the case has arched walls to match that curvature - that in itself can hold the phone in quite well. The M2 does not have those, only chamfered edges. Hopefully, it is enough.
I just measured: the edges of the case are bent inwards by 1mm. The long sides and corners hold the M2. The gaps are present on the short sides. But the M2 doesn’t fall out.
I already wrote in the first post that I cut out 4cm on the right side with a carpet knife to free up the volume switch.
I admit that it doesn’t look pretty. But I didn’t want to carry the M2 unprotected in a jacket pocket. I didn’t buy a case from Amazon Germany, but a leather case ( Baifu Gentle Leder Hülle). This has a magnetic lid. When closed, this may also contribute a little to stability. This probably doesn’t exist at Amazon France.
Order a case plus two glass protectors from Amazon for under 10 euros. You can’t get glass protection cheaper? If it doesn’t fit, send it back.
I fully understand. This is why some (most?) of the buyers refrain from using the device fearing it could easily get damaged if not adequately protected.
This is the scale of the initial imperfection: 4mm. A lot. I call it a gross error - so the files should not have been published, as the project should not have passed the peer review (if there was any).
Now, tell us openly about all other imperfections (of which I can see plenty).
This was the initial TPU version, by the way.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: this project is still under development. Or… is it? What is the situation?
Is this latest design production ready, or not? If yes: when (date please) has it reached this status?
Tried to print the PLA version through a 3D printing service.
I used the M2 case"
Below that post (Mar 2) you say the files have been updated. I now realize, because most of the Mar2 post has been moved to the top of the page, and not visible in its date order, I had assumed the above was latest.
I did not have an application to check what it looked like and send it to printers without further check. Now I have installed an application and checked this file; it has closed tops.
The printed case came back with closed tops not open as described in the forum. The PLA material is so rigid that the phone does not go in. I tried to cut the tops with minimal force, but the edges of the case broke. I also removed a section on the left side where the SIM card is placed. Even with the tops of buttons removed the phone doesn’t go in, any more force and either the phone will get damaged or the case will break more.
This PLA material is not suitable for a phone case, no flexibility in the material, so even if it did fit, I am sure with the first fall, something would break.
Also the thickness of the case is only 1 mm thick therefore the protruding lenses would still touch any surface the phone is put on. It is also narrower than the base of the lenses - i.e it doesn’t fit at all.
The case at point around the lenses needs to be thicker, i.e. it needs a protruding edge on the outside to protect the lenses, just like the phone’s lenses protrude out.
I think you should remove all the links to the wrong files and replace them with the correct files.
Due to the black colours the photos below are not clear, still they show a little about the problem.
Experiments can become quite costly in terms of time and money. Please provide correct designs and not the ones you have not printed and tested.
Hope factory produced cases are sent as soon as possible.
Because of scattered information this forum page can be confusing. I see that an other person was confused after your Mar 2 post.
So is the file named: 3_-M2_case-all_buttons_exposed-_BEZEL.stl the correct one?
Yeah, we hope it happens, but the helpdesk did not give me any encouraging info, either. So sad. Anyway, would you be so kind and let me know the price you paid for this printout and also the country where the printing shop is located, please?
By the way: most of your remarks have already been addressed in the latest design they provided, but - yes, you are right - it is quite confusing when you scroll and see huge photos and the links (to new design files / STLs) in between those pictures. Very easy to make a mistake…
the TPU I used for the case was the opposite (i.e. soft, maybe too soft), but also not suitable for this case: the edges (side walls) tend to warp enough for the [phone] corners to stick out of the case instead of being properly held in place. In my case: the top corners were very properly, and securely held, but the case did not catch the bottom pair of corners properly. I shall share some pictures illustrating the problem as soon as I process them.
I used this material:
I think I will contact the vendor and ask if they consider this TPU, just to be sure.
The PLA price was £2.75, UPS delivery £7.95 total with tax £12.85. This sample PLA shows the material is really not good for phone case. It easily cracks under pressure. It is Extremely rigid also not suitable for phone case.
I have not seen there TPU but the cost is roughly around £22 with delivery in UK. May costs more for delivery to EU(?).
The point is to have the correct file. Unfortunately I used the incorrect file because the forum page was cluttered and confusing.
Forum managers should remove the links to the wrong files. It was irresponsible to put up files that were not tested and were of wrong dimensions in the first place.
The old .stl file were removed as of 2nd March and newer ones updated as mentioned in the initial post. It is only the old photos that were removed today.
In case there are updated .stl files will have these 2nd March files replaced.
But wait! How can there be any newer files? Isn’t this design supposed to be given to the factory so they can print the cases for the users, the customers who paid for it well in advance (I paid already in early October '23)? My understanding is this case was finalized on March 2-nd, correct?
As far as a 3D printing shop - no problem here in POLSKA. I have several options in the city where I live, so it should be doable, but so far they did not provide me a quote. We are discussing the design itself for now. The TPU grade I used for the initial print could probably work OK, but the side walls (as well as the bottom - camera issue you pointed out) are simply too thin for this particular TPU to behave as expected.
Aha, so it is the vendor’s responsibility to design the case and manufacture (3D print as was already established above?) enough pieces of it. If so, is there any status of that effort, i.e. have they designed it yet?
In general: how long will this drag on before we finally have what we paid for?
We have asked our existing vendor to give us a response by the end of this week as to by when they can provide the protective cases. If they are still not committing on an ETA, we will switch to a different vendor. The entire process from printing to distributing to customers should take about two weeks. The current dates we are looking at are mid or end of May 2024.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to our users.
You have not removed all the old files, the file that I downloaded & sent to printers is still there, look under your post Feb22
You need to remove all the links that are not to be used as soon as possible so people don’t get confused.
Also pswiatki is saying : The TPU grade…, but the side walls (as well as the bottom - camera issue…) are simply too thin for this particular TPU to behave as expected.
If TPU version is too thin and won’t work and PLA as I have experienced is too rigid, the phone doesn’t get in and the case cracks under pressure - so why don’t you warn the users:
“WE DON’T STILL HAVE A COVER - not even for 3D print - these are just experimental - not properly tested”!
