Sauron Phone Case

thingiverse

This is a phone case I designed for my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone several years ago in early 2014. The very first item I ever had 3D-printed, and still my favorite phone case to this day (huge LOTR fan)\nThe original design was created long before I even owned my own printer, but the level of detail is remarkably fine so the version you see here was actually ordered from Shapeways using strong & flexible plastic. \nIt lasted me approximately one year before breaking one of the retaining tabs on the front, but considering it was an experiment in 3D printing, it was a pretty successful endeavor, and it also proved to be a great conversation starter. \nHow I Created This\n\n The original sketch of the design in my notebook, along with some notes I jotted down\n Design Process\n Originally came up with this design while scrolling through photos online. Saw a similar concept for an iPhone, but decided to design my own version for the Samsung Galaxy S4, which was my phone at the time in 2014. \nInitially drew a sketch by tracing my phone on paper and laying out the general design placement, and how I wanted it to look. Then I found a CAD model of a Samsung Galaxy S4 on GrabCAD and downloaded it for dimensions, and test fits of the case in SolidWorks.\nFirst, I designed the case itself, how it would fit around the phone and retain. Once that was finalized, I started working on the artistic side of making it look like the sketch. A couple of times throughout the process I printed out a 1:1 sketch scale of the part, cut it out, and placed it on the physical phone to ensure the design wouldn't look awkward in size.\nWhen I finished it, I uploaded it to the Shapeways website and excitedly ordered my first 3D-printed item. I was truly impressed with the quality and strength when it arrived.