Helical-Geared box

Today we're entering the world of gears with the Helical-Geared box. This design uses 2 helical gears, one of them with a grip to open the lid. The lid falls back into place when releasing the gear and closes shut.

This is a support-free box, that contains 4 parts: The lid, 2 helical gears, and of course the main part where everything snaps together.

Why gears?! Well, I've tried to print gears in the past, but the prints were not perfect and didn't work as I would have liked. I tested a few gears and the ones that I found to print and work the best were the helical gears, they also printed the best at a slower speed.

Assembly:

Let's get right to it with the helical gears, the drive gear (the one that I'm turning in the photo above) is connected by using a clip that you just have to push in. Remember to first assemble the driven gear otherwise it won't fit in, because getting the drive gear out can sometimes be a challenge! The driven gear is assembled by sliding it into the upper left slot. The lid just clips, and I found it easier to slide the drive gear into the lid while sliding it into the main component!

Steps:

1. First, assemble the driven gear by sliding it into the main component.
2. Clip the lid onto the driven gear.
3. Then finally clip the drive gear into place.

Thanks

Steve

Print Time: 3h 12 min
Size: 75 x 30 x 44 mm
Grams: 30
Infill: 20%
Layer height: 0.2 mm
Nozzle Size: 0.4 mm
Print Speed: 60mm/s
Heated Bed: 0-80 degrees Celsius
Material: PLA

As I mentioned this design is support-free. The gears are printed at a 0.2mm layer height, but I recommend printing them at a slower speed since they are smaller than the other parts and work the best if they are printed with great quality!

The lid is printed on its top, and the main component is printed in the same orientation that it is when loaded into the slicer.