farslan
14 hours ago
OP here. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll be happy to answer them.
bredren
13 hours ago
Your entry doesn’t discuss the finishing step between printing and use.
My experience has been that a great deal of sanding and other tool use can be needed to get to smooth results.
Did you go through a finishing process after printing to get to the smooth results you show here?
farslan
13 hours ago
There are none? All the photos are straight from my Bambulab X1C. I used eSun PLA+. No special treatment was done.
bredren
12 hours ago
That’s awesome.
MattGrommes
11 hours ago
I've also been shocked at how little post-processing prints off a Bambu printer need. They're pretty amazing machines, right out of the box.
bdcravens
12 hours ago
To build atop of OP's response, the Bambu Lab line of printers are much higher quality than some older printers. I have 3 different ones, and I also just pull them off the build plate and begin using them.
Many modern printers also give similar results, but may require a bit of tuning. Also it's as much about the settings in your slicer software, and most current ones have evolved to have great defaults and are easily tweaked.
mstade
10 hours ago
I'm potentially in the market for a 3d printer for our office. Mostly for one offs and some prototyping, and we don't necessarily need one but more a wouldn't-it-be-nice kinda thing. The Bambu Lab printers look like they could fit our needs/wants really well, but I'd love to do a bit of compare and contrast before placing an order. Are there any buyer's guides out there you would recommend for hobbyists such as us?
stavros
7 hours ago
Just buy a Bambu. You won't regret it. I bought one after ten years of printing on more OSS designs, and I wish I'd gotten one sooner.
If your hobby is 3D printing, get a Bambu. If it's 3D printers, get anything else.
btbuildem
2 hours ago
How does it compare with the recent Prusas?
valianteffort
17 minutes ago
I think prusa have been resting on their laurels and fallen very far behind. Bambu sort of raised the bar with their printers and the price points they are offered at. They took much of the tinkering out of the equation that filtered most people from producing quality prints.
If you're working with more exotic or engineering materials, it can still require a bit of work to dial in. But the most common like PLA, ABS, PETG will print without issue.
gaudystead
7 hours ago
+1 for BambuLab printers. I have an X1C and finally I can work with the printer, not work on the printer. Get an X1E if you have special materials you want to print and/or want an entirely hardwired connection to the printer from the network.
fragmede
6 hours ago
> I can work with the printer, not work on the printer.
That's what sold me on getting my Bambu, and it's totally true. No need to spend hours carefully aligning and calibrating things.
szundi
9 hours ago
Just buy an A1 with the AMS, cheap as hell, other people’s blabla is hardly applicable to you. It is like just more than 400 usd.
double0jimb0
9 hours ago
Forum comments have been the best resource for me. (Followed by joining the printer’s users’ Facebook group to see what sort of issues are most common).
The top SEO’d buyers guide websites are pretty useless in my experience.
That said, having owned a dozen different printers for my own business’s prototyping work, the Bambu labs are truly fantastic. I retired 3 ultimaker S7s for 2 X1 Carbons and haven’t looked back. The Bambu labs legitimately print 3-4x faster and have as good if not better surface finish. AMS system is ingenious. Only thing I did was x-y squareness/skew compensation so both printers make the same sized parts (the printers aren’t perfectly square from the factory). There are guides on how to use M1005 gcode command.
AriedK
7 hours ago
On the finishing: “Of course because I 3D Printed it with a PLA filamanet, it's not as shiny and glossy compared to actuall electronic devices. People use acetone and various solutions to make it shiny.”
The acetone (vapour) approach only works on ABS and is pretty nasty. For PLA your best bet is sanding. You could add some putty to make it a bit easier and get better results. You will then also need to paint it. All in all if the print quality is good enough best stick with that.
SOLAR_FIELDS
6 hours ago
XTC 3D is expensive for manufacturing but is really good for these hobbyist projects. It’s really too pricey to do actual production runs with but the results are great if you’re just making something for yourself at home.
If you’re using a color that already has a decent amount of yellow in it or don’t mind the yellowing polyurethane and spar-urethane are also decent finishing options. They won’t work on colors like white though, obviously. Even grey is probably going to see a little too much yellowing from those.
HeWhoLurksLate
4 hours ago
For PPE: an effective respirator is not that expensive, should be wearing them and safety glasses for sanding as well. Only extra PPE you really need for acetone smoothing is some nitrile / latex gloves, and those are fairly standard in shop / art environments anywho.
Also, MEK, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, apparently smooths PLA out quite well too, but if you can print in ABS I would already be doing that for finished products anywho.
stavros
7 hours ago
I have a Bambu P1S, and I'm fairly sure the prints would look worse after sanding than before. I just use them all as they are, straight out of the printer, and they always look amazing.
SOLAR_FIELDS
6 hours ago
The primary thing people complain about is the aesthetics of the FDM print lines. They give the appearance of a hobbyist look. Sanding and finishing is one way to alleviate that. I bet PLA doesn’t sand amazing since it’s mostly just sugar but PETG sands reasonably fine. I have sanded PETG and finished with spar urethane/polyurethane for commercial products to give them a nice professional glossy sheen with no print lines. I mentioned in a sibling comment XTC-3D as another option which is probably the best hobbyist product for this, but it’s kind of a pain to work with and it’s a little expensive. So not great for commercial use. For home use though it’s totally fine and indeed usually gives better results than the urethanes mentioned above due to lack of yellowing and being thicker and better at filling in the lines and giving a smoother appearance. People could honestly probably just use that product without sanding and be mostly happy with it because it does a good job of hiding the FDM lines even without sanding
larrywright
5 minutes ago
In my experience matte filaments hide the layer lines much better. Between that and the overall quality of recent printers like the Bambu or the Prusa Mk4, I don’t find the need to do any post processing.
nielsbot
8 hours ago
When does the kickstarter campaign kick off? :)
Darthy
13 hours ago
It looks beautiful, thanks for the write-up!
Question: Most docks have ample space around the phone to grip it and remove it from the dock easily. Your design encases the phone on every side. How do you get the phone out in the morning?
farslan
13 hours ago
Thank you. Check this tweet out: https://x.com/fatih/status/1836691756965933084
There are two holes on both sides (for both left- and right-handed people). All you do is push slightly, and it comes out.
You're the third person asking this, so I'll add a section about it to the blog post. Thank you again.
bratsche
8 hours ago
What kind of 3d printer do you use? Do you like it, or are there things that others do that you wish it did?
Asking because I'm interested in getting one, but I know very little about them and have no idea what to research to help me decide.
archon810
8 hours ago
OP specified Bambu X1C. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41627847
bratsche
3 hours ago
Thank you! Sorry I missed that.
392
3 hours ago
I'd watch Superfastmatt's latest video on the subject, although I think there is one competitor in particular that is supposed to be a similarly good experience.
daemoens
13 hours ago
Could you rescale the model to fit an iPhone 13 Mini?
farslan
13 hours ago
Rescaling usually doesn't work well because the MagSafe portion is static between all sizes. Hence, every custom sizing needs a custom re-design.
schiffern
13 hours ago
In theory, with parametric design (eg OpenSCAD, Autodesk Inventor, etc) a model could allow you to enter the phone dimensions and it automatically re-calculates the correct geometry.
In practice, experience says doing this (in a robust way) is a lot harder than it sounds. ;)
Thanks, very nice design and write-up.
stavros
7 hours ago
It's not really that much harder, as long as you know which dimensions you want to be variable from the start. Going back and changing everything after the fact is a massive pain.
pbreit
9 hours ago
I wonder if there's a version that's more of a shelf so could accommodate (m)any sized phones and with/without cases?
SystemOut
8 hours ago
I think it's doable with a parametric design in Fusion but it is definitely more work up-front or re-work after you have a working version. Getting a well parameterized and set of constrained sketches can be a time consuming process since I don't do it every day. It's probably the part I've struggled with the most in making 3D printable designs (I'm not OP but design cosplay props for my kids) since I don't always know what I want the final dimensions to be.
rcarmo
7 hours ago
Will you make the STEP file available instead of 3MF?
chasebank
8 hours ago
How’s the weight of it when the phone isn’t docked? Perhaps you could add an insert for a steel plate on the bottom so it has a nice feel when the phone isn’t docked?
farslan
8 hours ago
It's not a lot, because I printed it with an infill of 10%. You can increase it, and make it around 40% or 50%. Some people also use sands to make it heavy. For now it doesn't bother me and I think because I'm putting other things on top of the tray, it doesn't move around easily.
schiffern
8 hours ago
To give a more solid feel and "woody" sound[1] you might try filling with epoxy or expanding foam.[2][3]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gwXJsWHupg
[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/3hewrd/has_anyo...
[3] https://old.reddit.com/r/ResinCasting/comments/9v03mp/fillin...
fragmede
6 hours ago
avianlyric
8 hours ago
It can be a bit painful to get hold of, but I’ve been experimenting with micro-suction sheets, which allows you to “stick” things down to smooth surfaces, without adhesives (the material surface is full of tiny pores that act as millions of mini suctions cups). And allows you to easily remove, and re-stick them later without leaving any goop behind.
It’s a nice way to stop these types of 3D prints from sliding around in surfaces, without having to resort to weights or lead shot, which it way more painful to integrate that you would expect.
https://sewelldirect.com/products/airstick-microsuction-tape
stavros
7 hours ago
Silicone sheets should also work well for this.
akie
14 hours ago
I mean I just want to buy it. Give me a link and I pay you money.
freeplay
10 hours ago
I've used craftcloud for these types of one offs before. It's a pretty great service in my experience.
If you go that route, you can use my referral code REFOUSPW7TK for 10% off. Totally optional.
farslan
14 hours ago
Thanks a lot for your support. A friend and I looked into the economics, but the lowest company willing to print was around $63. If you know of any services that provide 3D printing, I am happy to look into it.
boustrophedon
12 hours ago
I haven't downloaded your model but https://www.i-solids.com/ (US-based, FDM and MJF) and https://www.weerg.com/ (Italy, mostly MJF ) will both do instant quotes and you might get reasonable prices from them at scale. PCBWay and JLCPCB in China will also do 3d printing at reasonable volume, if you want to get an idea of a baseline price.
doublerebel
8 hours ago
Competing products such as the Nomad stand, Zen, Courant tray are $100-140. I happily paid for each.
The design and high quality materials were worth it to me for the same reasons you wanted this design — it is functional art and doesn’t look out of place next to my other quality items I see and use daily.
I could see paying $120 for this dock. I bet this is the kind of thing that would succeed on Kickstarter. Sure, I could print and assemble it myself but that would cost me more than $120 in parts and labor.
HorizonXP
14 hours ago
What about these guys?
farslan
13 hours ago
I believe they want a minimum order of $1000 and only allow me to print it in a single color. Honestly, providing a physical good is a whole other set of issues with which I have no experience at all.
gadders
13 hours ago
Just wait 3 months and you'll see someone selling it on Ali Express :-)
abtinf
10 hours ago
Slant looked at Scott’s design and suggested some changes. You might find it interesting. https://youtu.be/b1RBo7f0Zb0
azinman2
13 hours ago
Similar. Would be nice for a max version as well.
What about cases on your phone? I assume you need to remove it first?
kurthr
13 hours ago
It looked like his design incorporated space for a standard case. Actually, without a case I think there might be an interesting edge detail. That wouldn't affect functionality, and look cool too!
danielktdoranie
12 hours ago
Personally, I don’t use a case on my iPhone 14. I pay Apple every month for Apple Care +. If I break it Apple fixes or replaces it for free
rootusrootus
11 hours ago
I use a case for grip, not for the protection it provides. I'd be dropping this slippery device pretty often otherwise. I haven't been able to go case-less since the days of the iPhone 4.
> Apple fixes or replaces it for free
Where? In the US they charge $29 and up for repair with AppleCare+. $29 for the screen, $29 more if you damage the glass on the back too. $99 if you damage the camera or anything else that requires replacing the phone altogether.
rupi
12 hours ago
Came here to say this. Will happily pay for it.
zymhan
11 hours ago
That's kind of the opposite of the Hacker ethos
randmeerkat
10 hours ago
> That's kind of the opposite of the Hacker ethos
HN revolves around YComb and finding ideas that make great products. Someone has come up with a brilliant solution and someone else is saying they want to buy it. HN isn’t about “hacker” purity, it’s about thinking through cool ideas and maybe finding a startup along the way.
akie
11 hours ago
I don't have a 3D printer and I unfortunately don't have the time.
szundi
8 hours ago
Always good to know
samatman
11 hours ago
Nah.
Building your own, idk, mechanical keyboard? Hackerish thing to do, sure. But buying someone else's cool design is not against "the ethos", that's a silly thing to say. Supporting artisans in their craft is Good, actually, I don't see anything about this design which make it different that way.
dymk
11 hours ago
Getting the job done is the hacker ethos. Sometimes that means buying a solution instead of spending a bunch of time (and money) building it.
szundi
8 hours ago
Not sure about this, I would call this manager ethos and outsourcing
fragmede
5 hours ago
that's a weird notion of hacker purity. did you write your own kernel and compiler and web browser, on your own CPU that you built from transistors you made in your parents garage? and then connected to an Internet of your own creation? or did you "outsource" some part of that process to others?
bruckie
12 hours ago
What orientation did you print it at, and did you use supports?
farslan
12 hours ago
Yeap, so I added the instructions on Gumroad's page (where you download the 3D file). I printed it where the bottom is touching the plate. And support is minimal supporting the tilted part of the model.
frantathefranta
13 hours ago
I might upgrade soon anyway but is there something preventing iPhone 13 Pro to not fit? I'm not aware of any changes between that one and 14, 15 and 16.
farslan
13 hours ago
Actually probably not. Does it have the same size as the 14 Pro ? If it's the same you can use it with no issues. All the orange photos you see are from an 14 Pro, so it should work nicely.
frantathefranta
8 hours ago
I looked into it and supposedly 14 Pro is 0.8 mm taller and 0.2 mm thicker.
farslan
8 hours ago
You should be fine, go for it :)
amelius
9 hours ago
What CAD software did you use?
farslan
8 hours ago
I did all my CAD work via https://www.shapr3d.com/. It runs on multiple platforms, but I use it on my iPad Pro. There are many other options, such as OnShape, Fusion, FreeCad etc.. However most of them have their own quirks
Onshape: It's public domain on Hobbyist plan, so anything I create has to be by default Public. The next plan they have is $1500 yearl
Fusion: This is the most recommended one, however it's macOS and Windows only. Their Hobbyist plan is pretty generous, but the UI is very slow on macOS and it doesn't have an iPad app.
For me, the iPad Pro is a huge enabler. I don't want to sit down in front of my MacBook because I already work the whole day. Second, with the Apple Pencil it's so much easier and intuitive compared to anything else.
The only ceveat with Shapr3D is the cost. I paid for the yearly subscription, which was around $299. And it's the cheapest of all of them btw.
davee5
2 hours ago
If you're in Shapr3D you should change all your radii and fillets to "G2" in stead of G1.*
Currently all your corners (excepting the ones that use Apple's supplied bezier points) appear to be tangent but not curvature continuous. As someone with the utmost respect for the learning amateur I would like to kindly inform you that having G1 corners from just hitting "fillet" is the #1 way for design cognoscenti to ascertain that a model was built by an engineer. Alternatively you could try to mimic or offset the G2 curves Apple already paid a bazillion dollars to fine tune.**
* this particular industrial designer x mechanical engineer does not use Shapr but I do see G2 / curvature continuous fillet tools exist via their support page.
** this designer also thinks Apple's and Dieter's corners are too squashed square and has been building devices with slightly sharper and more accelerated corner curvature as the world's natural bends are parabolic or catenary. So roll your own and find your aesthetic voice!*
neves
11 hours ago
Can you charge it while in dock?
rcarmo
11 hours ago
Did you notice it has a MagSafe charger? Like... It's the whole point, the iPhone won't go into StandBy mode without charging.
olyjohn
7 hours ago
Not everybody uses an iPhone. I figured out what StandBy mode is when reading the article, but I had never heard of it before that.
neves
7 hours ago
I don't know what is a MagSafe charger. I never used a Iphone and I'm just seeing the USB hole is covered.
uncanneyvalley
7 hours ago
It’s akin to a qi charger, but also securely attaches to the phone magnetically.