3D Printed parts vs. Molded Parts
What's the difference between 3D Printing a Dackmate and molded parts
Strength- while 3D printed parts will work for printing your Deckmate depending on your printer, filament print quality will vary greatly and affect the overall strength of your system. injection molded parts create solid and consistent parts for a stong long lasting product.
Reliability - 3-D printing is a great tool for iterating on designs and testing out concepts quickly but the reality is that most home 3-D printers have too much variability to create a constantly reliable product. Your Steam Deck is expensive...
-cost all things considered buying the molded parts tends to be cheaper overall (additional hardware and heat set tools required) Molded parts not only come assembled, they also include additional hardware for our wall mount, VESA mount and adhesive replacements.
Difficulty: While we love a project we know that not everyone is up for it. Assembling your own 3D printed parts can come with a bit of trial and error. Additionally some of the hardware needed for this build requires additional tools and technical know how.
Design- while the core design of our system is consistent across our 3D printed and Molded parts (making them interchangeable and compatible) there are a few key differences. the Deckmate grip features more streamline design, the molded wall mount has the same adhesive PLUS added wings that allow for mounting with screws. the kickstand received the biggest design overhaul to a stronger and sleeker design.