HM version 4 Rpi 3d print case


 
That's really strange. I was going to say, I've never seen the problem where there is interference near the port holes.
 
The case in question actually showed up today. The probe ports were moved 1 mm more into the top of the case and the opening for the selector joystick was also move 1 mm towards the display. Both adjustments seem to help. On the flip side Shapeways did a pretty poor job of printing compared to my first one. Excessive porosity, bowed surfaces that should be flat, and general poor definition on edges. I have asked to return them for replacement.
 
I downloaded the stl files from the first post on Nov 26 (md5 sums)
d1bbd6645f79c0d8a4f9d3067142fbe9 HPi-bottom-R1.1.stl
c1b355b070170ede944a710ea0d164ac Hpi-top-R1.1.stl

I filed down the top holes a bit but actually I suck at soldering because my LCD is affixed with one end slightly higher than the other. Not by much but of course it is in the direction that amplifies the LCD slant.
 
Could you send me those stl files? I'd like to look at them in an editor because that case you printed doesn't quite look like the case I printed or the stl files that I have.
 
Looks to me like Shapeways is having a bad month. I complained to them about the case I recently received and hopefully I eventually receive a positive response from them. So far I've been getting a bit of the run around.
 
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My case had a corner chipped off the top portion of the case when I received it. I contacted them about it, they took a few weeks, then after pinging them again decided that the damage was caused by me. They did credit my account for the total amount of the charges so I was fine with it.

dave

Alan Erickson said:
Looks to me like Shapeways is having a bad month. I complained to them about the case I recently received and hopefully I eventually receive a positive response from them. So far I've been getting a bit of the run around.
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Bryan, I checked those files in the editor. What you received from shapeways does not correspond to those files. They seriously misprinted that.
 
Tom Kole said:
Bryan, I checked those files in the editor. What you received from shapeways does not correspond to those files. They seriously misprinted that.
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Holy smokes you're right. I just imported the STL files into SketchUp and they match up perfectly, they look fine in 123D as well. What the hockeysticks, Shapeways?


I don't know how it is even possible that that area is so far off but the rest still fits together. The probe jack holes are even wrong, because the model shows them as full semi-circles. Wow. Even the preview image at shapeways shows the right dimension on that piece so it is clearly a f-up in the printing itself.
 
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They didn't screw up the print, they printed the wrong thing. They took something out of my private folder and printed it for you. Here's a picture of it. The picture doesn't do justice to how poor a job of printing they did.

I checked into injection molding a little, and even with a quantity of 50 the price isn't any cheaper (at least for the place I checked with).

Edit: They agreed to reprint.

IMG_3318Small.jpg
 
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Yeah that's really odd. I emailed them and they've "raised an official complaint" about it so we'll see how that works out. Does your bottom model have the same name by any chance (HPi bottom R1 1)? I'm wondering if they have an issue where two things with the same name in their system can get mixed up.
 
My bottom was named "HPi bottom R2 1 123d" (that just doesn't sound right). I was browsing around the Shapeway's forum's and it sounds like the operators "manually" select the files. I'm guessing the file names are close enough that somebody grabbed the wrong file. Sounds like their printing can be a little hit or miss. When you're doing "one off" prototypes I can understand how that can be challenging, but on the flip side your charging a decent amount of money (at least as far as I'm concerned) and you need to have some sort of standards because of that.
 
So, what's the consensus on the case right now? Is Shapeways the way to go? Is there an update re: clips vs screws? I'm a little hesitant to spend $90 on a case and end up with a potentially misprinted case.
 
I've already posted above a little bit, but if you want my two cents I would avoid them. They've only printed around 6-8 cases (at least from what's been posted here) and one was most likely broke when it shipped, one they printed the wrong thing, and one they did a very poor job on (mine). Those aren't very good odds. As for the tabs, I think their fine; but that probably ties into with who's doing the printing. On the one they botched up for me the tabs make me very nervous. On the good one they did I don't have too many concerns.

Engadget had a 3d printing service poll that can be found here:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/06/ae-online-3d-printing/

I'm getting a quote from Moddler.com and http://i.materialise.com . Materialise let's you quote on line and they appear to be a little cheaper than Shapeways. The only downside with them is that they're in Belgium and the shipping may take a little more time.
 
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Thanks Alan. I had read through the thread but saw various posts about people having to haggle to get misprinted cases replaced, etc. I wasn't sure if everything ended up getting resolved to everyone's satisfaction or what. I've got another couple of weeks before I even have my hands on a 4.0 board, so I'll hold off on ordering something until I see how your investigation pans out. :)
 
I'm still waiting to resolve my issue with Shapeways too. They've asked for photos with measurements, which of course I can not provide on account of the case being part of a gift which has already been gifted. I sent them the one photo I have which clearly shows that they've printed the wrong thing so hopefully that will be enough. It is a shame they don't have their process sorted out better, because for the price you have to pay to get something fabricated, I'd prefer if *I* were the least competent person in the manufacturing chain.
 
I got my replacement one and it looks good. I included a picture of the two next to each other. The camera doesn't capture all the defects, but you can clearly see the differences in the vent slots. One is nice and crisp and the other looks like someone used a saw to cut them.

IMG_3420Medium_zps468234f1.jpg
 
I heard back from materialize and the cost is around $125 for a top and bottom. I think their quality would be better from talking with them but that price is pretty hard to swallow. Would be nice if we could find someone to work with and get a quantity discount.
 
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Kyle Christensen said:
Is the difference between the "Strong & Flexible" and "Strong & Flexible Polished" finishes noticeable? Any reason not to go polished?
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Here's some info on the polished from shapeway.

http://www.shapeways.com/materials/strong-flexible-design-guidelines

Looks like it's either tumbled or blasted with beads. About the only downside I can see it that takes around 0.1mm off. If that's 0.1mm on each side (for a total of 0.2mm) I might be a little worried about the tabs. Otherwise, yes polishing would be good, although when I painted mine it improved the surface smoothness a lot.
 
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