You should say what country you are in so people know if it makes sense to post it - there are online services that print for you as well. A nice SLA print can look like factory
@Orbital Are you happy with the design yet? I’ve got the parts, now I’m about to print the case. If you’re ready to share the design, I’d be happy to try it.
I went ahead and designed a stl starting from from the official distribution. It works well when printed in the default orientation, that is, inner interface down. The walls are thin so depending on your printing setup you might not get walls, but that doesn’t matter, mine works fine without them. This is designed for the HIEbee adapter and the iSkey magnetic adapter.
mag.stl (214.8 KB)
I am a bit dismayed that the HIEbee adapter, contrary to the specification on the Amazon page, is not 31.5mm but 36.5mm long. Not a trivial difference, and it makes so that the adapter is slightly sticking out of the laptop frame instead of being slightly recessed.
Hello! I was wondering if you have the file on hand, I’m hoping to assemble it using the pass-through connector you used!
Hey @ggpeti and @Shiroudan sorry for the late response, I’ve just been crazy busy the last couple days. I’ve uploaded the files so feel free to give them a shot!
Mine is better though. Yours is off center, meaning the cable extender will sit slanted and under tension, and not in line with the housing. I’ve also accounted for the magnetic adapter and the small step down in size near the USB plug at the end of the extender.
After some testing, I’ve adjusted 0.2mm in the width of the extender cutout, and here it is:
mag.stl (242.6 KB)
Strange, with the HIBee or the Cable Creation extensions my Fonken/DuHeSin adapters stick out almost exactly the same amount. Maybe the USB-C plug on your magnetic adapter is a different length?
This is just a complaint about the difference between the specified and the actual length of the HIEBee adapter. I’ve reported it on Amazon as well. Of course they’re not going to make the part smaller, but at least they could inform potential buyers correctly.
How does the expansion card affect battery times? If I recall correctly, Framework had some hibernation problems which came from the expansion cards (could be fixed by now, didn’t follow that closely). Especially the HIEbee which seems to have a display built in, wouldn’t that be a constant power draw? Is it relevant?
Amoun is right—it’s a straight passthrough, no power draw. Given the function of the HIEbee adapter, I’d guess that the display only powers on when it’s charging and completes the circuit, so it shouldn’t be any power draw when just connected to the laptop and not a charger.
I’m curious, if I made the adapter but with the HIEbee extender and the iSkey magnetic bit will I still be at risk of this issue?
Killing the port on your motherboard will always be a risk. Regardless of which magnetic adapter you use. Companies like Apple who had official magnetic charging added extra protection circuity that standard usb-c does not have. It sucks but if you don’t want to risk killing the port on your motherboard, don’t do this. If you google magnetic adapters killing ports there are endless reports of it.
I do wonder if the extra space within the card slot would allow you to fit more protection before the connections get to the “internal” port?
Well, you could do something. But depending on what you want to do with the magnetic connection it might be very difficult to impossible to add adequate protection. I believe some people are using their magnetic connection for high speed data in addition to charging. Protecting that would be a very big challenge. But if you’re only after charging over the magnetic connection, you should be able to do something to reduce your risk. Just not passing unnecessary data pins would at least protect them from shorts or arcs from nearby power pins.
Would something like this work? It supposedly blocks data pins so only power is transmitted.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BMSNYV4/?coliid=I26BBFMDP2B7B5&colid=3VS4L4RIMI88F&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1
Maybe if they are mostly telling the truth. Always a gamble with unbranded chinese products. They don’t mention USB PD , but claim 50v 5A which is higher than the max USB PD Extended Power Range of 48v 5A / 240W. Hard to trust them when they use numbers that don’t match what’s possible and never even mention PD. Personally, if they can’t get that right I wouldn’t trust them to use quality connectors that are close to spec for carrying high amps. Even if it functions otherwise (triggers PD on both sides without passing data).
On the point about protection circuitry, Apple does it using a negotiation system that won’t send any power until the negotiation connects and handshakes Unfortunately, Apple owns a patent to that technology.
Could someone recommend a good online service for getting the case that is mentioned in the first post printed. I have never printed anything. I don’t know anything about materials or tolerances. Looking for some guidance and recommendations.
As an alternative, I would buy a printed case from someone willing to ship to Canada. I have the required parts, and just need the case.
Thanks.
Do you have any local Makerspace? Would be worth enquiring there to see if someone can print it.