One Indian product design student at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London, named Vishal Patel, has proved that 3D printing can be used in order to create a very useful 3D printed waterproof smartphone case for his Samsung Galaxy S3. He got the idea when he was walking to the train station one day, and it started to rain out while he was on his phone.
“First I purchased a waterproof case and took it apart to see how the components were put together and made,” Patel tells 3DPrint.com. “Understanding the way the case should be made, I created some designs, from which I 3D printed a small-scale prototype of my chosen designs and tested them. The test was successful so I made a 1:1 scale prototype”
The smartphone case consists of five different element that have been 3D printed. They include the bottom portion, outer gasket, inner gasket, top portion, and a band that goes around the case to keep it protected from any drops of water. The bottom and top cases are printed using PLA filament, while the gaskets are made from NinjaFlex‘s flexible filament. In all, the 3D printing process for the design takes about 5-6 hours to complete, depending on the 3D printer used.
“The gaskets enable the case to be waterproof, but it will not work without the clamps which make the seal waterproof by providing pressure,” Patel tells us. “The case also has a band around it, which creates the first barrier preventing the water from getting to the phone.”
What do you think about Patel’s 3D printed smartphone case? Would you trust your phone to a 3D printed waterproof case? Discuss in the waterproof smartphone case forum thread on 3DPB.com.