Alternative cases

Truckinwagen · June 13, 2020, 6:11pm

I am currently working on developing a case design as well.
I started by printing out(resin 3d printer) one of the sample cases posted above, and am making modifications to it as I use it and find things that I would like different/better.

so far I have made reliefs in the power/volume button holes to make it easier to reach the buttons, and enlarged the power socket and headphone jack holes to accommodate larger plugs.

I plan on using the case for a week as is, and tweaking the design as I work out what needs changed, and then printing the revised design to see if it resolves all the issues.

I will happily share the stl file when I’m happy with the finished result.

Frontpage32 · June 13, 2020, 9:11pm

Did you print with tpu? It would allow for greater fall protection.

Truckinwagen · June 13, 2020, 9:25pm

I printed with an SLA printer(resin) in a slightly flexible high strength resin made by Siraya Tech

I’m pretty happy with the protection provided, but it could be printed in whatever material you feel best protects

Frontpage32 · June 13, 2020, 9:46pm

Oh damn nice missed that it was an sla. That will be my future one for smaller prototypes.

Debra · July 12, 2020, 12:58pm

I found that Aliexpress had wallet style cases cut for the Teracube. I ordered two to play with. I now see that that there are a number of different styles available since I placed my order.
What I bought
Other options

I was concerned that holes would not match up, but since they were so inexpensive I ordered two to play with. It took about 25 days for them to arrive, which was pretty decent considering the shipping situation. The cases use an adhesive strip to mount the phone. I worried that the strip would be too flimsy to hold the phone over time and I would end up with a phone on the ground one day. I decided to mount the standard TPU case to the wallet to hold the telephone. To mount, I buffed out the back of the case with some fine sandpaper. I then used clear Gorilla glue as an adhesive. I spread the glue out with a brush, dampened the inner wallet surface, then attached the two. Gorilla Glue gives about 5 minutes of working time. This was plenty to align the two cases. Once aligned I slipped the foam insert into the TPU portion and then placed a heavy weight on top. I let it set-up overnight.
My biggest concern was if the fingerprint sensor would be reachable due to the thickness. It is and works great. I have not had a chance to try NFC. I think it should still work but will find out. I am happy with the outcome (but I did see another wallet style case I plan on ordering). I like to have a phone wallet for when I want to travel light, cards/cash/phone, and good to go. Now to see if I can post some pics-

Frontpage32 · July 12, 2020, 2:39pm

@Debra I ordered 3 still waiting mine seem to be taking a bit longer. The glue idea is a good one. But my wife likes to be able to take hers out. She had a custom case for her G4 that had a large flat magnet glued into the case and had thin metal stuck on the case. Was going to repeat this the other idea was Velcro. Both ideas are so can easily remove the phone. Your idea is excellent though let us know how it goes. Can you share a link to the other cases?

Debra · July 12, 2020, 4:12pm

I think you can order some extra TPU cases from Teracube. I ordered two extra ones for the same reason, sometimes I like to take just my phone in a thin case. Now I can leave the one mounted and have another unmounted. Oh, NFC did work at both Whole Foods and Walgreens.

Velcro might be to thick to be able to reach the fingerprint sensor

Gatlin_Newhouse · July 17, 2020, 5:41pm

make sure to put the metal plate on the lower part of the phone (about where the Teracube logo is) as the NFC sensor is just under the fingerprint reader

I am using a metal plate to magnetically mount my phone in my car and I use the NFC for my Yubikey

I used some pistol grip tape to make the stock TPU case the phone comes with less slippery

Frontpage32 · September 7, 2020, 3:41am

Ok my 3d printer is up and running finally! It took so little time to setup and 30min to level and then my first test print was flawless! Next is to print my new case! Now to download a slicer and print it

Frontpage32 · September 7, 2020, 4:49am

Ok so my second print ever … first one was the test print.
So far so good just 3.5hrs left to see if my design for my phone case is any good.

Frontpage32 · September 8, 2020, 1:43am

Ok so finished the print. What I have learned things look bigger on the screen … trying to do exacting measurements is hard. I have to go back in and make it a bit bigger and beef up the thickness as well 2mm and 5mm is actually really small. Lol (I have had 100’s of kidney stones 5mm+) so 5mm seemed huge in my mind. Nope but that’s a good thing learning to design have to expect failures and learn from them also plastics contract a bit once they cool lol.