Low profile cell phone shell case

I dislike scratched up phones and bulky cases equally, so I created my own shell case that is thin, form fitting, and protects from scratches. This instructable will show you how to use a vacuum former to create a fitted shell case to protect your phone. 

Step 1 Tools and materials

For this instructable you will need a vacuum former plus a matching frame, binder clips, a vacuum cleaner, and some source of heat. this can be your kitchen oven, but I use a hot plate. The only materials you need is a small piece of .030" high impact styrene sheet to form the shell from. I purchased mine from USPlastics, but it is also available at hobby stores, etc... 

Comments

[jadink96]

i may have missed something, but how does this stay on to the phone?

[CapnTac]

The case is form fitting to the phone. It's similar to the way a really tight pair of pants can get stuck on a person's legs I guess.

[snowluck2345]

I am thinking of doing something like this with my laptop to form a top and bottom piece and then layup carbon fiber over the plastic mold, however, would the heat from the hot plastic possibly damage the laptop?

[hivoltage]

I formed the plastic right onto my phone with no signs of any sort of damage since it seems to cool almost instantly once it touches the surface of the part. Your mileage may vary however, with different thicknesses of plastic and temperatures. If you lay up carbon fiber onto the outside of the plastic mold the cured carbon fiber shell will be larger than the laptop all around by the thickness of the plastic. might be better to use the plastic mold of the laptop to cast a plaster positive then lay carbon onto the surface of that? The shell would be exactly matched to the laptop that way.

[snowluck2345]

I was thinking of using rather thin plastic and maybe keeping it in there after adding the fiberglass. Like a 1/16" piece of styrene or something. That wouldn't add alot of weight and it would make it alot easier to make. I would use velcro to attach it.

[keiou]

Nice! good job! :)

[valhallas_end]

Not a bad idea at all. If my new phone hadn't come with a great case for free (having friends in all sorts of retail pays off...), I'd be tempted to try this. I'd suppose a sheet of clear plastic could be used to cover the front of a non-touch screen phone easily too...might be interesting to try with one of my older cells.