June 1, 2019
Description
This is a silica gel bead desiccant holder that prints quickly and easily in spiralized/vase mode, ideally with double line width for strength. The air holes are created by the upside-down half-cones.
Many thanks to Angus at Maker's Muse for the inspiration! http://youtu.be/HZSFoFYpBaA?t=468s
The STL has a body diameter of 40 and opening_radius of 5, for a total of 50mm diameter; the height is 74. This size is for the spool container and spinner bracket I use (details in https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3128111).
The opening_radius of 5 and a line width of .8 results in actual holes of closer to 2-3mm, which doesn't allow my beads to escape. Plus of course the holes are on the top of each upside-down cone so gravity helps.
If you use the SCAD file to change the diameters, you'll need to tweak openings_per_level and gap_between_levels to make sure the cones don't overlap -- that's a manual process.
Also the lid() module call is commented out of the SCAD so the Customizer only renders the body. I'll have to add a variable to control that. You're better off downloading the SCAD file and using OpenSCAD than using Customizer, but Customizer can give you a feel for it.
Bugs/To Do:
Add code to SCAD so Customizer can render body or lid
There's nothing to hold the lid in the can except gravity and friction, but I'd like to figure out something better. I don't think threads would really work for a spiralized print but maybe I can add little nibs and indentations so it snaps in a little. UPDATE: I can allow openings higher up on the body, and add little bumps on the lid that lock into the top row of openings...
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial - No Derivatives