Swivel Trays
Swivel Trays
Published 2017-03-21T16:14:41+00:00
Swivel Trays provide a smart, compact and expandable storage solution for small things. You can use Swivel Trays for everything from coins and key to nuts, bolts, parts jewellery and more...
Create your own custom 'Swivel Tray Tower' by adding lots of trays. Make it as colourful as you like by printing trays in your favourite colours... or use the colours as colour coding for the contents. All trays have an inside diameter of 60mm but you can choose from three different depths provided (15mm / 20mm / 30mm). The base also acts as a try with a depth of 10mm. You have the option of having the top tray always open or fitting a swivelling top (lid) to close it off.
Swivel Trays make a great gift or are just a handy little storage system for home, your workshop or office. You can start small with just the base and a single tray an expand it by adding more trays over time.
This is another unique and practical way of putting 3D printing to good use. They print really well on machines that print precisely / accurately. This is essential due to round surfaces that rotate against each other and the threads. Scaling down is not recommended. Uniformly scaling up is possible (... but the trays will become looser and movement more sloppy)
Please refer to the Print Settings, Post Print Instructions and images for additional information... and please post images of your Swivel Trays in use.
Note: If you like this check out the rest of my practical and fun designs!
Swivel Trays are easy prints but there are a number of things to be aware of before you get started...
The clearances applied in the design are small do not scale down or the parts may not be able to be assembled and threads will be too tight to screw together.
These prints require am accurate / precise machine to ensure the rounded parts work well together and threads screw together easily.
A small amount of clean up may be required post printing (Refer post printing and images for details)
Assemle your Swivel Trays
Assembling your Swivel Trays is easy but before you do check the parts fit together well and run smoothly / freely. Because of the 3D printing process small pieces of filament and marks left by the extruder may need to be cleaned away / smoothened out to achieve this but it shouldn't be a big job.
The clearances applied are quite small. However, as not all machines print the same they may still be on the loose side for some people and tight for others, It is recommended to print a small tray and bolt first to check the tolerances before printing lots of trays and bolts.... that way you can uniformly scale up / down a fraction if required to achieve a snug but smooth swivelling fit.
If necessary you can also lightly sand or file the surfaces used in the swivelling to clean / smooth them. Applying a small amount of a light (silicone dry) lubricant is recommended as this always makes movement smoother and easier than dry plastic on dry plastic.
Date published | 21/03/2017 |
Technology | FDM |