3D model description
This is a small candy dispenser for small disc shaped candies.
It has a carrying capacity equal to a small vending bag, and has been tested against at least one particular brand. The scad file is near fully parametric, so it can be adjusted for small variations in candy size with other similar shaped candies.
I'd like to thank http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2909 for inspiration.
Update: Tested successfully with M&M's and Reeses Pieces. Skittles are taller, and won't fit with the default numbers in candy.gcode and the first set of parts.
Update: I've added room for a spring!
I've uploaded a revised version (candy2.scad) with added code to put holes in the base and slide to house the spring from a pen. I've also more fully commented the parameters that can be adjusted in the file.
I've uploaded the revised stl parts (sp-candyslide and sp-candybot), with increased height to fit skittles. (It still works for the other candies of course.) The same top part fits with these bottom parts.
3D printing settings
When skeinforging these parts, for best results, turn towering on, and infill in direction of bridges off. (Also, turn on outside extruded first, which is the default.)
Build the bottom, slide, top, and lid. Clean any loose bits off if necessary. You can choose either candybot.stl and candyslide.stl or sp-candybot.stl and sp-candyslide.stl if you want a spring. The rest of the parts are interchangeable.
Place the slide in the bottom. If you are using the spring version, insert the spring into the hole in the base near the handle opening first. (One spring seems to be enough, but there are holes on either side if you want two.) use a screwdriver or something to compress the spring while you align the slide with the spring and bottom. (It works best with the wide end up, upsidedown from how it is built, so the spring is fully enclosed when compressed.)
Slide the top into the dovetail joints in the bottom. You can glue the top and bottom together, or leave them as is.
Fill the hopper with the contents of one small bag (or a portion of a large bag), and put the lid on it.
Hold the dispenser over your hand, push the knob of the slide in and pull it out, and catch the candy in your hand. Repeat as desired. Sometimes you may have to gently tilt the dispenser slightly to help them shift.
Additional build notes:
Skeinforge-0006 doesn't slice the cone optimally, which may add as much as 10 minutes to the build time. Alternate code is in the OpenSCAD file for a cone that works better with v6. Skeinforge-0007 does a better job on the cone, but unless you've got yours tuned better than I've managed, makes the walls too thin.
The dovetail combined with the round cut tickles a bug in the bridging code. However, the result seems to build anyway, but may need some extra cleaning. It builds perfectly if you disable "infill in direction of bridges" which should make it cross the bridge diagonally.
The spring version of the slide has overhangs around the spring housing. I've cut the "top" set of these overhangs at a strict 45 degree angle. It probably works better if the uncut "bottom" of the slide is above the spring to hold it in better. The other end of the spring is in a hole that can take advantage of bridging, so no cut was made.
Adjusting sizes:
Adjust candyr and candyh for different size candies. Note that these parameters may drastically change the size of the whole part.
To get a smaller hopper, increase overlap, but not by more than candyr or candies might fall out without moving the lever.
To get a larger hopper, increase hheight, make overlap negative, or increase outwall. (Note: overlap has a sign error in the first version fixed in v2, and I accidently left out outleth, will fix in v3.)
Note that if candyr is increased, outwall and doveoffset may also need to be increased or the wall holding the slide in or the cone floor may not be thick enough.