June 28, 2025
Description
Iris Box (Print-in-Place)
A sleek and stylish 3D-printed container with a twist—literally! This 12 cm box isn’t just about looks; it hides a clever surprise inside. Turn the top shell clockwise while holding the bottom ring, and watch as a stunning 5-petal iris mechanism closes smoothly like magic. 🌀
Want to open it? Just twist it back—easy, satisfying, and super fun!
The iris petals are seamlessly integrated between the shell layers and print in one go—no assembly required! 🧩
🖨️ Works great on a standard PEI plate (just make sure you’ve got solid bed adhesion / cleaning plate before print is recommendend).
"Dry, fresh, and well-calibrated filament is the key to success."
Get ready for an eye-catching fusion of design and engineering. Have fun with this smart little storage solution!
Version updated to v.15 (final version so far)
The supports now broke away smoothly with the first twist, and the iris opens and closes effortlessly. Everything looks good now! I used basic Bambu Lab filament.
I've completely reworked this model and manually added a seam to address the previously identified issues. However, it seems this model is more of a printer test than a general-purpose print. The gap tolerances are extremely tight, so even a slight printer miscalibration can lead to failure. Please be aware that without a well-calibrated printer and properly dried filament, you may end up wasting some material.
That said, with over 500 downloads, I’m hoping to see some images of successful prints from the community—surely there must be a few out there! 😉
Recommended Version (16): For anyone experiencing issues with printer or filament calibration.
Due to the increased scaling, the gap size has been adjusted to be more printer-friendly.
If you're one of the lucky ones for whom the box prints successfully, please leave a comment with the type of filament and printer used. If it wasn’t successful, I’d also really appreciate your feedback so I can work on improvements.
Thank you!
License:
Standard Digital File License