Process & Procedure

Designing the initial iteration was pretty straight-forward. I had the idea of a 2 piece system from the get go, as this seems to be the most efficient system. The biggest trouble in the design process was figuring out how I would mount on the handle to the frame without blocking the phone from being placed inside. To address this situation, I thought I would use the plastic layering from my phone case and place it within the frame itself. I would then super glue the handle on, making sure that the placement was centered and sturdy.

Things were going as planned, until I actually began printing. The frame print came out fine, I attest this to its form being relatively flat. The real trouble was from the handle, which was rounded and required a decent amount of material - it needed to be strong enough to handle a person's grip. My first attempt at printing this led to the base being dislodged and then eventually everything bundling up into a mess.  My second attempt I decided to switch from a rectilinear infill pattern to a honeycomb one, which worked very well until the printer failed to extrude material (probably ran out).

At this point, the handle is only halfway printed, but still functions if pressed tightly against the frame.