Thanks Dave 
look forward to it.
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Switching to basing it off of the frame that just sits on the front of the light switch and is the same size as the switch (i.e. no frame around the sides of the switch) has really brought the price down!
I’ve also adjusted both designs to use two larger pairs of self-adhesive neodymium magnets (25mm x 10mm x 1.5mm, 2.2Kg pull) to attach to the light switch. This is so we can use a pair of 15mm diameter x 1mm thick self-adhesive neodymium magnets (1.1kg pull) to hold the dimmer in place without risking pulling the cover off the switch when we want to remove the dimmer from it! 
So I now have three designs:
- Frame to let you use your own blanking plate
- Frame with built-in blanking plate
- Frame with Hue Dimmer mount
Front view of all three
- click on image to enlarge -
Rear view of all three
- click on image to enlarge -
Best bit is the prices for 3D printing them have come right down.
Using the “automatic upload” quote generator at https://www.3dprint-uk.co.uk/upload-and-quote/ I get the following quotes with “economy” 14 day turnaround.
- Frame to let you use your own blanking plate = £7.74 per item
- Frame with built-in blanking plate = £8.96 per item
- Frame with Hue Dimmer mount = £13.14 per item
Those prices include UK VAT at 20% and are for them being printed in white polished finish nylon. They’re also the prices I’d pay for them as prototypes, unfortunately the 3D-Print.co.uk guys don’t provide a print on demand “shop” service like shapeways do, so if I wanted to sell them as 3D prints, I’d have to use shapeways or buy my own 3D printer! Needless to say, Shapeways are more expensive! (but I could offer them for sale gold plated for the high rollers out there! 
)
However, all the designs could be injection moulded as well - so it may be a case of doing a kickstarter to get the tooling made and then hopefully the cost per part would come right down!
Wow, I am impressed by the initial design stage already. I can see there is a demand for this. This is a smart bulbs dream.
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Quick update - I’ve reached out to Philips to check about whether I’d need their OK if I was to want to run a Kickstarter to get these produced including the hue dimmer mount. I know they’re reasonably friendly to app developers with their published API, but what about hardware accessories?
Figured it was best to check first than go ahead and end up having corporate lawyers breathing down my neck!
Is there any way of getting two of the wireless dimmers to fit on a single plate?
Phil
Let me fire up my CAD program and see what I can come up with! 
Yes… you can fit two hue dimmers side by side. You don’t get much of a gap between them though - only about 5mm.
Do folks think there would be enough interest in these realistically? If I was to do a kickstarter, I think it would be for the one with the built in blanking plate and the single & double hue dimmers - but that means three sets of injection moulding dies need to be made, which immediately triples the starting cost for the project. Perhaps I’d need to start off with just the plain blanking plate, and make the hue ones stretch goals or something!
I do need to get an actual hue dimmer so I can get exact measurements off it so I can produce a 3D printed prototype though…
That looks like a workable solution … I was just thinking that there are a number of instances where a single light switch has two gangs and so as a replacement it might be handy to have a two gang wireless dimmer plate.
TBH if there’s a way to upload the design to somewhere so that people can themselves get these individually printed up as they want them then I’d go with that rather than a kickstarter project - i know it’s more expensive per unit but if it’s £20 a plate then that’s not too bad compared to £50 a bulb. Of course that does mean that you wouldn’t get anything out of it for your efforts which is crap… 
Phil
Hi Phil
I’m uploading them all to Shapeways which does offer a print on demand “shop” service where people can order them direct. Shapeways do allow designers to add a “markup” on top of the basic cost which they take their 3.5% fee from on every transaction and they the pay out on a monthly basis but only if the amount they owe you goes over $30
Dave
Hi Dave,
Looks good. I missed the last few posts and your most recent designs. For some reason this forum isn’t emailing me with replies
Personally, I’d be only interested in the single dimmer.
Would be interested in what Philips say…
My 3D printed prototypes of the original "full light switch cover"with finger slots to let you turn the light on and off if desired and the frame to take a standard blanking plate have both just arrived. I hadn’t expected was that the blanking plate I had bought (85mm x 85mm supposedly) would actually end up being 85.6mm x 85.6mm resulting in it being just a tiny bit larger than the frame.
full switch cover on light switch
full switch cover with z-wave button controller on light switch
frame + blanking plate assembled
frame + blanking plate on the light switch
frame + blanking plate + button controller on the light switch
I cheated in these pics of them on the switch and used blu-tac to hold them on…
Rather frustratingly, the self adhesive tape on the magnets doesn’t stick well onto the the 3D printed nylon material or onto my light swich, so when I tried to pull the frame off of the light switch the paired magnets stayed on the frame at the top, but on the switch at the bottom!
I’m going to try epoxying the magnets onto the frame and using their self-adhesive strip on the light switch (I have spare magnets) but then leaving it on the switch for a while rather than then immediately trying to take the cover off the switch as I’m wondering if the tape needs a little while to reach full strength.
Looking at the one with the blanking plate on the front and then the switch on top I don’t think it’s a “good” look - it sticks out way too far from the wall! So I’m going to scrap that design.
I think the original one-piece design that covers the switch is the best looking of these as it does hide where it joins onto the light switch and it doesn’t then stick out of the wall so far when you add the controller on top!
So I need to work out how to get that one down in print cost further, and modify the hue dimmers plates to use that back design.
Well, I’ve got the price down a bit with Shapeways for printing it, but it’s still not cheap. It’s coming in at £20.75 per cover if you choose their offered discount for not rushing the print.
For complete transparency, I’m allowing myself a profit of 20 pence per printed cover (at current exchange rates because shapeways use US$ in the background). The rest of it goes to Shapeways to cover their costs of printing, polishing and profits. 
So, if anyone wants one (or more) of the the plain solid front covers to fit over and around a UK light switch, it’s up for sale on my shapeways store. The store page has renders of it in the various colours shapeways offer as well as a photo of the printed original on my wall with the Z-wave controller on the front. I’ve ordered the first print of it from shapeways for myself so that it’ll show up on their system as successfully printed.
NOTE - the version that’s on shapeways does NOT have the finger holes as show in the photos of the printed ones in my earlier post, and has a thicker front panel (and omits the interior bracing) so it WON’T have the pattern showing through from the front if you don’t attach a z-wave controller on it.
I can’t get a Hue dimmer version up there until I get a hue starter kit and a dimmer to get measurements from.
Philips have replied today to my support ticket basically just saying “Hi, I’m X and I’ll be dealing with your support request” so I’m still waiting to find out what their answer will be (and if they’re agreeable whether I could get an empty shell / demo unit of a Hue Dimmer to take measurements off of).
Thanks Dave. Keep us updated. Particularly when you get the dimmer. Have you ordered one? I think they were back in stock on Amazon?
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I don’t have a need for these at the moment, but I may in the future. Even if not, I just wanted to commend you on this project because it’s an absolutely gorgeous, elegant solution. Very well done, sir!
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@pgale - funds are a little tight at the moment so I don’t have a dimmer yet…
@Sebastian - thank you very much!
The shape ways printed version has arrived…
Here’s a pic of it covering the light switch in the kitchen…
This was printed in “white polished”
That looks great! Have you had any more thoughts about the one that holds the hue dimmer?
ignore that, i didn’t read the above comments. apologies!!!
Dave,
I’m a little bit late to the development of this idea as I’ve only recently joined this site but it is a neat idea and looks like there’ll be a nice market for it.
…I was wondering though if I could test your thinking for creating this solution.
I understand the basic premise is that you want to prevent losing power to the light circuit by inadvertently switching the existing mechanical rocker switch, and therefore losing the ability to control the lights using the z-wave transmitter, and you don’t want to hardware the wires in the back box to have permanently live connection hidden in the wall to the lamp holders.
…but are you looking at this because there is not a viable ST compatible replacement wall mounted 2-wire switch unit which would work in the UK or you have found that a blanking plate is a cheaper, and simpler, option allowing the use of any z-wave transmitter?
If there was a replacement wall mounted 2-wire switch unit which would work in the UK, have switch rockers on the front that would reflect the switched status of the lights, be compatible with ST and at a price point equivalent or lower than a z-wave transmitter + cover plate (i.e less than £50 say) would that be of interest?
Neil