Collect all five: Clamshell edition

[pakra]

So, aside from compiling software for the powerpcs now and then, I do some hardware hacking and upgrading. I happen to be enamored with the colorful Aqua+Pinstripe era when things came in a variety of different delicious colors. Not that I hoard iMacs, they're too bulky, but I've collected a fair amount of Apple's tech in various colors: B&W G3 (upgraded to G4), the orange and blue clamshells, usb keyboards in various colors, and other random third party accessories in translucent colors.

But if there's one brief moment from Y2K that I wish they expanded on more, were those clamshells. Why, oh why were they only tangerine and blueberry, as compared to all the iMac colors?! Damnit, we're missing Grape, Lime and Strawberry from the 2000 Clamshell lineup (yes, I know there is Key Lime clamshell, but it's when they started moving towards the boring white as aesthetic. I can never find one for a reasonable cost, anyways).

So I can't collect (nor afford) all five. Very disappointing. But I had an idea. I can create all five...

Thus started the journey of resin casting (and inadvertedly creating spare parts for the Clamshell). After a moderate financial investment and watching youtube tutorials, I carefully disassembled and took apart pieces of my working clamshells to create silicone mold: for example, a piece meant to hold the CD bezel in place that I had broken before on my blueberry. The spare part was created and tested to work perfectly... unobtanium was created! A few other parts was also created, and the concept was proven. (originals are the clear/blue parts)

But what about the star (apple) of the show: the front logo? Let's try making a Strawberry version of it. Success!

Then I realized something. It's known that these logos fall off all the damn time. If I could somehow color match them to tangerine and blueberry, I would be able to produce lots of spare parts and help people revitalize their Clamshell collection. So for two weeks straight, I've casted, recasted, and mixed colors over and over to get close and closer to the original color. Lots of headache, but I think I made it. Here's the result.

Sample: (original is the bottom-most apple)

Perfection. It filled in the missing leaf on my tangerine clamshell. With the exception of very slight differences in color and transparency, the color is strikingly similar in different light conditions. It definitely beats having nothing there...

My goal then became crystal clear: create the sought-after logos in tangerine and blueberry (possibly more down the line) in order to finance my ultimate goal: create a strawberry, grape and lime version of the transparent clamshells.

 

[davisdelo]

Wow, incredible

 

[B S Magnet]

Nifty project!

A friend of mine and I are testing the suitability of re-creating some of the colour-keyed plastic as 3D models, which will then be 3D-printed and, as needed, polished. First up: the centre clutch cover.

Have you mapped out how to reproduce the colour silicone segments of the lid and bottom case, and found a method to bond them to the polycarbonate base?

 

[AL1630]

Very cool! My blueberry (like many others) is missing the leaf. A cottage industry making reproduction parts would be a very nice thing to have as many of the originals are hard to find and/or prohibitively expensive.

 

[pakra]

Very cool! My blueberry (like many others) is missing the leaf. A cottage industry making reproduction parts would be a very nice thing to have as many of the originals are hard to find and/or prohibitively expensive.

Those are exactly my thoughts. I think it's worth the effort compared to the relative ease of making these.

Have you mapped out how to reproduce the colour silicone segments of the lid and bottom case, and found a method to bond them to the polycarbonate base?

The silicone on the top seems fairly easy to duplicate since it stays in one place (i'll just have to cast in dyed rubber silicone), but the bottom is going to be a challenge. I briefly considered getting thin silicone and tinting it, but the curved parts around the ports would be difficult. Likewise with the glue, apparently you need to prime the surface and then use superglue. I'll figure it out when I get there.

 

[B S Magnet]

Those are exactly my thoughts. I think it's worth the effort compared to the relative ease of making these.

The silicone on the top seems fairly easy to duplicate since it stays in one place (i'll just have to cast in dyed rubber silicone), but the bottom is going to be a challenge. I briefly considered getting thin silicone and tinting it, but the curved parts around the ports would be difficult. Likewise with the glue, apparently you need to prime the surface and then use superglue. I'll figure it out when I get there.

Please let us know when you do!

With one of my donor clamshells, an indigo, the bottom silicone delaminated from the polycarbonate following heavy usage and heat generated internally. From all inspections of the bottom case’s silicone’s underside, it appears it was bonded to the polycarbonate shell via hydraulic pressure, ultrasonic bonding, or maybe a little of both — which is to say, there is no bonding medium in between (such as a glue or epoxy resin).

 

[mectojic]

Sir, you have won my deepest respect for this work. You're going to make many collectors very happy if you can recreate the front logo leaf! Even my own Blueberry leaf fell out a few weeks ago while I was travelling – so lucky it fell into my backpack.

I completely share your feeling about the Clamshells – the opaque/white clamshells (Indigo, rev2 Graphite + Key Lime) are just not as special as the original, translucent Clamshells.

I also share your love for the Y2K 1999 aesthetic (it already started to end in 2000). You can rest assured I would certainly invest in a grape Clamshell if you made one, and that Strawberry just looks delicious too!! Consider this a pre-order

A few suggestions for you, since there is so much potential here:
1) You could theoretically make colour-matched peripherals for 3rd party items?
2) Power Mac G3/G4 "Grape". I think this would be an amazing mod.
3) You could create a mold for a Blueberry Clamshell modded from a firewire Clamshell, which could create a 466 MHz Blueberry with firewire + DVD drive?
4) The five fruits are great, but obviously you could try other colours; Bondi Blue clamshell? Sage clamshell? A completely new colour?

Anyway, you're doing great work. I know nothing about manufacturing silicone or mixing colours, but I can't wait to hear how it all goes.

 

[pakra]

[...] it appears it was bonded to the polycarbonate shell via hydraulic pressure, ultrasonic bonding, or maybe a little of both — which is to say, there is no bonding medium in between (such as a glue or epoxy resin).

I'm not sure, I was able to take the bottom silicone sleeve off with ease by pouring alcohol between, implying whatever's holding them together is being dissolved. It sure sounded like glue as I was taking it off. I could be wrong though, as there was no glue residue. I just don't know.

A few suggestions for you, since there is so much potential here:
1) You could theoretically make colour-matched peripherals for 3rd party items?
2) Power Mac G3/G4 "Grape". I think this would be an amazing mod.
3) You could create a mold for a Blueberry Clamshell modded from a firewire Clamshell, which could create a 466 MHz Blueberry with firewire + DVD drive?
4) The five fruits are great, but obviously you could try other colours; Bondi Blue clamshell? Sage clamshell? A completely new colour?

Glad to see someone else loving the Aqua era! I'm not a sir though. Anyways:
1) I think so, depending on the piece. If it's really intricate with lots of holes, it might not be worth the effort. If it's a simple decoration (like the puck mouse sides) it should be possible.
2) I think it would look very delicious. I've already done custom artwork for the other side of the B&W case.
3) Placing a firewire in to a first gen clamshell is already possible, and in the future, I'd like to reroute the firewire to the dial-up port.
4) I've only thought about making a lemon color, but I really just want strawberry out of the way. It's my favorite color.

 

[CooperBox]

Hi, as a long-time lover of the G3 Clamshell and requiring several embelishments (notably Apple/leaf front logo and a lime replacement DVD bezel) for some in my collection, I was excited to read your post.
Please keep up the great work, as I'll be interested to read your updates and progress reports in due course.
Your profile doesn't indicate where you're located, which is useful to know for eventual ordering of suitable parts.
Like many on the forum I presume that your location is across-the-'pond', which unfortunately is not the most convenient for those like myself here in Europe.
Just for reference, HERE is a related link to a request I made a year or two back for Apple Clamshell logos, etc.
And proof HERE's & HERE (as if it was ever needed) that there are many other lovers of the Clamshell on this forum!

 

[pakra]

Your profile doesn't indicate where you're located, which is useful to know for eventual ordering of suitable parts.

Fortunately for you, I live in Sweden. Worldwide shipping isn't bad either: $10 for a tracked letter with apple logos.

I remember seeing your images when I first started collecting Clamshells. To be honest, I gave up quickly when I realized the total cost to collect them all. But I enjoy crafting and DIY in general, so putting some effort to make spare parts for my favorite computers makes sense.

Months ago, I saw 3d printed logos, but the quality was unsatisfactory. Visible layers, wrong transparency, and so on. This is why I go for silicone molds and resin. They perfectly recreate the shape, even down to existing scratches. Then there's the color mixing, which is a lot of trial and error. But completing a missing leaf or apple with a (90%) similar looking spare part is really satisfying.

BTW. It would be possible (later, when I have more resin supplies) to create spares for keylime and indigo. I just need an original part to color match as accurately as possible. If you're feeling brave enough to borrow it out, I would try and make a perfect copy. You'd get it back, of course.

However right now I'm busy creating a pile of blueberry and tangerine logos that will go off to ebay! =)

 

[pakra]

Hey all! It's been a while, and I haven't had time to play around with this up until now. School is finally over and I can pay attention to molding, casting, and experimenting with colors all day. I've got some great updates to share!

First off, I ended up creating pretty accurate copies of the blueberry, tangerine and graphite logos. I managed to improve the workflow a few months ago (previously, I had to sand down the backside and prep them for the lid, but now, no sanding is needed) so that I can pump these out a bit quicker. I've built up a stash of them that's eventually heading towards a store page for this. As it turns out, eBay didn't trust me enough to sell more than three apples a month so I ended up selling on Etsy. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to advertise here, but they can be found easily by searching "iBook clamshell replacement logo". The listing going up later today. Here's a picture of how they look.

Now, back to the original plan of creating a strawberry version of the iBook. First step was to find a suitable strawberry color for the iBook since the only appliance with a red color was the iMac and its accessories. I didn't have a red iMac, however, I did have a red keyboard. Just like color matching the blue, orange and gray, I spent a lot of time remixing resin over and over, trying out different color combinations between pink, red, rose red and fuschia. I finally nailed a good color that seemed to match the keyboard, but also conveyed the same richness in saturation and opacity since it is far too easy to make things look too washed out (for example, the very pink looking parts you saw in the first post) or too transparent/not transparent. This is how it looked like, in the middle of trying to find the strawberry red...

(Every cast takes about 12 hours to hard enough to remove from the mold. So you have to be patient )

Anyways, I managed to get the color down. But as you can see, many of the casts aren't perfect - they are prone to air bubbles, which is the unfortunate reality of casting resin. You could grab a stick and try and "fish them out" from crevices, but you have to fiddle with it in the blind and for a long time. You can't see if you did it right before it has hardened... or you could also get an air compressor, but that's a loud, big machine that you have to fire up every time. Perhaps a future purchase when I get more room.

Then there was the problem of the colored rubber that's on the top lid and bottom. I was able to take it off without problems using alcohol (maybe good advice for you Graphite owners who get those moldy spots at the bottom?) but I was completely stumped on how to replicate it. Maybe buying a colored sheet of silicone to cut out the appropriate shape? Not sure about that, the rubber curls inwards towards the USB ports... Casting a mold of it? That would require a prohibitively expensive and large mold. And what would I cast it with? Resin just turns in to plastic. I wanted to replicate the rubberiness of it.

Well, after a long time of thinking and weighing options, I have found some suitable materials to work with.

First off, the bubble problem can be rectified by casting things in parts. Like the trackpad that you see at the bottom of the picture, no matter how careful I was, it always ended up with bubble gaps. I got the idea of first casting the button part, and then casting the rectangular frame itself. It worked perfectly, and I now have a fully working strawberry version of the trackpad. Here's how it looks mid-way:

And how it looks after it's done (plus all the other red parts I currently have done):

Not perfect, but it's usable, and that's my primary goal. So far I have done a fair number of plastic pieces - the apple logo and leaf, the tinier apple logo on the front bezel, the trackpad plastic, most of the hinge plastic except the handle, and the plastic parts used in the CD player.

The large middle plastic piece for the hinge causes the most problem, because I can't easily cast it in two halves. Well, good news - a month ago I bought a 3d printer, and I realized I could replicate this hinge part and 3d print two halves of it, create a mold, cast them, and finally glue them together. So far I have only manage to trace and 3d print the curly piece and the other piece - but will update how it goes. Here's how the 3d printed parts look:

Anyways, back to the second problem, the rubber parts. I had no clue how to replicate them, until I managed to find a translucent(ish) silicone rubber in a store close by me. I initially wanted to use it to make more molds, but found out it's better suited to paint on to detailed things rather than making huge molds. I then realized I could dye it. After some testing, I found that it carried the rubbery feel perfectly (and even better when sanding it down) as well as having a pleasing amount of translucent effect. After much experimentation, here is how they look like right now (I have yet to sand it, right now I'm painting this rubber, layer by layer):

After finishing this red coat of rubber, I will be sanding it down and try to make it have the same texture and detail as the normal rubber. And take lots of pictures! I'll probably have to hunt down another iBook, since this one has had its hinge screws completely destroyed due to how many times I've taken it apart.

So yeah, suffice to say, I've come much further now than I was a year ago, and things are looking to be really possible! I'm excited to make a new color for the iBook, one of the best designed and best looking laptops I've seen. Will update more on how it goes

 

[pakra]

Small update: I managed to remake the handlebar almost perfectly. I smashed away the previous plastic and recasted it with my color recipe. Looks quite good.

I'm thinking... these handles tends to crack as well. Could be a good way to refurbish them?

 

[galgot]

this is crazy good ! How did you manage to have the metal part inside the handle ? it's done in two parts then glued , or did you managed to get the whole resin around it in one part?

 

[pakra]

this is crazy good ! How did you manage to have the metal part inside the handle ? it's done in two parts then glued , or did you managed to get the whole resin around it in one part?

I had two handles, a blue and gray one. I created a mold out of the gray one, smashed the blue one (was from a broken blueberry clamshell) so that the metal part remained, then placed it in the mold and filled it with resin. It was easier than i thought it would be.

 

[mectojic]

Wow, this is awesome progress! Well done @pakra ! You're acquiring quite the expertise now. I can only imagine what other uses these skills could have for our vintage Mac parts. Really nice work.

 

[lostPod]

Make some custom colors!

 

[B S Magnet]

Make some custom colors!

I’d be delighted, foremost, to see key lime components come to — pardon the pun — fruition, for (obviously) selfish reasons, but! But seeing other Apple colours, like ruby, sage, grape, and lime, or even my far-fetched idea of limoncello, would be pretty amazing to see as proofs-of-concept!

 

[mectojic]

Translucent protective covering for a computer housing - Apple Computer, Inc.

The present invention includes a portable computer having improved resistance to scratching, marring and general abuses that include shock and vibration. The computer has a computer housing that inclu

www.freepatentsonline.com

Found this official Apple patent online about the Clamshell after some browsing. You can download the PDF for more details. The interesting part was where it said "translucent elastomers having a color such as tangerine, blueberry, strawberry, lime, a grape or a combination of colors."
Looks like Ive was considering following the 5-colours direction with the Clamshell, as you're now trying to recreate! But perhaps the product timing didn't work out, with the fruit-iMacs being phased out in mid-2000, before the Clamshell could get the full colour array.

 

[pakra]

Looks like Ive was considering following the 5-colours direction with the Clamshell, as you're now trying to recreate! But perhaps the product timing didn't work out, with the fruit-iMacs being phased out in mid-2000, before the Clamshell could get the full colour array.

That link is incredibly fascinating, thank you so much for finding it! I've read through it, and aside from a very detailed description of how a laptop works, there are some really intriguing quotes...

Spoiler

As a result, these integrally disposed translucent elastomer layers on the computer housing both being distal to the hinge mechanism and both being proximal to the operating user, these layers form the protective coverings for the portable computer so to provide improved resistance to general abuses including vibration and shock. And these elastomers integrally layered in accordance with the present invention accomplish the advantages of the present invention with minimal costs, and high aesthetics values.

So basically, the rubber on the outward side of the iBook was meant to reduce vibration but in a stylish way, with "high aesthetic value". Heh, I'm not sure how well they could protect against shocks but the iBook does have small rubber feet. And it's very stylish.

On the topic of how to prevent damage to the laptop...

On common solution is to stow the computer inside a padded carrying case. However, the padded case provides little or no protection once the computer is removed during use. Other existing `ruggedized` computers that provide protection against above-mentioned potential computer housing abuses tend to have very thick, heavy, bulky and unappealing computer housings.

I would agree with this, if it wasn't for the fact that I own an early Panasonic Toughbook just for the looks . I'm fairly sure it weighs less and is smaller than the Clamshell, but then again, the clamshell was a few years behind. Interesting to see the evolution.

Preferably, the housings 102,104 may be made of lightweight, translucent and hardened plastic materials. A preferred plastic material is sold under the trade name GE® Polycarbonate ML7408.

102=laptop top half, 104=laptop bottom half.
The specific plastic they used for the translucent shell plastic. The one that cracks.

The translucent elastomer 116 may be materials having elastic properties like those of the natural rubber. [...] A preferred elastomer 116 is a polyester-based or polyether-based material, and it is layered onto and combined with the closed side 112 to form an integral piece.

116=top screen rubber, 112=top screen plastic.
Describing the rubber material.

Further, the translucent elastomer 128 here and the elastomer 116 on the display housing 102 may be clear without a color or in a selected color.

128=port side rubber.
I wonder if they ever considered doing a completely clear version.

A further aspect of the preferred embodiment may include a translucent elastomer (not shown in the drawings) covering one or more parts of the housings 102,104 on which user hand or fingers frequently make contact. For example, [...] portions of the palm rest 124, [...] This aspect of the invention advantageously prevents accidental scratching by user hand or fingers.

Looks like they considered adding some sort of colored plastic on the palm rest besides the trackpad and keyboard.

I also find it very interesting that they mention the five fruit colors, but also, "[...] or a combination of colors". I'm trying to imagine an iBook with multiple colors, or maybe even the dalmatian/flower pattern, but it's admittedly difficult.

Well, Ive, if you ever wished you could've seen a new fruity iBook, now you can:

I can do a more detailed write-up later, but for now, this is how it is.

The rubber is very rough looking, because it swallowed almost all of my red tint, requiring me to put lots of layers, which made it difficult to sand it down. The CD bezel cover looks fairly smooth, though, but it could be thinner.

Speaking of, the buttons for the CD player doesn't really work because it flexes too much. Whoops.

Interestingly, the battery panel graphic art for the blueberry/tangerine are high quality printable versions of the OS9 wallpapers. It's a really stubborn ink printed on the backside that required me to sand it down for a long time. I scanned and re-designed the whole thing in InDesign and printed out my own version.

The trackpad button works wonderfully, though, as does the hinge. All these resin plastic has a slight rubberiness to them, say, when you press down the nail on them, compared to the original parts. It doesn't disturb me too much.

Overall, now that this is mostly done/usable, it feels strangely natural/believable for what it is. The red tint "feels" fruity, just like the tangerine and blueberry. It feels like Y2K apple. But anyways, the laptop works (with a broken xga display upgrade), but I haven't had time to take a better photoshoot. I'll take some more soon!

 

[B S Magnet]

I also find it very interesting that they mention the five fruit colors, but also, "[...] or a combination of colors". I'm trying to imagine an iBook with multiple colors.

One answer: “Polka-dot man.”

—_—

 

[pakra]

One answer: “Polka-dot man.”

Ah, yes, how could I forget that guy... although, his amateur attempts at mashing together existing colors is easily done, but I really wonder how Apple would've done.

 

[galgot]

Impressive work.
I wonder if the colored rubber like parts could be reproduced with Sugru :

Sugru

The benefits of original formula + family friendly formula = the best Sugru ever!

sugru.com

Sugru - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

It wouldn't be translucent though. And it's quite expensive.

 

[openlyretro]

Wow -- this is incredible. I have always loved the aesthetic of the clamshell iBook. I have a couple of clamshell iBooks that I want to restore (one works and I always love powering it up to play some retro games). I'm always trying to complete my collection, but the prices on ebay for these machines are skyrocketing, and not only that, there is a creator out there who is buying up clamshells, gutting them, and turning them into usable docks for iPads and other devices. (Thankfully he saves the parts and makes them available to folks who want them).

So I have been brainstorming similarly -- how can we (re)create the cases for these machines? If it's too expensive to buy originals, because folks know how rare they are, then maybe it's possible to re-create the cases. And if we gather enough spare parts from salvaged systems, and fabricate the housing, we can re-build some! But also, if the community knows how to re-cast the casing and all required parts, it can lead to other projects like retrofitting existing computers with new clamshell cases. And continuing to innovate the clamshell case, build new designs (like the beautiful strawberry design above), or others like "starry night" clamshells.. wherever the imagination can go.

I haven't done casting yet but I have been researching and brainstorming these past few months how to do it. Which led me to this thread. So imagine my joy and relief to find someone else out there has been thinking the same -- how to create these cases and pieces.

It's a tough ask though to say "hey tell us all your secrets that you painstakingly gathered through trial and error." Despite me really wanting to know.

I would gladly help fund the release of the recipes & how-tos if that's an option.

 

[CooperBox]

Wow -- this is incredible. I have always loved the aesthetic of the clamshell iBook. I have a couple of clamshell iBooks that I want to restore (one works and I always love powering it up to play some retro games). I'm always trying to complete my collection, but the prices on ebay for these machines are skyrocketing, and not only that, there is a creator out there who is buying up clamshells, gutting them, and turning them into usable docks for iPads and other devices. (Thankfully he saves the parts and makes them available to folks who want them).

So I have been brainstorming similarly -- how can we (re)create the cases for these machines? If it's too expensive to buy originals, because folks know how rare they are, then maybe it's possible to re-create the cases. And if we gather enough spare parts from salvaged systems, and fabricate the housing, we can re-build some! But also, if the community knows how to re-cast the casing and all required parts, it can lead to other projects like retrofitting existing computers with new clamshell cases. And continuing to innovate the clamshell case, build new designs (like the beautiful strawberry design above), or others like "starry night" clamshells.. wherever the imagination can go.

I haven't done casting yet but I have been researching and brainstorming these past few months how to do it. Which led me to this thread. So imagine my joy and relief to find someone else out there has been thinking the same -- how to create these cases and pieces.

It's a tough ask though to say "hey tell us all your secrets that you painstakingly gathered through trial and error." Despite me really wanting to know.

I would gladly help fund the release of the recipes & how-tos if that's an option.

I too think this project is incredible! My dream also is to have a G3 Clamshell running an updated OS. I have all the clamshells for it but unfortunately not the know-how to perform.
You state, "these machines are skyrocketing"(in price), but that's not always the case. I see you are in the US. Here in some parts of Europe they can frequently be found from the equivalent of $50 (with the exception of the Key-Lime model). The orange model over the last 12 months is also seeing a significant price increase, some up to 400euros & even 500euros although whether they will realise that amount is anyones guess.
I believe I also have some Clamshell spare parts somewhere (internal components & casing). So anyone in Europe give me a shout if required.

 

[B S Magnet]

You state, "these machines are skyrocketing"(in price), but that's not always the case. I see you are in the US. Here in some parts of Europe they can frequently be found from the equivalent of $50 (with the exception of the Key-Lime model). The orange model over the last 12 months is also seeing a significant price increase, some up to 400euros & even 500euros although whether they will realise that amount is anyones guess.

“Citrus sells.” 🍋

I believe I also have some Clamshell spare parts somewhere (internal components & casing). So anyone in Europe give me a shout if required.

Although I’m not in the EU, it can’t hurt to ask you nevertheless whether you have a bottom case for the key lime cladding and/or the centre clutch cover in the same. Those parts, offered as parts, have been nigh impossible for me to find for years. Cheers.