Aluminium Backcover Build - Possible or not - Samsung Galaxy S8 Accessories

Hi there,
for Years i'm reading here silently and i never register myself.
I'm German and i hope that my english is well enough that you can understand my Questions.
I have a Question, not about Software for Samsung S8, so that's the Point for me to register here.
Hope that is the right Place in this Forum for my Question.
In the Future i plan to buy a S8 second hand. My Money is small so the most second hand S8 are in need of repair (Frontglas & Backcovers). Nothing what a Human with skills can handle. But i want to mod the S8 on the Side of Hardware.
Here is my Question:
Is it possible to make a Backcover from Aluminium and to use it instead of Glascover?
My thinking is to get a Originalcover and then to rebuild one from Aluminium (Thin it must be). CNC, or Lasercut for the precision.
I've googled many hours in the Hope to find something like this, but nothing.
So i want to ask you.
I think a Backcover from Alu ist not so breakable as Glas, more stable, but is it to realize without elektrical Danger to Part of the Phone.
I don't like the Cases & Bumpers & so on. I want to make my Phone more personal.
Are my thoughts crazy, or not? What do you think?
Hope my thread here is ok and do not conflict with the Forumrules. Sorry if that happens, but otherwise i will be thankfull for an answer or discussion about this Topic.
Greets to all outhere...

Interesting idea! Personally I would go with a skin like dbrand or slikwrap even if the glass is broken. Personal look and you don't lose any wireless functionality

Make sure that you remove the wireless charging coil before this!

Aluminium Backcover-Possible or not
Hi there,
i'm living in a relativ small Town in Northern Germany, but i hope i can find some
Manufacturers that can realize my idea. Maybe i must give an Order to some Firma over Google, or so.
To j91hernandez:
Can you give me eventually some links to the products. In Germany there are unknown, i think. I want to take a look on it.
I ask myself: is a Alu-BC thick enough to protect the Phone like the Glas-BC?
Or must can i use a Metall-BC instead Alu? I don't know.
The other thing is: you must remove the Original-BC to apply the, maybe stronger, Mod-BC. But if the S8 has no Guarantee you can make it like you wish.
Glas-Cover looks great, but i've seen so much broken S8s to buy in Ebay-Second Hand Shop, so i wondering, why nobody change the BC of the Phone to avoid the use of Cases, etc.
With a well designed Metall / Alu-BC it must be better, i think. Maybe you can make it less slippery for your Hands, too.
But: is there Dangers for electrical Parts of the Phone, i mean short circuit between Parts? In wich Way it affects the NFC Functions, etc.?
Maybe try & error! I'm willing to do so if i have the Money to buy a S8. So i try to get any Infos about that Projectidea.

zoroarctic said:
Make sure that you remove the wireless charging coil before this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a Point! The Function of the Phone shall be at 100%, so i think i must look and read about Phones with Metall-BC AND Wireless Charging how they doing it.

There would be a chance the metal backing by witch one would have to possibly custom make curves and all. But may dampen WiFi bluetooth and wireless signals. Anything other than plastic glass or aluminum I would imagine would interfere with wireless charging as well. Absorbing or warping the magnetic field
But I would say if a man could bend the edges properly a hand held rotary tool would more than likely suffice to do all edging and cutouts for various sensors. I have had to make due with home made metal object before but precision be on this is a must. As water resistance is more than like gone with the wind on this mod.....
Which I support fully

HoosierDaddy said:
There would be a chance the metal backing by witch one would have to possibly custom make curves and all. But may dampen WiFi bluetooth and wireless signals. Anything other than plastic glass or aluminum I would imagine would interfere with wireless charging as well. Absorbing or warping the magnetic field
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this
A plastic back would make much more sense as it would bend easier than metal for the corners while allowing for wireless charging and not causing any kind of electrical shorting issues.

zoroarctic said:
I agree with this
A plastic back would make much more sense as it would bend easier than metal for the corners while allowing for wireless charging and not causing any kind of electrical shorting issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
ok, Plastic-Cover is another idea to think about.
But it looks not so good as Alu, or Metall. Hm, maybe th use of a Skin can make the Optic cooler than. Another Sideeffekt is that the Plastik is covered then against big sctratches. No Danger for short circuits then and hopefully no problems with wireless charging and so on.
To Build such an BC is easier, right. Bending and cut out the Holes, that's all what we can make ourselves (if you are not Double-Lefthanded).
Thanks for the Input. Will think about that and trying it if i have my S8 in the Future.
A Fullbody-Cover protects the Phone completly (Front+Back), but on the other Side it is more thicker, unhandy. Often the Buttons are not good to press, and such things.

if you insist on aluminium/metal, then you are going to have to give up some functionalities. otherwise, plastics would be your only option. wood might be a viable option too, however durability would be an issue with the material.
imho though, you mentioned that you have limited money and if you're going to get an aluminium/metal/wood back cover machined by someone, it's going to cost more than you would think. replacement glass are way cheaper and as the other user suggested, you have vinyl wraps to get the look that you want

Related

ZAGG's Invisible Shield: My fresh experience

*Note i have not experienced whether the product lives up to its name or not. I only JUST placed it on my device. This is simply my first impression.
**I included pictures of my device compared to the back parts of the adhesive so you can fully grasp the wonderful "custom to fit" experience.
I just now got as close to perfection as i think i am going to get with placing my "custom to fit" screen protector onto my device. At very first glance i saw that their were going to be some slight imperfections. The random circle on the top right of the adhesive was a dead giveaway. The cut out they have for the top speaker and the bottom row of buttons is hardly CLOSE to the size it should be. It is much too big. I am not sure if it is clear enough in the pictures but their is excess adhesive on the sides. I figured they may be meant to fold down to protect a minuscule amount of siding. At first i could not get it to stick on the sides. But after giving it a few minutes to settle and let the application spray* dry, it seems to be holding. However, the border has really ugly bubbles from the very tony inlay of the front of the phone. The instructions say that MICRObubbles will disappear in their own after a couple days... i hardly find these MICRObubbles though. We will see. I think it is almost supposed to have a "melting" effect on the device. Like heated plastic sort of taking the proper shape over the device.
Now we move onto the back. You will see that i have been given 3 holes instead of 2. (2 being the camera lens and the button underneath). I have no idea what the third was meant for.... I can also forget about taking the backing off of my device as it is now sealed shut with the plastic invisible shield. This doesn't bother me that much since i rarely ever have to take the back out but i know their will be a day where i will need to.
All-in-all the product LOOKS promising still. The bottom line here that i would like to make is that i have NO idea what TouchPro2 they are basing this off of. but it is far from mine. Too far. I need to check but i am also fairly certain they ask for your provider too (in case the device is different than others)
I am also still wondering about the excess sides. it is very random in the back but they make no mention of needing to trim the shield.
*They give you a spray that you use on your fingertips and the adhesive so that a. you dont give it fingerprint smudges and b. it doesnt fully stick right away so that you can "slide" it into place. I found that "sliding" it around was impossible because it still stuck but it did not stick enough to the point i was unable to retry.
I really hope this means something to somebody. Had i read something like this before hand, i may have thought longer on buying the product. I will be sure to write more in the next few days. By the feel of the material on my phone, it seems like it could work really well.
I would also love to know other people's experience with this product and even maybe correct me if anything i complained about was just due to stupidity.
It very much looks like you bought Invisible Shield for the wrong Touch Pro 2 model.
It looks like you have the one for the unlocked/unbranded model:
http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/htc-touch-pro-2-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php
When in fact you want the T-Mobile model.
http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/htc-touch-pro-2-t-mobile-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php
It looks like the shape of your T-Mob branded TP2 is actually quite different from the unbranded version. The shape of the shield is therefore quite different between the models, based on the pictures on the Zagg website. Also, the layout of the battery cover is totally different, which is why the cutouts on the shield don't match your battery cover. This also accounts for the 3rd small hole on this piece. In addition to the camera lens and speakerphone button, the unbranded TP2 has small holes for the speaker just below the speakerphone button, and that is what the 3rd hole in the shield is for. I'm guessing on the T-Mob version, the speaker hole is located as part of the larger cutout/hole.
Not to be mean but it's really obvious that it wasn't made for a T-Mobile Touch Pro2 and you should have known that it wasn't the right one.
Just going to the Touch Pro2 forums you can see that there's different versions of the device and ours is usually always referred as the "T-Mobile Touch Pro2" when being specific.
The cover does seem worth buying though.
Yeah i just inquired about it. I did buy the T-Mobile one and they just sent the wrong one.
redpoint73 said:
In addition to the camera lens and speakerphone button, the unbranded TP2 has small holes for the speaker just below the speakerphone button, and that is what the 3rd hole in the shield is for. I'm guessing on the T-Mob version, the speaker hole is located as part of the larger cutout/hole.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oddly, the Tilt2 had little holes in the back case in the same spot, despite the fact that it is just the battery sitting behind the holes. I always figured it was just a way to give water quick access to the battery compartment to turn that little strip pink incase we ever dropped it somewhere damp...

[Q] Bumpers?

I've seen all kinds of gtab covers and cases - so how about thoughts or ideas about bumpers, etc., that can make the gtab more kid-friendly?
So, no ideas on kid-friendlyness?? Bummer....
markgolly said:
So, no ideas on kid-friendlyness?? Bummer....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry no one's gotten to you. Personally I'm not too sure what you mean by 'bumpers' but I think I can safely assume you mean a protective strip around the edge. Bad part is that there is so much accessibility on the edges it's hard to cover; dock port, speakers, both usb's, power, headphone, ac plug. Dunno if it's feasible?
Personally I would like to see a form-fitting shell type case like the case mates 'barely-there' for phones.
unfortunately, I just don't see that happening anytime soon.
DIY solution -- electrical tape. The color will match and will help with scratches on the edges.
Not the best solution, but until there's a case that's easily accessible for purchase its a workaround.
Thanks, guys! Yes, I was meaning a case or high-impact rubber strips for around the edges and back (with a small lip on the LCD side to keep it from impacting flat surfaces - i.e., dropping on the floor). However, I don't know if the G's case can handle an impact from 4 feet even if it does have rubber strips....
The electrical tape idea is certainly one I need to think about....

[Q] placing lead tape to boost weight

So I just had a thought about using some lead tape I use to boost weight of my tennis racquets to boost weight of the vibrant. I hate how the vibrant feels kinda cheap and hope adding some weight to it would make it feel a lil better. Would using the lead tape interfere with reception either cellular or gps?
Okay I am not trying to flame or be rude, but how does the vibrant feel cheap ?
Is it because it doesn't weigh that much ? The vibrant in my opinion does not feel cheap and most people prefer a lighter phone. Why would you want to add weight to something that is slim lined on purpose ? Do you really want to carry around a brick in your pocket ? Yes to answer your question, the tape would probably interfere with at least your cell signal, I don't know about the gps signal though. I personally think that this is a terrible idea. To each their own I guess though.
So not only will it feel cheap but hey now your really gonna make it look cheap lol
I agree with 1 part about the OP though.
The phone DOES look like it was made out of fully plastic... and thats why it looks.. cheap!
I mean look at ATT's Galaxy S ( was it the captivate? )
It has a hard matte cover, and it feels good to carry around...
Also HOW would it interfear with signal? If that were true, wouldn't it do the same with other bulky cases?
Then it would have bad signal, but with my case nothing like that happens... so idk
I'm pretty sure lead tape would kill your signal. After all, dentists and doctors give you lead filled aprons when you take x-rays, for the purpose of blocking the radiation.
xriderx66 said:
Also HOW would it interfear with signal? If that were true, wouldn't it do the same with other bulky cases?
Then it would have bad signal, but with my case nothing like that happens... so idk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:facepalm:
Is your case made out of lead? It's got nothing to do with the bulkiness, it's the material.
thegreatcity said:
:facepalm:
Is your case made out of lead? It's got nothing to do with the bulkiness, it's the material.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry sorry sorry!
Missed the lead part read right through it!
I suppose this would also give your phone added protection against superman.
Anyways, the lead tape would be likely to give you signal trouble, but play around with the placement and you should be able to find a way to make it do-able.
This is a pretty neat Idea, I might give it a shot myself, just for fun.
Ok so personally I think it's too light. I prefer some weight to my phones. Lets be honest here..people want a metal backed or mix of metal/plastic back. There was a thread about someone making them here. Also as was mentioned look at the captivate that feels so much more solid. As for the lead tape have you seen them before? Its relatively thin and I would be sticking them on the inside of the battery cover not on the outside. I have some cheapo battery covers from ebay I'll try it on. I'll report back if people are interested.
It'll ruin your signal, but your phone will survive significant levels of radiation!
There are some aftermarket back covers made of metal that make the phone feel more rigid and so if that's is a concern then go buy one of those.
As far as weight, the phone is engineered so well and to be this light is a real accomplishment. Nice to have a phone that is 50% lighter than my last, don;t need a boat anchor in my pocket.
As far as the lead goes unless it is actually covering up the antenna, lead will not hurt reception. People get confused about the difference between x-rays waves and radio waves.............

AutoCAD of LG Optimus G

Hey guys -
Figured I'd throw this out there. Is anyone aware of a 3D model of the design of the LGOG? Not necessarily the whole thing but the back cover would suffice. I've got a buddy who has a business in which he makes custom metal parts. He's not precision machines that, if I supply the autoCAD or 3D model, they can laser cut it out of a nice piece of aluminum or whatever. Errr, how dope would that be??
I know I'd need to move the antenna and NFC, but that shouldn't be too difficult.
If this works out I can possibly run a batch for some of you other owners that are interested out there!
Let's do some digging!
Doubt anybody has it. Your friend doesn't have some sort of 3d scanner?
piotrus22 said:
Hey guys -
Figured I'd throw this out there. Is anyone aware of a 3D model of the design of the LGOG? Not necessarily the whole thing but the back cover would suffice. I've got a buddy who has a business in which he makes custom metal parts. He's not precision machines that, if I supply the autoCAD or 3D model, they can laser cut it out of a nice piece of aluminum or whatever. Errr, how dope would that be??
I know I'd need to move the antenna and NFC, but that shouldn't be too difficult.
If this works out I can possibly run a batch for some of you other owners that are interested out there!
Let's do some digging!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really wish I could help, what you're proposing sounds awesome, however;
I would get an aluminum blank and (tape?) it to the back of the phone or at least hold it there and observe your wireless functionality.
Make absolutely sure that your cell/wifi/bluetooth still works with a metal plate there.
If you can do me a favor, please post the results, and try copper as well if it's available. I'm interested in internally placing a copper or aluminum shim for extra thermal mass and heat spreading. This would be very useful to know.
If I come across anything I'll pass it your way, in the meantime you might want to make a cast of it for your friend with a clay mold or plaster of paris, etc.
That process itself might actually be a usable solution and net you a custom back piece, make a cast copy and use say fiberglass, then you can coat it with a carbon fiber decal or something, would look pretty awesome
http://www.ehow.com/how_5977827_cast-craft-molds.html
plenty of casting / mold making guides on the web. the only extra steps I would take would be to fill the screw holes with a dab of clay on the underside of the back piece so that it can be removed easily from the mold, you'll just have to poke them out of your copy when you're done.

Hardware Hacking x201 : IP67 Compliance

So, as we all know the Omate TrueSmart is as waterproof as a leaky boat, or perhaps a sponge.
However, I don't think there are any other Horologists on the forum at the moment. ( wikipedia horologist http:// en.wikipedia.org /wiki/horologist ).
After looking at the "seals" on the case buttons, and the laughable o-ring that Umeox/Omate have chosen to use on the back, along with the piece of silicone flap that they are using to seal the SIM card... I have to say that expecting it to be water resistant to any degree is a bit laughable.
So, I have a solution, the same one used by Rolex, Omega, Breitling, Citizen, Seiko, etc.. etc...
* Liquid silicone sealant gel on the SIM card seal and flap.
* Replace the silicone o-rings for the watch back with a thin silicone gasket, with more sealant gel
* Retrofit and replace the button seals, or create black silicone button covers that better seal them
I'm going to have to look at the speaker port on the watchband. I don't know if there is a simple solution there to make it compliant for 1 meter depth without severely affecting the quality of the sound output from that port. A brief examination makes it seem that the port -might- be able to take IP67 conditions .. but without reinforcement, I doubt it could take the forces involved in a swim, waves, wakes, spas.
Still, I think I can put together a kit, and instructions that careful and diligent people could use to retrofit the TrueSmart to make it far more waterproof than the manufacturer does. The kit would cost between $15 and $25 US, mostly to cover the cost of making custom molds for the silicone gaskets. ( There is a local TechShop here in Austin, and I have a CNC mill to make the aluminum molds, and all the design experience and software I need. Even so, a small super-accurate mold is a couple hundred dollars worth of materials and work. )
If there is enough interest evidenced here on a poll, I'll make the kit.
Sincerely,
Martin Bogomolni
Maker, Horologist, Coder, and Machinist
Need to redesign the case so that the speaker is sealed as well.
I've read that the O-rings are different among different runs. If the shape of the part of the case they fit against is different as well, wouldn't that make this effort require potentially as many different molds as the number of firmwares Loki has been trying to contend with? Or is it just the ring that's been different?
The case design is different. There's at least two maybe three.
Then that means I'll need to make two or three variants of the kit. This will also require some externally-visible way to identify the differences between various batches of TrueSmart watches.
Lokifish Marz said:
The case design is different. There's at least two maybe three.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think, just an opinion, that if the gasket between the body and the back cover has holes for the screws to pass through it like on my Last of the Kickstarter Dev Eds, 1/8/1900, delivered first of the USA group in early Feb, then that gasket works if properly placed and screwed together. The housing on these is flat, without raised screw hole posts and no groove.
I think the main problem you are going to need to overcome is the buttons and the mic pinhole leaking.
The speaker, if it doesn't mind getting wet itself, provides no entry path into the body if the wire set going in has been properly sealed inside (white sealant on mine, I think). Water could destroy the speaker, OK maybe, but not the watch unless it can follow the speaker connections back up into the body. Where the band halves meet the body on both sides there is a hole through the body to let the cables through, sealed inside with some white stuff. Maybe sealed...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
The speaker is inside the case (under the square "bump" in the backplate) and uses nothing more than double sided tape. It is partly held into place by the plastic insert.
What is that open slot for then, in the band on the speaker side ?
Where the sound comes out ?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Yep. (see attached image)
Yes I was also curious about how the waterproofness of the speaker and microphone port would be approached. But I'm definitely down for one of these.
For what it's worth, I've submerged (no more than 2ft) my NA 1gb/8gb OTS and used it in the shower after having opened the bottom. During the first week I was constantly checking inside the case for internal moisture and didn't see any. It's been a while, but I remember thinking the physical buttons looked like they would let water in if used while underwater, but that didn't seem to happen.
for giggles, my omate arrived with bad software, and only pulling the battery would fix it. I had first tried letting the battery die out but the vcom drivers didn't fully take until i pulled the battery, so the water seal warranty was moot from early on. I don't remember how long I waited, but I sent the following screen to cecilia and a few other mailboxes at omate for help with no response (surprise!) before pulling the battery and stepping through the restore guides.
Looking back, I can't even imagine how the bootloader got to be so trashed! Volume up and down you say?
I am in. Also shared on G+ and KS comments the poll, good luck!
Yep
I'm definitely in support of this. I created a kayaking app that is pretty useless with the watch the way it is... having this kit out there would be great.
Hi. I am a watchmaker (horlogist?) from Germany and its my daily job to make watches watertight.
I have access to professional measuring devices for checking the watches if they are sealed. It is testet via air pressure, no water. The watchcase deformation is measured by fine sensors and if it is deforming in the given parameters then the device says proof or leak. There are ranges from -0,8 Bar to +20 Bar.
Further tests to locate the leak are made with water tests.
I havent received my pre ordered true smart yet (but I own a simvalley AW-414.go). Before I would test the true smart I would like to know how much pressure it could take before the screen brakes.
After the long wait and seeing this IPx7 drama unfold, I decided to just flip my TrueSmart on delivery - and flog it on eBay/Amazon without ever opening the box. Depending on the delivery timeline and other factors (such as the impending release of the Polar V800 and Garmin fenix 2) I may reconsider that strategy if this "aftermarket waterproofing" plan gains momentum.
I checked the option to be willing to pay for professional install (having waited this long - and the fact that the V800 is another $100 more expensive than the TrueSmart) but I'm more than happy to do the install myself if the kit is solid. From what I gather in the initial post, it's going to be a far sight better than the factory seal. So, if I keep my TrueSmart I'd be in for either the home install or the pro install option.
FWIW - I could care less about using this phone in **** Tracy mode [trademark pending]. For my money, stuff a grommet in the ports and glue/seal them in place - my goal is to use the device for training.
DerUhrmacher said:
HThe watchcase deformation is measured by fine sensors and if it is deforming in the given parameters then the device says proof or leak. There are ranges from -0,8 Bar to +20 Bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a pressurized submersion test it will fill with water before anything else. The case was never tested beyond about 0.015 Bar and even then it wasn't tested properly (bare case, no buttons or straps and all the ports sealed in 15cm of water).
Them doing something as simple as not putting in the speaker right or the double sided tape not seal correctly on the speaker will negate any water resistance it may have had.
Had any luck looking into this?
I would definitely be interested in a kit to improve waterproofing...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Me too ! I don't see a survey, maybe Tapatalk does not support surveys ?
I bought a NeverWet spray set from HomeDePot recently. They show how to treat an iPhone 5 by removing the back cover and spraying inside. I don't have an iPhone or I might try it. Wouldn't care...the stuff worked pretty good on my shoes though.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
In the meantime...
Hi horologists,
I was wondering: is there anything a layman could do in the meantime to, at least, improve the water sealing on the TrueSmart? I'm not interested in submerging it or taking a shower; I just don't want to be afraid that my watch will short if I get stuck in rain and put it in my pocket.
One of the things I obviously don't want to be doing is just smearing vaseline all over it as that'll ruin the silicone components, correct? I am currently purchasing silicone grease (dielectric so non-conductive) to improve the seals on the bottom and around the sim card case. What should I do about the buttons? Can I put more grease around their edges? Would vaseline be apprpriate there, since it's coming in contact with my skin and there seems to be no silicone gaskets? What's the best quick fix for buttons?
Sorry if these questions are stupid but... this is admittedly coming from a place of utter ignorance. : )
Take care and thanks very much.

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