Is it important that it be rectangular? Otherwise, you could print a small cup and screw-on top, using a very coarse thread. Brent Meeker On 5/27/2016 8:40 AM, Henry Baker wrote:
People are using 3D printers more & more for prototyping.
I received a small electronic gizmo which plugs into a USB port whose plastic case was 3D printed.
The problem is, the plastic case keeps falling apart, due to the relatively poor tolerances of current gen consumer 3D printers.
So...
The challenge is to come up with a way to print a little rectangular plastic box -- probably in 2 pieces -- that can be put together in such a way that it won't fall apart under normal handling (e.g., carrying it in your pocket banging up against your house keys), but can still be easily disassembled w/o any special tools, screws, etc.
Note that current 3D printers have the following characteristics:
* the plastic isn't very strong and isn't very flexible, so "fingers" that interlace may be too weak and may easily break off.
* the plastic deforms slightly during printing, so registration isn't terribly good.
* the resolution in different dimensions is different, so the tolerances have to be quite wide.
If printing the box in 2 pieces won't produce a satisfactory answer, how about 3 pieces?
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