Two days ago, we relayed news of a free, 3D printable case for the latest model for a certain famous phone from a particular tech giant, but mouths were drooling even more over that giant’s newest device, a watch. The watch is no ordinary watch. You remember those calculator watches from the 70s and 80s? It’s kind of like that, but instead of a calculator, the new watch has a fancy computer in it capable of monitoring the wearer’s pulse, among other things. While it is not the first “smart” watch (when compared to timepieces from previous decades), it is probably the most stylish. And, just as its telephonic cousin was made customizable with all manner of 3D printed phone cases and accessories, 3D printing will offer wearers of the new timekeeper a whole new avenue for printable personalization. What will be lurking on those avenues remains to be seen, but in preparation for 3D printed watchbands, protective cases, and who knows what else, 3D printing service bureau Shapeways is ready to host a contest for whoever can design the best accessory for the new watch.
Shapeways isn’t quite prepared to launch their contest as the watch won’t be available to the public until September 19th. Still, they primed their community of 3D designers that a contest would be on the way, opening a forum thread devoted to the topic. There, one designer, Michael Christensen, created a 3D printable mock-up (rendering above, .stl below) of the 38mm version of the highly anticipated timepiece, based off of the specs provided by the tech giant. Anyone can now download the .stl for the wearable computer and 3D print their own version of the watch to begin testing out new accessories.
As Shapeways community members have already provided plenty of 3D printed accessories for other products created by the iconic computer manufacturer, it’s likely that a lot of great printables will be designed for this new wearable device, as well. No ideas have been hashed in the forum quite yet, but you can keep an eye on the Shapeways forum thread dedicated to the topic and check back with us and Shapeways as soon as the contest is officially announced.
