Small utility basket for Elfa Standard/Hang rails

What is this model?

 

Small (250mm wide x 82mm deep x 65mm high) and lightweight (~112g) basket for Elfa standard/hang rails.

Why does it exist?

I went to my local container store and planned to just buy an official Elfa metal basket (they were pretty cheap). But the baskets Elfa had  available were a minimum of 350mm / 13.75" wide, and I needed something around 250mm wide. So, you know, decided to model my own and 3D print it (as we do!) to my needs. Sharing it in case anyone else finds it useful.

 

I printed it in PETG because it is a bit more durable & slightly more flexible than PLA but my prototypes were in PLA and so that's certainly an option.

 

Cautions

It must be printed with supports and the vertical orientation for the ‘hooks’ are not ideal for strength. But my profile has a modifier that beefs up the infill for the hooks themselves and the area where the hooks attach to the basket. Once on the rail, it seems quite sturdy although I wouldn't put too much weight on it. As you can see from my photos, I just have some lightweight vacuum attachments - the strength is more than adequate for lightweight needs like these.

I used strong tree supports because they are more reliable in my experience - but need to be removed a bit more carefully.

When removing the tree supports though, I suggest to use flush cutters/nibbler to cut the support at roughly the half way point between the bottom hook and the top hook set. This will let you get the support off easier with less risk of accidentally breaking any of the hooks.

Because this print pretty much uses the entire width of the (256mm) printbed between the model and some support discs in the corners, you want to ensure good bed adhesion. Suggest washing your build plate. I also used Magigoo as a release agent for PETG which also does double duty as helping with adhesion in those corners.

If that first layer is flat and all four corners stick properly (my profile is tuned to help ensure that is the case, assuming a clean build plate), my experience is that the rest of the print will go flawlessly. So just confirm the first layer looks great and you should be good after that.

 

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