Week Nine

Hey Everyone,

This week we are working to update the kickstarter, the final report, and the final presentation. This past week we tested the phone case on various iPhones, although we were unable to test the protective strength of the case because we did not want to break an iPhone in the process. The case is a tight fit on the iPhone, and fits into a pant pocket with ease.

Dimensions (rounded to three digits) for case:

Thickness of bottom 2.00 mm

Thickness of bottom to top 10.5 mm

Length 126 mm

Width 66.0 mm

Weight approx 0.25 ounce

At this point in our project on week nine, we are happy with our color-changing iPhone case as an original idea that we can put on kickstarter, not so much to kickstart a business but to kickstart new ideas for customizable iPhone cases. Below are images of an iPhone in the case indoors (top) and an iPhone in the case outdoors (bottom) for comparison. 

This is our deliverable, and we are now going to get started on the Kickstarter page, the final report, and the final presentation. 

Farewell,

Etienne

Week Eight

Hey,

So we printed out a new case, and this time it is structurally sound. The case STL file, which was optimized for PLA plastic, is definitely a better, stronger, more protective iPhone case. It it sleek, and the side grooves give it sleek appearance and feel.

The color of the phone case indoors is a off-white plastic color, and outside it changes rapidly to a light blue. It does not turn as intense of a blue as we would like, but it definitely changes color. Below are two images, one of the case indoors (left) and outdoors (right) for comparison. I hope to get a slow motion video of the case changing colors soon on YouTube, so stay tuned.

We will now test the case on a phone for properties such as aesthetic appeal, protection, durability, and comfort to gauge how well our product might sell.

Until next time, 

Etienne

Week Seven

In week 7, we used our class time to 3D print our iPhone case.  We went to an engineering lab in the basement of the main building to find a specific 3D printer that fit the size of our photocromatic filament.  After an hour of printing we retrieved the case.  It appeared to be shaped very well.  The case changed color when brought into the sunlight.  But when we tried to put an iPhone in the case, it didn't work to well.  The strength of the plastic was not up to par and it also may have been a tad too small.  We are exploring the options of finding a new .stl file or editing the existing one in the coming week.

Week Six

After we found a CAD file of an phone case, we emailed the course director, Brandon Terranova, asking if he could print the phone case using the photochromatic filament.  He said his 3D printer works with 2.85 mm diameter material and our photocromatic material has a 1.75 mm diameter.  He referred us to another 3D printer that could print using our filament.  We will be in touch with the owner of the new 3D printer soon hopefully.