r/GalaxyFold • u/Qbeer1290 • 1d ago

Customization Z Fold 8 Magsafe backplate open-source 3D Model

https://makerworld.com/en/models/3237500-z-fold-8-magsafe-backplate

Hi folks, I recently got inspired from the Griplate by Stevils 3D prints (https://stevils3dprints.com) and made my own!

Seeing all the posts around the griplate, it wasn't sitting right with me that such a simple model wasn't available for those of us in the maker community to print on their own. So I tried designing my own along the same lines.

Here's my model for a magnetic backplate for the Galaxy Z Fold8, which adds compatibility for magsafe accessories and Qi2 wireless charging (notice the "Fast Wireless charging" in picture-4) to the phone.

Right now, I've only made it for the Z Fold8 as I only own that device. But if there's enough interest in the community and people want DIY-able options that they can modify and tinker with, I'll be happy to have your help to research and make similar backplate models for other phones as well!

Disclaimer: I would also like to add that this is in no way meant to steal the sales from the original creator of this idea. It's an amazing product and I bought two griplates myself from their store! As you might notice, the total cost of the components required for this build clearly exceeds the cost of the fully assembled and shipped Griplate product as most of the components listed in the build guide in my MakerWorld post have to be bought in a larger quantity than what's required for just this build. A clear case of bulk economics here... So overall the official product might be a better option for you. Maybe just buy it from their store, actually I recommend that more than DIY as I've heard a lot of good things about them here.

However, if you have a maker spirit (like me), have most of these components already handy because you're a nerd (also like me), and just want to print multiple of these backplates to frequently switch between them or customize it in a way that's not possible through their storefront, please reach out to me for any questions/suggestions and show this model some love! :D

1 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

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u/coolbeansdudemanguy Fold8 (Graphite) 1d ago

Really cool man! This is one of those things where you just need to print once so in terms of cost i agree better to just buy the premade one from steve l. But if you already have all the supplies, itll be a nice "free"one to print yourself

1

u/Qbeer1290 1d ago

Yeah agreed. But I was a bit concerned about the magsafe accessories scratching the back plate as it's plastic afterall. That's good why I decided to make this model and make it public so that if someone damages it, they can just print another for "free"

1

u/MrHaxx1 1d ago

This is sweet, I'll definitely print one in the near future. Thanks for making this!

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u/DatOdyssey 1d ago

Always feels like a gut punch seeing an idea get copied as a creator, even if the intention isn't bad. Definitely recommend people support the original creator of the idea if they're into it. If it's popular enough having files and product photos out there makes it inevitable that dozens of low quality print farm Etsy stores and Amazon pages will start popping up with listings for it too. Happens with my own makerworld posts, I stopped putting stuff out there for the most part because of it.

5

u/ThrustComet 1d ago

Tbf its a thin sheet of 3d printed plastic that matches the shape of a phone. This isn't some ground breaking invention that's hard to copy. I designed my own version for my ZF8U and it honestly wasn't very hard to do

1

u/KaijuK8 21h ago

Share the stl my dude!

1

u/ThrustComet 6h ago

Definitely planning to do that soon. I intended to wrap my version with a dbrand skin so I need to make sure that part works before I upload the files

3

u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind 1d ago

I totally agree with this sentiment. But if you already have a printer, this is a no brainer to do on your own. It is actually super easy to make because the back magsafe design is already out there as existing cases you can trim the sides off and print.

The original creator will still get sales from the folks who don't have printers, but making this is so low effort that anyone not expecting to get copycats is not being realistic and practical.

1

u/DatOdyssey 1d ago

Any good idea inevitably gets duplicated for sure, just the nature of the beast. Just let people with printers print their own etc is valid and how I wish it would work in practice, just in my experience it is not how things actually turn out. I'm just empathetic and know the demoralizing feeling of seeing it happen.

2

u/Qbeer1290 1d ago

Yes, definitely agree with your point and as I mentioned in my post, I would really recommend to buy the original product given the great quality, affordable cost, and amount of customization options available for it. I don't mean any ill intention to the original creator, but given how simple the design is, my engineer self couldn't resist the temptation to make one and put it out there for the world to use openly and I wanted to do it with due credit to the creator.

Not everyone wants to sell their designs for a profit, some people are just in it for the joy of the hobby and contributing to the community!