Last Spring we started the series of introducing key community members on our blog, where you also find the previous interviews with Alex Gomes and Toni Aaltonen. This time we turn focus on Italy where two guys are making 3D-prints enabling us to personalize our Jolla C and Intex Aqua Fish devices with a practical solution.
I got to interview Luigi Bruno, the man behind the project, and here you can read what he told about the upcoming new products.
What is it about and how did this all start?
Fabio Isgro (Left), Luigi Bruno (Right)
Within our community Luigi Bruno is most probably known for making The transparent Other Half as well as a few other accessories for Jolla 1. But he has also been active with local OS communities in Messina, Sicily, through which he become a really good friend with another OS enthusiast, Fabio Isgro. Fabio was the one who got Luigi’s interest back on Finnish technology and later again the one who brought up something new and worth being passionate about. Luigi tells that he still remembers Fabio presenting Jolla Smartphone to him like it was yesterday.
Jolla showed up to them as a company that was founded not only for money making but as something committed to development and where people could be passionate, doing what they love. Thereby, he tells, it was easy for both to relate to the new social network and connect their co-operation around it. Now both Luigi and Fabio are active members of the Jolla community and taking their visions into actions.
As said, this design adventure within Jolla community started already with Jolla Smartphone which Luigi describes been relatively simple when all the information for the creation of The Other Half was available online and the design of the device itself was beautiful and just ready for the bumper. Luigi thereby was basically left to work with the printer settings only. The start with Jolla C and Intex Aqua Fish phones was anyway not as easy since the .stl file for the new devices was not to be found even with the help of the community.
Eventually after unsuccessful search Luigi went after the answers by himself. By exploring the device, testing different softwares and simply trying, started the creation of the second model of the bumpers. All was done alongside with the day job Luigi has as a floral designer. The project demanded a lot of pre-work before actual printing and several test prints before finding the optimal combination but it bear fruit.
The finished product has now found its form and is ready for the users to enjoy.
Bumper cases are made of special elastic PLA which is flexible and resistant for outer impacts.
When asked if Luigi has done something similar to this project before he tells that even though he has been doing accessories for his designs with the same methods, never before anything as detailed and exact with measurements. Still he admits that as his job asks certain kind of taste for beauty and personalization he has now had advantage of it with the project. Luigi describes 3D printing being like versatile coastline that offers dramatic possibilities for customization and product uniqueness; for him it’s like an endless playground that enables making something special and unique.
How are they made and how do we get our hands on the products?
Luigi continues telling more about the printing process and product details that this edition of bumper cases is made of new material, different to the elastoplastic which previously was the only 3D printing material. PLA, the material he now uses, is much cheaper and can be found in almost every color – unlike the previous – while it still preserves the preferred characteristics.
Check the video below about the characteristics of the new material! The bumper can be pressed “to the size of the lemon” and it returns back to its original size like nothing happened.
The innovation and technical drawings is one thing – but there is also post production to be taken care of. Luigi underlines that the post production is actually at least as important as the designing and development; the product is not ready straight from the consumer printer but the material has to be worked on after. In this project Luigi takes care of the post production of each product by himself. To get an idea how the 3D printed products are taken care of, read Luigi’s tutorial about the post production for TOH for Jolla 1 with elastoplastic. There are sketches made also about TOH for Jolla C and Intex Aqua Fish, Luigi reveals, but with its complicated details it is still much harder to make so that batch remains yet to be seen.
The artist describes that the bumper case is designed so that all the corners of the device and the display are protected. Back side has a wider frame so that Jolla and Sailfish OS logos are well visible. He also tells that after this long development work the bumpers give excellent protection against accidental shocks and sudden outer impacts. Case gives also a practical way to personalize our devices. At the moment the color options are set to be black and white but also cyan and silver.
Click to enlarge the image
The community is seen as a great power and possibility by the bumper makers. User experiences help to develop even better products and Luigi is hoping for feedback later. He says that all the suggestions, advice or constructive criticism for him is wished and welcomed. At the end of the interview Luigi adds that the plan is to involve Jolla C and Intex Aqua Fish owners beforehand by offering a pre-order possibility after which the new bumpers will be made and sent.
We finished the interview with Luigi’s thoughts about the development on more general level as he added:
“One suggestion I’d still like to make! A request for the community in the spirit of constructive criticism; we should leave supporting the marginal or not so prominent value of Android as the spur for the developers. I understand that today the popular apps have much value but our browser system is not that fast yet. If you stop to think, possibly tomorrow the development of the web apps will probably pass the development of the native apps; We will start using apps through the browser then.
Finally thank you, Jolla, for the opportunity given to me and about the visibility this is giving to my work and ideas.”
Italiens 😀
Good luck with the series! Keep em coming…
Always nice to hear that there is an audience for these interviews!
Thank you for your comment, we’ll keep ’em coming!
That would be lovely to get a protective case for my Aquafish
Indeed! We will be back with the info about how to get yours as soon as we hear more.
Great that the users’ interest can already be spotted here! Thanks for the comment.
Well done! Theae introductions of community members are great.
Well for us these feedback comments are great! And we find it really important to give the spotlight to the members of the community and make the great work known! And it is always interesting to find out things for us as well.
Great news!! I’m in Italy and tomorrow should arrive my Intex Aqua 🙂
Hey, you had a nice timing, nuovodna! Is your Aqua Fish well protected now?
In hindsight, Jolla should have made bumper cases to fit the other halves with, so the actual TOHs could have a simpler shape, maybe even be just a rectangular piece of material, like a PCB. Hard plastic 3D printed materials are less precise and more fragile than injection molded plastic, making a well fitting, long lasting other half difficult.
And I totally agree on web-apps going to replace native apps. So Jolla, please build a browser which runs full screen, is launched with a specific url using an icon (just let us save our bookmarks as an app icon) and get web-apps in the store.
Adding a bookmark to the app grid has been implemented more than 2 years ago 😉
Lenovo just launched a new “Jolla 2 Phone” by succession, but felt as a “Jolla 7” in terms of advancement:
https://together.jolla.com/question/116259/savetheotherhalf-toh-development-deserves-a-quantum-leap/?answer=148461#post-id-148461
In this context, 3D-printed phone bumpers feel a bit of a rather poor outcome regarding actual availability & development SF-running devices.
A failed tablet project cannot excuse a real ( read : threatening ) lack of natively Sailfish-running devices ….
I respect the importance of the late jolla C for strengthening community / developer feedback, but end-user-wise its abysmally poor image quality is a significant hindrance of considering seriously the jolla C / Aquafish as a daily device to become happy with.
I think jolla should focus on refunds for the supporters for tablet project before perusing any new hardware projects. Step One just closed and step two is about to begin soon, I hope.
But if an external partner could release hardware without any cost for Jolla, it would be great. On the other hand. Do seilfish in its current state really need new hardware?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJ8cAGm6JE&feature=youtu.be&t=1m4s
Yaaay … a 3d Case .. does that fit my Jolla Tablet too ??
Uh oh .. Wait a minute ..
I do not have any cash to buy it as Jolla still owes me half my Tablet money !!!!
Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND Full REFUND
WHEN ???
Hey Maikel, this batch of 3D bumper cases, was only for Jolla C and Intex Aqua Fish devices. Bumpers are also made by community so communicating your interest about other products to the makers will surely get you closer to this wish!
JollaKaisu :
You should think that was the case (no phun intended), But your so beloved Jolla does not reply on e mail or any other form of communication (twitter phone direct messages and so on ) for a VERRY LONG time now in regard to their Tablet Failure.
So this blog is the only platform on where we old tablet backers can communicate our grieve regarding this “so called” community firm.
As soon as I have received my money back I will bury this fight, but as long this is not the case and Jolla is still breathing I will not rest.
Sorry if this annoys you, you could fix this quite easily by urging Jolla to finish the Tablet refund a.s.a.p.
Hi Maikel,
We are aware of the many sides of the Tablet-case and you can believe that a.s.a.p. is our intention as well. Unfortunately, for both you and us, the process is still ongoing – Yet still “as soon as possible” since it will be fixed as soon as it is possible, and yet it has not been. More information is now coming soon so a little more patience and we’ll be much wiser about how this will finally be handled!
I do not find the blog as the only channel and I would even see other, more fruitful ways for you to repeat your wish we already are familiar with. We do our best to reply for your questions and concern regarding this and we are willing to keep you posted. So feel free to open the discuss again under the blog post about specially this subject or pick the direct messaging most suitable for you, and give this space for the thing the topic is for 😉 You are heard and we have a common wish to get things fixed!
Your feedback is welcomed.
Well I would like not to see this blog as only channel too, but without propper response on other media Jolla leaves me no other choice do they ?
And another month has gone and STILL NO UPDATE !!
Here’s my take on this
https://ixevix.lanittajat.fi/~ixevix/jollac/
Nicely done. Liked your idea!
Hi, sorry I could not answer before for various business and personal problems. I wanted to introduce you to the reference site for the bumper. I’m willing to give you any kind of information.
http://bumperc.blogspot.it/
What about the same kind of case, but for Jolla1?
So what about the availability of a case/bumper from them ?