1) Have a picture of the final product and let us know what material it's printed in.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZJQd5iL94
Image:
https://www.shapeways.com/model/1443095/for-xbox-360-control ler-and-samsung-galaxy-s4-cdma.html?li=search-results&ma terialId=6
Material: Strong and flexible plastics. This is the best material out of all the plastics for UtorCase, and you can see my stress test in the video with a weight and a hammer.
2) Include a link to the items page, and any links to the shop from which the item is available, website (relevant to the items Shapeways Shop and or item), and any other links.
Website:
https://utorcase.com
Shop:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/utor-case
Sample Item:
https://www.shapeways.com/model/1443095/for-xbox-360-control ler-and-samsung-galaxy-s4-cdma.html?li=search-results
&materialId=6
3) Tell us the story! What makes the item special? Why should it be featured? If you are the designer, where'd the idea come from? If you're not the designer, how'd you find the item? What do you like about it?
I am the designer of Utor Case, and the item is the first and only gadget that mounts the best Android phones on one of the best controllers out there (Xbox 360). I will be releasing UtorCase in a few weeks for Xbox One, Ps3 and Ps4 as well. I am a long time gamer and started with C64, then came Amiga500, PC, and now Xbox and Android. Android games with controller support are on the rise, but placing the phone in my lap or the table while playing was a poor experience.
Thanks to on demand 3d-laser printing technology, the case is custom printed for 120 USB OTG enabled smartphones like the Galaxy S4, and even small tablets like the Nexus 7. As a result, UtorCase attaches onto the controller and holds the phone strong and tight even if you shake the whole unit upside down while chasing zombies in
Dead Trigger, or slaying hellhounds in
Soulcraft.
I also started some talks in the US with patent layers for protection.
4) Your experience with designing and ordering the item. We always love a pat on the back, but we also want to know what we could have done to make things easier.
I love the overall Shapeways experience. I did stumble upon a few glitches while setting up my shop that I reported to Sw customer service. Here are some of them:
- Product titles are limited to 60 character which is insufficient. My titles got choppped off for many items that can surely confuse users. I also had to remove UtorCase from the product title so I can fit in there "Xbox360 controller" and the smartphone name that can be as long as 40 characters:
https://www.shapeways.com/model/1443136/for-xbox-360-control ler-and-samsung-e330s-galaxy-s.html?li=search-results&ma terialId=6
- Some of my orders took several days longer than the target date set by Shapeways. Some kind of communication would have been nice, such as "Hey, please note your shipment may take a few days longer to start...etc", and some kind of a discount such as due to this, we are giving you a 1 dollar credit or sg. Make it matter.
- I would love if my products would be distributed to Amazon and Ebay by SW, not just Google Products. Any plans for that?
- The Shapeways API does not work with a html description, and cannot yet handle adding video and a shop section. I reported these in the API forum.
- I first created my shop "utorcase" with user giorgio79. Later, I created a user called "UtorCase" but couldn't transfer the shop to this user. Then, I deleted "utorcase" shop created with giorgio79, and tried to recreate it with username "UtorCase" , but the name was still blocked.... So, I had to settle with
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/utor-case url instead of
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/utorcase
5) Any credits. Who helped you the most? Did you use someone else's model as a base file? Did you find a particular post that helped you get your creation made?
I started literally from scratch and built the model through trial and error. I had no knowledge of CAD software, 3d modelling or shapeways 4 months ago. I used Google, internet forums and Youtube to learn everything I could. Welcome to a new world!