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6ecb Ken Pillonel 6ecb , the modder extraordinaire who 6ecb 6ecb developed the world’s first USB-C 6ecb iPhone 6ecb , has now designed and 6ecb 3D printed a USB-C AirPods 6ecb charging case. The perfect half? 6ecb It’s open supply.
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6ecb Till now, all of 6ecb Apple’s 6ecb {hardware} merchandise have featured 6ecb the corporate’s proprietary Lightning port 6ecb for charging, in contrast to 6ecb different producers who merely combine 6ecb the usual USB-C. Because of 6ecb this anybody that succumbs to 6ecb Apple’s expertly crafted advertising has 6ecb to cope with a pesky 6ecb additional charger – not best. 6ecb This has since been addressed 6ecb with the latest EU ruling 6ecb however received’t apply within the 6ecb agency’s largest market, the US.
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6ecb Ken’s 3D printing undertaking additionally 6ecb combats the infamous irreparability of 6ecb the AirPods by offering entry 6ecb to the inner battery for 6ecb the primary time.
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6ecb Pillonell explains, “After the success 6ecb of my earlier undertaking, the 6ecb world’s first USB-C iPhone, I 6ecb made a decision to give 6ecb attention to attempting to mitigate 6ecb the AirPods catastrophe via an 6ecb engineering undertaking. The purpose was 6ecb to discover a resolution that 6ecb offers a second life to 6ecb the unopenable instances, which all 6ecb face an inevitable finish of 6ecb life due to their built-in 6ecb battery.”
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6ecb The Apple ethos
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6ecb You don’t turn into the 6ecb world’s first trillion-dollar firm by 6ecb investing in sustainable practices. Few 6ecb know this higher than Apple, 6ecb who’s designed just about all 6ecb of its merchandise to be 6ecb unserviceable by third events.
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6ecb The AirPods are in-built such 6ecb a approach that not one 6ecb of the inner {hardware} parts 6ecb could be accessed with out 6ecb damaging the gadget itself. Contained 6ecb in the case, you’ll discover 6ecb a set of one-way snap 6ecb tooth and a few glue 6ecb that make sure that of 6ecb this. 6ecb iFixit 6ecb , an digital restore service 6ecb supplier, gave the primary and 6ecb second-generation AirPods a rating of 6ecb 0/10 on this regard.
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6ecb Because the battery inside can’t 6ecb be accessed or changed, the 6ecb AirPods have been fairly merely 6ecb designed to be disposed of 6ecb on the finish of their 6ecb service life. With tons of 6ecb of hundreds of thousands of 6ecb models bought thus far, this 6ecb makes for an unimaginable quantity 6ecb of digital waste headed for 6ecb landfill.
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6ecb A 3D printed AirPods case
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6ecb Ken’s resolution to the issue 6ecb was to design a 3D 6ecb printable substitute casing, in addition 6ecb to his personal substitute half 6ecb for the Lightning charging port, 6ecb which sports activities a USB-C 6ecb connector as a substitute. Each 6ecb of those parts have been 6ecb made accessible on-line free of 6ecb charge.
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6ecb On this approach, the unique 6ecb AirPods case could be intentionally 6ecb reduce open to disassemble it, 6ecb the battery could be changed 6ecb as wanted, the charging port 6ecb could be swapped out, and 6ecb the 3D printed shell could 6ecb be slid again on with 6ecb ease.
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6ecb To 3D print the case, 6ecb Ken used a desktop 6ecb Anycubic Photon Mono X 6ecb system, however any low-cost 6ecb resin-based 3D printer will do.
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6ecb Fascinated about 3D printing your 6ecb personal USB-C AirPods case? 6ecb Head over to Ken’s GitHub 6ecb repository the place you’ll discover 6ecb the entire 3D fashions and 6ecb PCB recordsdata obligatory.
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6ecb The open-source neighborhood can undeniably 6ecb be a fountain of ingenuity, 6ecb providing novel 3D printing functions 6ecb at low prices. 6ecb Riskable 6ecb , a hobbyist toymaker, just 6ecb lately developed an revolutionary 6ecb new key swap mechanism to 6ecb be used in PC keyboards 6ecb . Named ‘Void Swap’, the 6ecb design is totally open-source and 6ecb could be fabricated at dwelling 6ecb with any run-of-the-mill FFF 3D 6ecb printer. The novelty of the 6ecb mechanism lies in its use 6ecb of magnets, which makes it 6ecb levitation-based and fully contactless.
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6ecb Elsewhere, YouTuber 6ecb Akaki Kuumeri 6ecb created a 6ecb 3D printed adapter for the 6ecb PS5 DualSense controller 6ecb that permits customers to 6ecb play video games one-handed. The 6ecb add-on could be utilized non-destructively 6ecb to sport controllers as a 6ecb way to enable for non-standard 6ecb hand positions and make taking 6ecb part in video video games 6ecb extra accessible to these with 6ecb bodily disabilities.
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6ecb Subscribe to the 6ecb 3D Printing Trade e-newsletter 6ecb for the most recent 6ecb information in additive manufacturing. You 6ecb may also keep related by 6ecb following us on 6ecb Twitter 6ecb , liking us on 6ecb Fb 6ecb , and tuning into the 6ecb 6ecb 3D Printing Trade YouTube Channel 6ecb .
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6ecb In search of a profession 6ecb in additive manufacturing? Go to 6ecb 6ecb 3D Printing Jobs 6ecb for a choice of 6ecb roles within the trade.
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6ecb Featured picture exhibits the 3D 6ecb printed USB-C AirPods case. Photograph 6ecb by way of Ken Pillonel.
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