Yet Another Spray Can Straw Holder

There will be no more updates to this page. Go to the new GitHub page for the latest updates.

Here's yet another straightforward holder to attach spray can straws to the can when unused. Three ready-to-print models are included: one for spray cans with a diameter of about 52.8mm (typically 200ml), one for 57mm cans, and one for a large 400ml 66mm air duster can from Kontakt Chemie (#67). For each, there is a regular version and a ‘tight’ version. Which one will work best, depends on your printer and settings.

If neither works, or you have a can with a different diameter, you can generate your own straw holder: hit the “Open in Customizer (https://www.thingiverse.com/apps/customizer/run?thing_id=1707976)” button and change the desired parameters. If you want faster previews and more flexibility, or if the Thingiverse Customizer is broken or too slow, here are instructions to run customizer on your own computer (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2812634).

There are two ways to get a perfect fit for the straw:
1. Trial-and-error: just generate several models in Customizer, with straw diameters starting at the exact diameter, and then going up in increments of 0.1 mm. You can reduce the height and opening angle of these models to save on material and printing time. Then print your final model with the diameter that fits best.
2. The adhesive tape method: knowing that typical ‘scotch’ tape is about 0.05 mm thick (verify this for your particular tape if you can), you can generate and print one holder with a straw diameter that is slightly too large. For instance, take 2.5 mm if the actual straw is 2.0 mm. Then insert pieces of tape in between the straw and the clamp until you get a nice fit. If for instance you get a good grip with 5 layers of tape, subtract 5 × 0.05 = 0.25 mm to the straw diameter in customizer. In this particular instance we started from 2.5 mm, so the final model should be created with a straw diameter of 2.25 mm. This model should be perfect when printed with the same settings as the previous one.

The first photo shows some previous iterations (on the right), the leftmost one is the final model and allows to easily insert and remove the straw without having to slide it all the way through.

To keep the ring of the ‘clamp’ model from sliding, apply small patches of double-sided adhesive tape on the inside, or some rubbery compound like silicone kit.

For the ‘taped’ model, it is best to use two pieces of tape to leave the gap in the front open. Of course you can also just use one long strip of tape and insert the straw from the top or bottom.

-