Containers in Vase- or Spiral-mode. OpenScad, Customizable, Fast and Cheap

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Containers in Vase- or Spiral-mode. OpenScad, Customizable, Fast and Cheap

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X1 Carbon
P1S
P1P
X1
X1E
A1

Just an example how to slice, 0.28mm layer, 1 walls, 0% infill
Just an example how to slice, 0.28mm layer, 1 walls, 0% infill
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40 min
1 plate

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Description

Summary

Fully Customizable containers to be printed in Vase- or spiral-mode. To create your own boxes you need the free program Openscad (see below).
The Spiral-mode makes it cheap and fast to print. Minimum material, no seams, most of the times great quality.
You can use it for ordinary storing-boxes, creditcard-cases, case for calculators, a cigarette box for your wooden cigarettes etc.

 

Limitations:
The spiral mode makes it cheap but also limited. Because the walls are only one layer thick, it is less suitable for bigger boxes. The useable size depends on the nozzle-width you are using. Smaller nozzle-width gives a weaker result then bigger widths. I myself use 0.6, which gives me reasonable results at 13cm a side. And fairly strong boxes below 10cm a side. For 0.4 stay beneath the 10 cm a side. Of course it also depends on the purpose of the box.

 

Customizer:
You can use the .scad-file in the free program Openscad directly (link below) to create boxes as you like. Instructions how it works by Dr Lex: https://www.dr-lex.be/3d-printing/customizer.html.

 

The not so obvious parameters:
-tol(erance): this will give the room between the lid and the box. If it is too big, the lid will go off to easily. If it is too tight, the lid is hard to fit, and the sides will bend inward. Default it is set to 0.15, which gave the best results on my printers. Loose enough to take the lid of easily, tight enough to pick it up filled with screws without loosing the box.

-npan1 and 2: gives the number of "panels" at a side. Panels will give you some more rigidity. The size of the panels is calculated by the script. If the number given is bigger than the number that will fit, it recalculates the number of panels.

-output: give you the opportunity to only export the lid or the box. Default it will export both in the same STL.

 

Vase- or Spiral-mode:
When you are looking at the example Stl's and the results in the customizer, the boxes and lids are not hollow but solid. This is a requirement for spiral-mode. The slicer-software will transform it to a box if you select the spiral mode in your slicer (result in the preview-section of the slicer-software)
If you are not familiar with this function in your slicer, it basically lays a bottom (setting: 2 or 3 layers are fine) and from there it spiralizes in one go upwards to the top of the print. So no layer changes and no seams. Because of that it is fast and gives nice results.
In Slic3r, PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio it is called "Spiral vase", in Cura it is called "Spiralize outer contour".

 

Prepare your model in the Slicer:
As you can see the default output of the customizer is a box and a lid (you can change that with the output-parameter). If you want to print them at the same time (not necessary) you first have to split the model into its two parts. Menu command "Split" in Slic3r, "Split to Parts" in Bambu Studio and Prusaslicer and in Cura you have to download the extension "Meshtools" from the marketplace to make it possible (afaik).
Because it is supposed to print in Spiral/Vase-mode, you can't jump each layer from the box to the lid and back. So you have to print them in sequence/by object. In Slic3r and Prusaslicer you can find it under "print-settings > output options > Complete individual objects", in Cura “Special modes > Print sequence” and in Bambu Studio in “Others” > “Print sequence” > “By object”

To be safe, place the two parts each in an opposite corner to avoid collision with the printhead if the first part is printed. It usually prints the lowest part (lid) first, so the danger is small. More information about this function: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4YONDL4iXo (Chep)
When you have some experience with it, you can print more boxes at the same run if your bed is big enough.

If you made it this far,

 

Happy Boxing :)

More information about the fantastic and challenging program OpenSCAD can be found here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual

You can download the free and opensource OpenSCAD here:
http://www.openscad.org/downloads.html
You can also try a webbrowser version without installing anything like: https://openscad.cloud/openscad/ copy the code in the scadfile and paste the code at the left side.

 

Print Settings

Rafts:

No

Supports:

No

 

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