SYJ[1] is one of the coolest creators on YouTube, if you haven't checked him out, I highly recommend it. His videos are very "hacker" in nature, and the film work is basically art.
I've seen people 3D printing this exact thing on Instagram for months.
[delayed]
Very cool. I've been tempted to buy a 3D printer for various little things like this but have yet to make the leap.
For those who haven't tried using standby mode as a bedside clock, I recommend it. Started using it maybe a year or so ago after buying a prebuilt magsafe stand, and the OLED panels that have been in most iPhones for several years now are very well suited to the use case — the panels can get quite dim (latest models go down to 1 nit!), there's few pixels lit up in the first place, and what light does get emitted is a sleep-friendly red. It's like the old red 7-segment display alarm clocks but even better since it's not as bright and turns off when no motion is detected.
It has definitely become an invaluable tool for taking care of things around the house for me. Things like broken light switch sliders, under desk mounts, things related to cable management, and any sort of custom bracket.
Going back in time though, I should have paid up for something with auto-leveling from the start. That is the most important feature. After using the $100 Ender V3 Pro for several years I'm probably going to make the jump to something from Bambu soon.
no need to buy, visit the local hacker group
OP here. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll be happy to answer them.
Could you rescale the model to fit an iPhone 13 Mini?
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?
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?
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.
I mean I just want to buy it. Give me a link and I pay you money.
Similar. Would be nice for a max version as well.
What about cases on your phone? I assume you need to remove it first?
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.
What about these guys?
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.
I follow your journey with admiration, Fatih, and I want to say that you are truly an inspiration. Congratulations on building something exactly the way you envisioned it—a remarkable achievement that is often overlooked but incredibly difficult to accomplish. Eline sağlık :)
> This particular design stuck with me. Initially I was spectical about it, but the more I looked at it, the more I loved.
Spectical sounds like an improvement over skeptical since it implies that you keep looking and don't just dismiss. If this was a typo we should consider it a coinage and run with it.
Alternately: Spectical - Specification skepticism. Doubts based on technical specifications that may later be assuaged by real world performance. "I was spectical of the Nintendo Switch because it had nine year old CPU, but it still delivered games that were more fun than the Xbox X or PS5."
I understood your parent comment as thinking of it in terms of “spectacles” (i.e. glasses) rather than “specification”. Emphasis mine:
> it implies that you keep looking
As in “On first glance I was spectical the chair could hold enough weight, but the more I looked the more I noticed little details that improved its strength”.
Lol, I love it
"Spectical sounds like an improvement over skeptical since it implies that you keep looking and don't just dismiss. If this was a typo we should consider a coinage and run with it."
I love it! I seriously may use it.
Haha, it was a typo. I fixed it now :)
There were two great mashups in this article. Now sadly just one.
Very cool.
>I'm still astonished by what you can do with CAD software and a 3D printer at home.
I really want to get into 3D printing, for neat hacks like this, but also because I've been fiddling with arduino and similar and find it difficult to really find good parts to mount them on, attach servos too and so on. Would be nice to just be able to print something that I know will fit even just for prototyping.
Anyone have a good suggestion for a 3D printer that is good quality, will last a while, and beginner friendly?
The BambuLab A1 mini is the obvious choice here. Incredible value for the money and IMO quite beginner friendly.
The alternative choice would be the Prusa Mini, although the BambuLab has higher quality and more features than the Prusa.
I heard that Bambu Labs is violating open source licenses, thus stealing from Prusa in particular.
I've heard people claim this but never seen any actual evidence of license violations.
Everything seems perfectly in order with both the Linux-based firmware on the X1C[0] and their slicer[1] which is a fork of Prusaslicer.
[0] https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/knowledge-sharing/open-source-s...
Not really.
They forked a slicer, which wasn't against the license but not terribly nice either.
The big thing now is the patent lawsuit with Stratasys
None of these things matter for the average user. For the average user the Bambu products are the ones to buy. Easy button for 3d printing.
For functional prints I would go with the Bambu Lab A1 instead of the A1 mini because of the larger build plate.
I agree. I have the X1C, however the A1 is as good as the X1C (unless you go into more advanced stuff like ABS/ASA or want to print large objects)
Bambu is surely the best option if you have the money to spend, but I wanted a budget option, so I got a used Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro for 150€ and I'm extremely happy with it.
I'm shocked by how well the prints come out and how little fiddling it requires.
I've set it up with Klipper now with an old mini PC I had around and a Playstation 3 Eye camera, feels nice to put old hardware to use and controlling / monitoring prints remotely is neat.
If you aren't sure you're going to pursue this for the long run, think about joining a makerspace/hackerspace first and trying out theirs. On the downside, many people with varying degrees of skill have used the machine and it may not be factory fresh in performance. On the upside, given a vibrant makerspace, there's somebody there who's responsible for upkeep and can help you over some of the bumps in the road.
Another +1 for Bambu. Recently replaced an older Ender 3 with P1S and it's been a breath of fresh air. Ender was much cheaper but the many, many hours I spent on tweaking both the software and hardware... I was many times ready to give up on the whole thing.
Same. I struggled and struggled to print things on a two year old Qidi that just worked on a Bambu Labs X1. The Bambu has limits but they are in a very different place. The pace of development in this area is wild. Patent law may be slamming on the brakes though.
I have a cheap Ender 3. I’ve had it for about 5 years and it’s been just fine. I did do a few upgrades along the way that helped a lot (bed leveling probe l, direct drive extruder, and second z axis screw drive). Figuring out how to add those was part of the fun.
If you wanted something more production/out of the box ready, you can certainly find it. But it doesn’t have to be a big initial investment. You can start small and then upgrade as you go.
I've had a very good experience with the Sovol SV06.
It was around CA$300 when I bought it a year ago. I'm considering getting a second one.
Bambu labs. Pick your price point. I got one a couple of months ago and it’s been great and so far has worked without hassle.
I only noticed recently that people are now printing in multiple colors (materials?) in one go - is that a new thing? Maybe something this manufacturer integrated?
I just got a Bambu Lab A1 (Combo with AMS lite, which I can also recommend) and am really impressed how smooth and well designed everything is. They really put a lot thought even into how the product is packaged and assembled. The few parts that you need to assembly yourself are all color coded (but after installing the color coding is hidden).
With my good old Ender 3, almost every print required tinkering with settings, otherwise print quality was bad or prints straight up failed. It was great for learning about 3d printing but with the A1 I can just print everything in much better quality without worrying about any settings.
I started with a Prusa Mini. It's a reliable workhorse.
Bambu Lab is extremely popular right now, and looks to be very easy to use.
If price is no option, Bambu labs is the way to go.
If you are tryna get a 3d printer on a budget, any of the Creality Enders, like the Ender 3 or the CR-6 MAX are good starting points within the ~$200 range.
Since the BambuLab A1 series was released, I consider this highly outdated information.
Looks like the A1 is $489.00-$559.00. A $170-$200 3d Creality printer still fits into a different category and pricepoint imo for beginners on a budget.
The A1 is presently $339.00. The price you cited is for the combo including the AMS, which allows for multi-filament printing.
source: https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/a1?variant=4158335519...
You can get a Bambu Lab A1 mini for 205 EUR. Cheapest Bambu Lab A1 I see is 345 EUR.
But there's also the A1 mini. A volume of 180x180x180mm³ is not bad.
I used to joke that my favorite tv show was just spinning a model around and around that I was working on in freecad or kicad or openscad. It's honestly still my favorite tv show.
I got myself a Ender 3 V3 SE for christmas, and it has served me very well once I got used to it, especially once I hooked it up to a pi running octoprint. However, I've heard that the Bambu printers are generally the most "plug and play" you can get
I have an Ender printer as well and probably wouldn't recommend it. IMHO, the Bambu printers are a much better value.
The exception might be if 3d printing itself is your hobby and you enjoy tinkering endlessly, upgrading parts, tramming, setting esteps, etc...
If you want something that just prints, and want to spend absolutely no time fettling or upgrading the printer, then either Prusa (which I can speak to) or Bambu. Bambu has leapt ahead of Prusa in terms of features, though. They’re more expensive than some competition, but you’re paying for the simplicity.
A1 mini, it's sitting on my desk right now (is very small) and I love it!
I just get bambulab p1s a few weeks ago. My goal was to find “iphone of 3d printers”. It is still not there but it’s as close to “press a button to print” as possible. So far I’m pretty happy with the device and software.
Bambu Labs A1 - not had it long, but for less that £300 it's unbelievable, easily matching quality with the prusas on the type of stuff I'm printing.
The Bambu Labs A1 Mini is less than £300, the A1 is more expensive.
A1 is presently £289.00 GBP
I love my Creality Ender 3, I was intimidated by the assembly process but it went fine and I can’t believe how good it is. And it cost peanuts.
3 Weeks ago Scott Yu-Jan posted his version of the iPhone Stand By Dock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3nWw8qSYgk There is a nifty mechanism to take the iPhone out. Model: https://makerworld.com/en/models/615378#profileId-538769
This video is embedded in the article and also mentioned.
I would love to get my hands on the CAD-Files to fit my Pixel 9 Pro to this case.
Also, has anyone found a nice solution for a "Standby Mode" Equivalent for Android? I tried a Daydream-Screensaver, but with that my phone get really hot and it also was very bright.
I love this design. And this particular design and application highlights one neat property about 3D printing at home: you could have an open source design that is easily tailored to the end user's phone case (of which there are endless variations) and their personal everyday-carry pocket items.
I can't explain exactly why but this looks beautiful!
That filming is of amazing quality.
How do you take the phone out? Push the camera bump from its back?
Also, nice design, but the word “inspired” is doing some heavy lifting.
OP here, check this photo out: https://x.com/fatih/status/1836691756965933084
Because there is a tray, you don't need any mechanism to remove it. It's just your fingers and hands.
It looks like there are cutouts in both top corners in the model. One for the camera, and one (likely) to push the phone out.
Actually, both are used for pushing out. I made it so both left and right-handed people can use it. The cameras are already taken into consideration, and you can use them on both horizontal sides.
Very nice!
I've had an idea for a dock that turns your smartphone into a landline of sorts. Plugs into an actual corded phone base and only rings the physical landline phone.
The integration of multiple functions (tray, charger, clock) into a single unit is a clever solution to bedside clutter. However, have you considered how this might impact the flexibility of use? For instance, what if a user wants to charge their phone elsewhere or use the tray separately?
They built this for themselves and then released the 3d model for free. Users who don't want this wouldn't print it.
Inspired is generous, it's an exact copy of the form.
The article mostly made me just want to buy a BC21 (https://us.braun-clocks.com/products/bc21-braun-digital-wire...).
But I can see the advantages in making the phone still be the alarm clock, or else you'd run into problems w/ having an alarm on both the phone and on the clock. Plus it would be nice for the display to change if e.g. someone is calling me in the middle of the night. I can see why the design is the way it is, since presumably none of that would be possible if the dock is just a wireless charging cradle.
It reminds me of the cool ways the wireless charging dock for the HP Touchpad let you turn the tablet into an ambient clock or a digital photo frame, all the way back in 2011.
The most impressive part of this is the 3D print itself. Does anyone know what printer they are using? I wish mine came out half this good.
OP here. I use a Bambulab X1 Carbon.
in the video, the guy is using a bambu a1 mini. i personally have a bambu a1 (full size) and the prints are nearly perfect every time.
That looks very cool!
Thanks for sharing it.
I have no idea if there might be trademark/copyright issues, if you tried marketing it, though.
It's a brand new product, hence I think there is no trademark involved here.
Well...there are some kinds of trademarks, especially in the design world, that can be tricky.
For example, I believe that Harley-Davidson has trademarked their exhaust sound, and I think that Google, Ferrari and McLaren have trademarked colors.
TIL, I didn't know about it.
really nice to see well designed, useful 3D printable products.
These kind of designs are essential for 3D printing to graduate from printing baby yodas only. Also, the high-quality photography and documentation helps a lot to go for the 3D print over temu.
Couldn't you sand the end result to prevent those ugly 3D printed lines?
You can. It adds a lot of work! It's surprisingly tough to sand. And sanding makes it look bad, so you end up having to use filler primer and/or bondo, then more sanding, and more painting. Here's an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTE9bJyUO_8
Yes, you can. If you want to do that, I'd recommend to print in ABS though. It's easier to sand and you can use vapor smoothing afterwards to get a very smooth and shiny surface.
Printing ABS is more challenging though and the fumes tend to smell.
You can also do something caled "vapor smoothing".
You can also use "adaptive layer height" in the slicer settings to greatly reduce it.
Looks amazing! Wish there was a version for the 14 Pro Max.
I'm working on a `Max` version, because a lot of my friends are asking for one.
That's great news. I will keep an eye out and would happily throw a few bucks your way for a 16 pro max version.
Beautiful work.
How does gumroad work? If I type in a “fair price” and buy it, what happens? Does the creator get the tip and gumroad prints it for me?
OP here. Of course, there are commissions and taxes. First, you can download it for free, but you can tip (donate) any money. Say you gave $10; around $1.5 goes to Gumroad. And then, of course, I'll have to pay income tax on the rest, depending on your country.
No, you only get to download the 3D model.
I remember when Apple sold standing docks with their iPods. In another world, this would have easily been an Apple accessory. And for the same reason the author built it.
I like the tray with what looks like fold up edges - does anyone know what this is?
Neato.
Any recommendations on good books on Dieter Rams, Braun and the philosophy behind all of that itself? I'd like to learn more about it.
There's a documentary called Objectified that may interest you:
OP here, yeap. Here is a list of books I have and recommend:
* Braun, Designed to Keep (Phaidon) * Dieter Rams (Phaidon) * Bauhaus (Taschen) * Dieter Rams, So wenig wie möglich (it's in German, but there is also an Englisch version, from Sophie Lovell)
Rams documentary https://www.hustwit.com/rams