Thought process and approach on remixing a model without STEP or source files (Patreon)

(Author's Note: I'll be honest, I had a whole thing written up on Twitter about my thought process and steps I took to remix and redraw this model until the page decided to crash and nuke the thread I was writing. Perhaps that should teach me a lesson to write on here first before Twitter LOL.

(Author's Note [Part II]: Okay, let's try publishing this again. It seems if the browser is open too long writing this, it won't auto-save or publish, and if you refresh, you lose everything since it last was able to. Almost nuked the entire thing on here but the back button on my browser saved me.)

A picture of the completed model.

Recently, I got a reMarkable 2 tablet from my workplace's rewards system, which is rather ironic that I bought something as a treat for working to be used for work, but we will address my predisposition to work constantly another day.

Anyways, I got the device with the keyboard cover (Type Folio), but saw that charging it laying flat was taking a LOT of space on my already small desk. I looked on Thingiverse and Printables for stand, and found a charging dock (link) by a fellow named Grummie, though it is designed for the cloth Book Folio. It was too thin to hold my Type Folio.

I wasn't looking to own two covers for my device and add to tech clutter, so I reached out and asked if they would be willing to share their STEP file so I could remix it and add compatibility, but unfortunately didn't hear back.

Strategy and walkthrough

My first approach was to use Fusion 360's mesh to solid converter. This is a hit-or-miss depending on the complexity of the geometry you are trying to convert, but is always worth a try. I went ahead and had Fusion create face groups under Mesh -> Prepare -> Generate Face Groups, then had it immediately attempt a solid with Modify -> Convert Mesh as a prismatic to keep the faces simple. It couldn't resolve the aggressive filets and radii, and unfortunately left a hole. On closer inspection, some faces one would expect to be parallel were not at all. This meant that I would end up having to redraw the model, but I wasn't entirely left without something useful.

Fortunately, I was able to make use of the topmost face, bottom most face, and middle face where the tablet would rest as reference points for the height of the dock. I drew some rounded rectangular shapes at each of those planes, and lofted the two sketches together to create the base model for the dock.

Next, I measured the thickness of my device with the folio and made a rounded rectangle sketch on the same plane as where the tablet would rest from the broken mesh, and extruded up out from there. I followed up with a simple chamfer to make inserting the tablet easier.

Using negative solids

As mentioned prior, not everything from the attempted solid conversion was wasted. The faces for accommodating the right-angle USB-C adapter were intact, so I captured a negative of that working geometry using the same strategy I would use for creating a negative of fire-control pockets or clearance pockets on my other projects.

This way, I would have a model of known good geometry I could reposition and split against a plain body. (In fact, this came in handy after I printed a test model of just that side of the dock, and optimized the location of the USB-C connector by moving it inward by 1mm as I would have to insert the tablet at a slight angle for it to connect. In the picture below, you can see where I reposition it vs where it was initially.)

After the base dock was created, I turned to the cover piece for the adapter. Fortunately, the cover piece was a piece of simple geometry, so I converted the mesh to a solid successfully using the method outlined above, as the cover had rather simple geometry.

The original author did not specify a particular screw that he used or length, so I decided to standardize with a M3 x 10mm flat head socket screw after measuring the depth of the negative geometry.

I modified the cover's screw holes to have a chamfer to better accommodate (and be supported) by the screw's angled shape.

And finally, I had the dock remixed and redrawn to accommodate the Type Folio I have!

Finishing Up

I finished the remix with standardizing and populating the description with build instructions, materials needed (especially the M3 x 10mm flat heads), and my particular print settings. (I opted to print the first 20 layers solid so the weight is towards the bottom of the model.) Of course, this included taking photos of the finished item too- the fun part. I wanted to give this remix the same kind of attention and care as my other original designs and remixes.

Grummie, the original author, recommended in the description something clever I had never heard about until now- "micro-suction adhesive"! Apparently, it's a material you can adhere to the base of a model to "stick" it on any surface since it will make small air bubbles, and still be removable. I ordered the suggested product, and applied it to my print after trimming.

(A neat thing I noticed too is that the thickness of the adhesive adds some clearance, in case the cover bend upwards due to the under-hang on the dock.)

I was already able to lift the tablet out of the dock with ease, but with the micro-suction adhesive, the dock stays in one place and doesn't shift around on the table.

I'm super pleased I was able to translate some of the skills I learned from 3D 2A back into making accessories and things around the house. You can download my remix of the dock along with the STEP file on my Printables page!