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How are these smartphone back covers made?
(lemmy.ml)
The plastic is polished black, the logo and text is reflective silver grey. I’m interested in replacing with a custom made cover, but I don’t know the process that was used to achieve this. I have found out that they most probably used laser etching for my iPod, but I can’t find anything on this. Thanks.
Update: I found an Ebay listing with the logo half scratched off, confirming my assumption of it being somehow printed on. I still don’t know how though, haha.
Injection molding is something hobbyists do once in a while. Plans for the machines are not hard to find (Vince gingery wrote the book most use). Unlike 3d.printing though, you can't go from CAD to a part directly, instead you need to build the mold and that is not easy makes the process a lot more difficult and it needs more tools (a milling machine) and skill.
Still the results are a lot better than 3d printing and it isn't as hard as you might think. It is worth looking into, to see if maybe it is for you.
You can make injection molding blanks with 3D printed parts but it's still not an easy process from what I've seen. It'd be better/cheaper/easier just to make your own external protective case.