Clamshell Custom Cases!

Howdy, wonderful people!

Let's talk history....

Sometimes I end up making really practical designs.  I love my ridiculous adventures in gears and articulated lids, but I can't deny that using 3D printers for actual practical purposes is pretty great, too.  Of course, sometimes the ridiculous projects, like print-in-place hinged lids, get refined away from their tricky roots and end up as elements of printable, robust designs.

And, that's the path that led to models like the recent Wacom Pen Case, and to all those hinged Raspberry Pi cases, which have had a far bigger reaction than I expected! 

You can probably guess the two requests I get the most often right now:

1. Custom-sized hinged boxes

2. Hinged cases for more electronic boards

Previously, all those things took a reasonable amount of time, so it's been a case (har har) of choosing selectively which ones to work on.  However, purpose-specific cases are one of the really, really useful aspects of 3D printing and I didn't like having to put off so many requests.  So, I've been writing software.

Streamlining the Process!

I took my existing design approach to making cases, improved a few aspects (like that inner lip that lets the two halves sit together more securely), and then reengineered it in a more flexible, parameterised way, not only to make case sizes easy to change, but to explore things like hinge size and position variations.

This has two really great outcomes:

1. Making new cases is much easier, faster and more reliable!

2. Case designs will be much easier to maintain - new features could easily be added to existing designs.  For example, the screw thread closure mechanism could be swapped out with some fancy new alternative when such a thing was developed.

Does this mean I can request a custom case?

Soon!  I need to work out how I'm going to keep track of requests, manage model versions, and so on.  I'm still actively adding features, too, like configuration of those interior dividers.  

So, you mentioned electronics board cases...

Yes indeed!  This was initially driven by the thought that it would be great to be able to put together a case for any given board without it being a huge effort.  The main feature missing so far is configuration of holes for ports, but there are other considerations, too, like supporting fans.  So, that's a work in progress :)

First up though, here are some samples...

It's a dice box!  Okay, a die box, but I'll accept the inappropriate plural on this one :P  This neat little box is divided into 8 segments that are just right for holding polyhedral dice.  At least, they're just the right size for holding the set I have, so lets hope mine are standard.  But if not, adjusting dimensions is no big deal anymore :D

You'll notice the dividers extend up from the base of the box into the lid, and are angled to work nicely with the hinge.  Nothing but the best for your precious dice!  You might want to put some felt or something in there, though, unless you really like the sound of dice rattling.

The closure on this is the same threaded ring mechanism found on the Raspberry Pi cases.

Second, we have a utility case, which is to say just a larger box.  Inside dimensions are 160mm long, 60mm wide and 40mm high.

This one has two threaded points to attach rings to hold it closed.  That's all adjustable, too.  You'll also notice there is an extra block on either side of the thread, just to look cool.  The hinge on this one is pretty chunky, too :)

Thirdly, we have a case without hinges!  There are times where a hinge is simply not appropriate, such as this case which happens to fit the card game The Mind.  A hinged lid would have intersected the cards when closing, so a two-piece box was more useful here.  The other benefit of a two-piece box is that from a printing point of view it allows for printing much larger boxes, since the lid and base don't have to be printed simultaneously!

Oh, and of course since the lid and base are printed separately they don't need to be the same height, either!

File Locations

You'll find these all on Dropbox under 801 Clamshell Cases, and then under subdirectories.

Printing Tips

As always, watch that first layer so that it looks nice when it becomes the outside surface of the box.  And, watch out for stringing, overextrusion, or any other print issue that might cause binding in the hinge!

Onwards!

I have a wish list of things I'd like to support - more sophisticated ways to keep cases closed, asymmetric cases using different hinge styles, as well as just broadly being able to support electronics, too.  

What I'm excited about, though, is that I can put these practical things together without compromising the ongoing exploration of other interesting and ridiculous concepts :)

More to come on all this in the end-of-month wrap-up! :D

xoxo

Sven.