I 3D Printed A Mockup of the iPad mini

Apple kicked off today’s event with a BANG! The rumors were saying that there wouldn’t be any iPad announcements and that the iPad mini would be delayed. What did Apple do though? They essentially said “f*** you” to the rumors and leakers and announced the new iPad 9th generation and iPad mini 6th generation. NOT ONLY THAT, but they also made it available to pre-order today and let you pick it up next week!

Naturally, as a recent mechanical engineer graduate with a 3D printer, I set out to do a quick CAD model of the iPad mini with the information available on Apple’s website under the tech specs to 3D print a mockup.

Now, I did this really quickly and didn’t want to do all the buttons because I knew this print would take quite a few hours and I wanted to get some videos done on this tonight to post tomorrow on my YouTube channel.

Before you see the model, I just want to say that the dimensions aren’t going to be 100% spot on, but it will still be a close enough comparison until I can get my hands on some cases or the actual device.

So let’s take a look at what 6 hours and 40 minutes of 3D printing gets you!

Yes, yes, I know I forgot to round the screen edges. I got too excited and eager to get this printed as soon as possible. It still turned out great though!

This looks small, but not in a bad way. I am more excited to see and use the iPad. I currently have the iPad Pro 12.9" (2018) and since school has finished and I am not taking notes daily, I have been thinking about downsizing to a smaller iPad.

The mini yet mighty iPad mini can be great for a handful of situations. Is it necessary? No, but if it lives up to the expectations, it will be fun! Apple showed that the mini can be used for health professionals since it fits in their lab coat pockets, pilots, and even regular people. It would be great to be able to pull it out and write a quick note and put it away. Sure, this would work if Apple would give the iPhone Pro Max model, but whatever, the iPad mini can do it.

The bigger size doesn’t let you carry around your iPad as easily. I love the iPad Pro 12.9" and I do think it is the future of computing, but this mini one is really interesting. I can’t wait to see what people do with it and what I can come up with for videos with it. So let’s see how it ends up turning out with the real product!

I would love to know what your thoughts are on the iPad mini, so let me know down in the comment section if you have the time!