Sinister Tubes

Hey there, wonderful people!

Okay, these tubes are more cute than sinister, I must admit!  These oversized, bubbly vials feature screw-top lids and also come in a single material version. 

But let's talk about that storage rack!  It's a relatively simple thing, just a shelf with holes in it and a base with indents.  But I wanted it to print nice and neatly, which for big circular holes like that meant printing the holes horizontally.  So, that top shelf hinges in such a way that the shelf lies flat on the bed during printing, and then rotates into position for use.

What's more, the hinges are captive elements that fix the two parts together.  Our usual cone-shaped hinges would not be useful here, as there'd be enough flex in the outer arms to let the shelf just fall down.  So, instead, there's an internal hinge that starts from one section, and extends into the other in such a way as to prevent the parts coming apart - have a look at the slicer preview if you're curious to see how it works!

Print Description

The rack is an articulated model, so check that your bottom layer is nice and neat, and that there are no printing issues like overextrusion or stringing that might bind moving parts together!

Multimaterial Version

The multimaterial version of the Sinister Tube is intended for use with systems that can print in multiple filaments simultaneously, like Prusa MMU, Bambu AMS and Mosaic Palette.  It is not designed for separate printing and assembly after the fact.

Print Dimensions

The rack is the largest part, and occupies 187mm x 140mm on the print bed, and is 60mm tall.

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

The tubes should scale reasonably well before the tolerances in the lid become problematic.  The rack will require a little more care to make sure things don't get either too loose or too tight.

Print Orientation

The tube and lid both print upside down.

The rack prints on its side, with the shelf rotated flat.

Further Thoughts

I did originally design the rack to be much simpler, with a shelf that printed separately and slotted in, but I decided I just couldn't live with such an underoverengineered solution :P

Happy printing!

xoxo

Sven.

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565 Sinister Tubes