This would be handy. Don’t always need those 4 slots and walking around with empty slots not only is a poor esthetics but also unpleasant for touch with sharp edges.
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I’d love a maker card case that was just the shell and metal shield. Heck, throw in the bare USB-C connector from a USB-C module, no PCB (or a tiny breakout PCB for USB 2.0 type-C). Make the face material something relatively easy to cut or drill, or just provide a slot for a 3D-printed face. I’d be all over that.
Why don’t people just use 4 USB-C Ports??
Although there is a bit of aesthetic gain I suppose from only having 1/2 ports…
Empty one would be much cheaper and would not drain any power.
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The USB-C card doesn’t drain power. It’s basically a 1" extension cable. But it would be a bit cheaper without the connector, that’s true.
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. As Paul said USB-C doesn’t drain any power.
You’d probably be saving a dollar on the lack of contacts and whatnot, but shipping is 30? Considering the overall price of the laptop as well, I don’t think anyone is actually annoyed with having to pay something like $12 for 2 USB-C ports.
They could give it for free when you buy a new laptop. It’s a benefit, which costs them 10 cent or less. Sure, shipping costs are currently far to high and need to drop, but this is a different topic.
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How do you come up with 10c
Manufacturing and distribution would be a lot more than that
You mean you want to buy them for $1 each if you don’t want working cards, but there’s no sense in giving them away free.
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It’s a small piece of cheap plastic. They could just use the existing storage enclosures without the electronics inside.
What Framework could do?
Plastic is cheap maybe as people just consume hydrocarbons and carbihyrates as if there was an unimited supply of materials and an unlimited supply of cheap/slave labour.
Wood is cheap but try making one.
Why would they want to use an existing one with holes it. I suppose a user could stuff if with paper.
Or do you mean you want and expected them to make a thousand useless little lego bricks to fill holes.
Personnaly I would make a wooden one but I have chosen 4 USBC cards and a few other for the odd use now and then.
What problem do you have ~ what cards do you use?
If you are really desperate ask someone to make you one
It’s about aesthetics, sure someone else could 3D print it, but it will not have the same look and feel as the original ones. It shouldn’t be your part to argue against it, because we would need to repeat again and again why it’s requested. There is a hight demand and Framework should consider it as a new offer for their customers.
Really? a ‘high’ demand. If you can get the numbers to Framework
- they maybe able to give a quote to manufacture ~ let’s say 100 and let you know how much they will cost a part of an initial purchase
- I understand the aesthetics side but I think it’s a ‘lot’ to ask for a non functioning part that can hardly be see.
- A card made of anyhting painted metalic grey would be pretty much unnoticed except to the user and that would be through memory not the here and now.
- I can see them selling for less than a few dollars so may as well have USB C ports, you never know when one will not work.
So what is you current configuration that requires a dumb card and what is wrong with the ones on offer?
Have you see the one by Josh?
and there’s this that appears another user has made
I don’t see an aesthetics problem in either
We are running in circles here. There are obviously people who have higher expectations regarding aesthetics than you. This thread is about the demand and not about arguing against the demand.
I get that but you are asking other users for their opinions not Framework if they will do as you demand.
I’m just making it clear I think it unreasonble and point to the fact that there are options.
But yes I can see a few people would like such. Maybe one day Framework will make such when they are not so busy or have nothing better to do.
So I’ll leave you to your demands 
Framework is reading their forums very carefully, other demands from these forums were already fulfilled, like 12th gen cpus and ethernet dongles. Other users can join the line in this thread and tell their demand too. That’s the main purpose of this thread.
Yep, we don’t get to every thread at the moment (though that is the purpose of this role we’re hiring for: Framework - Community Support Manager ).
That said, we don’t currently have any plan to do an Empty Expansion Card. We released 3D printable designs so that folks can either print their own spacers or get them printed by a services like iMaterialize, Shapeways, Treatstock, Hubs, or similar. The cards are tiny, so it is ultra-cheap to have them printed, even in materials that are normally expensive.
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It seems fairly straight forward to me. You can print a card reduced on three sides by 0.3 mm and use some aluminium sheet the same thickness to cover those sides. It will cut with a utility blade and should bend sharply around the edges as it’s so thin, but still thick enough to have some integrity. That’s pretty much how original cards are made anyway.
Just in case any ones interested here are two cases, one reduced by 0.3 mm and the other by 0.4 mm. The flat beams can be used on either side of the sheet to act as a bending jig.
a framework case reduc .stl (1.2 MB)
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Okay, I’ve made a pretty good replica of an official card, there are a couple different types. I’ll put them up here in case any one cares.
replica 03.stl (724.8 KB)
replica.stl (711.0 KB)
replica2.stl (606.2 KB)
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What’s the difference between the three versions?
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One has no screw posts, one’s just normal and one has a 0.3 mm recess on the outside to coat with aluminium if you want it authentic. Here’s an almost exact copy.
replica done.stl (798.6 KB)
replica done 03.stl (807.0 KB)
And, lastly, one very accurate one. If you removed the aluminium, that’s what it looks like, or near enough. There are little slide latches that lock the top in place.
replica accurate.stl (848.9 KB)
replica accurate2.stl (849.4 KB)
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