i.materialise's experience with 820

[I]We are reposting this comment by i.materialise (from the wiki) because we thought it might be useful.[/I]

First of all: thank you Nokia for embracing additive manufacturing or '3D printing' & joining the 3D printing revolution. i.materialise, part of Materialise, is intrigued by this action. That's why we have put our knowledge and engineering skills to help this file being 3D printable, customizable ánd functional. We have printed tests with various 3D printers (in various materials) and saw some points of improvements. You can read about it on our blog: [url]http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/myth-buster-printing-a-nokia-lumia-820-cover-is-a-piece-of-cake[/url]

In the following days we will deliver improved files for different printers so people can print their own shell with functional buttons etc..

It's great to see these services jumping in so enthusiastically, testing, providing feedback. They definitely recognize the potential!

And we're continuing the story. Day two of 3D printing some more tests: [URL="http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/the-nokia-lumia-820-story-continues-the-first-functional-print-is-born"]http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/will-it-print-taking-the-nokia-lumia-820-shell-tests-a-level-higher[/URL]
and the first, 3D printed functional design: [URL="http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/the-nokia-lumia-820-story-continues-the-first-functional-print-is-born"]http://i.materialise.com/blog/entry/the-nokia-lumia-820-story-continues-the-first-functional-print-is-born[/URL]
[B]Don't stop following us; because we're going to the next stage: fine tuning and customizing![/B]

Great work! Thanks for your efforts on this.

I've added a note to the wiki that the models will probably need some degree of optimization for each printer type. Certainly for the extrusion type printers, there is cooling shrinkage to take into account, and that differs based on material choice, whether or not you're using a heated bed, etc. Everybody has their own favorite temperature settings, so there are probably slight differences just in scaling for that.

Lots to learn, but that's what makes it fun!

Fred