Tired of Waiting For an Apple Watch? 3D Print a Version of One Now

There has not been a bigger product launch anticipated from Apple than that of the supposed Apple iWatch, which many analysts following the company believe is an inevitable product.  It is anticipated that the iWatch will be launched soon, perhaps even as soon as this coming September. Whether Apple decides to finally launch the device later this year, or ultimately push the date back to next year, is yet to be seen.  However, one thing is certain, people are excited about its potential.

If you are one of those individual who just can’t seem to wait for the launch of Apple’s next big thing, and own a newer iPod Nano device, as well as a 3D printer, then you can at least pretend to own an iWatch. How, you may ask?

A man name Stewart Davies, a product design graduate from University of Edinburgh, has posted a design on the My Mini Factory 3D printed object repository. The design is absolutely free to download and print at home, or if you do not own a 3D printer and still wish to be the proud owner of a fake iWatch, then you are still in luck.  The object can be purchased, already printed, for just $9.99.

The design posted, is only compatible with Apple’s 6th generation of the iPod Nano. It can be printed in any color the user desires, but needs to printed with NinjaFlex flexible filament. If you print this with ABS or PLA plastic filament, the lack of flexibility will cause the strap of the watch to crack and break, making it about as useful of a watch as a thimble is. Davies has done a tremendous job at designing an object which will fit the iPod Nano securely, while also locking the device into the strap with a double lock system.

The total print time on your average FDM based 3D printer for this design is a rather quick 60-75 minutes.  It is recommended by Davies that those printing this item, turn off the supports and rafts feature within their software, as no supports are needed for this print. If these features are not turned off, users may find themselves wasting a lot of valuable filament during the printing process.

Just in case you were still wondering, no this is not an actual Apple designed product. In fact, it’s probably not even close to what the iWatch will look like, but if you like fooling around with friends, or just want an interesting way to tether an iPod Nano to your wrist, this 3D print may be perfect for you. Considering it only weighs 13 grams, the cost of the filament will only be approximately $1.00. Have you printed this design out, or ordered it already printed from My Mini Factory? Let us know how it turned out, in the 3D Printed iWatch forum thread on 3DPB.com.