Phone cases out of shape

[Oaten]

Hi,

Ive recently started sublimating phone cases. I've had a couple of complaints saying a corner of the case doesn't fit properly. I'm guessing this is due to the heat and me removing it from the mould. I normally remove it and sit it next to a fan to cool. Is there anything I can use to make sure they keep their shape and also and dummy phones I maybe able to get to see of they clip on ok?

Thanks in advance

[Justin]

Have you not got the cooling jig to place it into after its printed?

[Oaten]

Nope do you have a link to one?

[Justin]

This is the typical cooling jig although I see some suppliers are now coming with a universal jig that fits different width phone cases.

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[Oaten]

Hmmm I've got a router so I may attempt to make my own with a thick sheet of MDF I have.

[Oaten]

Also thanks Justin these forums have been a huge help with setting up my system

[g1njeremy]

Hi Oaten,

The thing with these cases is, they will slightly deform or shrink after press.

You definitely need the cooling jig...When I first started pressing, I only left the case on the cooling jig to cool. But I found that as the case slowly cooled, it still deformed. Then I started dunking it in water, and voila! The problem was gone completely!

However, if you notice, some of the pressing jigs are slightly bigger than the actual phone...For instance, the blue Note 3 case. Hence, I actually cooled the case on a dummy Note 3.

I have yet to try the universal cooling jig that comes with the new 3D sub machine (mine is en route from China) but I doubt it will be optimal in cooling all cases.

All in all, I suggest the first thing you do is get some cooling jigs!

[ArtyGamer]

If you want added peace of mind, always use dummy phones rather than cooling jigs. I have nine cooling jigs for iPhone 4/5 and rarely bother using them; instead I'll put the case straight on a dummy phone and drop it into cold water so that it immediately stiffens and moulds to the shape of the phone. I do this with Samsung S3, Samsung S4, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. I haven't yet branched into other phone models but when I do, I'll make sure to pick up dummies so that I'm getting a perfect fit every time. Plus, it's cheaper than jigs as you can pick up a high-quality dummy for around £9-£15 and it doesn't matter that you're dunking it in water as there's no electronics inside but you're knowing 100% that the case fits the phone.

[magda]

I'm having problems getting my iPhone 4/5 cases to fit I have tried both cooling jigs and dunking in water. The type of case I have is too big in it's unpressed state, roughly 3mm too long and 1mm too wide but it shrinks after heating. Seems to be that the higher the temp and longer the pressing time the more the case will shrink. The main issue I'm getting is that the case is still too long after it has shrunk. It is a bit random as sometimes the cases fit sometimes they come out too long even though the settings for time and temp were the same. I could increase time/temp to encourage more shrinking but I don't want to overcook the print as it may cause discolouration and blurring... Anyway will need to be doing more tests but though I ask first if anyone was getting the same issue.

I will also be ordering a few blanks from other suppliers just to test. Does anyone know if the metal jigs are usually designed for specific blanks? Just wondering as the jigs I got with the press fit exactly the unpressed (hence oversized) blanks that were also included.

[membrane]

Ordering different blanks from other suppliers will solve your problem. Not all blanks are created equal, most of them suck.