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MakerBot Partners With Nokia to Let 3D Printing Enthusiasts Express Themselves With 3D Smartphone Covers

Press release from the issuing company

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Ever dream of creating your own custom cell phone case? Now you can! MakerBot and Nokia have partnered to create a free downloadable 3D printing file to allow those interested in 3D printing to custom make their own phone case for the latest Nokia Lumia smartphones -- and if you have a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, you can print that cell phone case in about an hour.

Nokia and MakerBot have just launched the Nokia 3D printing community project, or 3D-printing Development Kit (3DK). MakerBot is Nokia's 3D printer partner for this exciting and ongoing endeavor.

The 3D Printing Development Kit provides a 3D template and case specs for printing shell covers for two of Nokia's latest smartphones -- the Nokia Lumia 820 and the newly announced Nokia Lumia 520. Using the 3DK anyone with a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer can print their own shell. Nokia and Makerbot are demonstrating the exciting possibilities for 3D printing at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 25-28.

"Nokia provided the Lumia 820 specs, and MakerBot optimized them for printing the case on a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer. It's a really cool shell that fits great," noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. "You can print in Nokia PLA blue, translucent white, or in any of the other numerous PLA colors. The design has a cool imprint and an oversized Nokia logo on the back." The Nokia Lumia 3D printing files are available on MakerBot's Thingiverse.com and will also be optimized for customization through the MakerBot Thingiverse Customizer.

Nokia is the first major phone company to release 3D templates for its hardware that can be printed on a 3D printer. It not only allows Nokia Lumia owners to personalize their phones, but brings Nokia into a whole new spectrum of innovation in the mobile phone category.

"Nokia's design DNA is all about self-expression so getting involved in this community project is a natural extension of that philosophy," said John Kneeland, a Nokia Community & Developer Marketing Manager. "3D printing is in an exciting development phase and we're keen to help people explore this new technology."

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