Mike Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Hi 3D printer guys & gals. I've yet to make my first foray into 3D printing, but I've got a "thing" that I wanted to make, probably using an FDM printer to create an insert to keep my dropper bottle paints stable in some neat trays that I've turned into drawers by slotting them into tracks between verticals. As you slide the drawers in and out, the paint bottles rattle around and get disordered, and if the tray isn't full they tend to fall over with a slight jolt. I was thinking about an insert that's maybe 6mm deep, and has 25mm holes in it, closely packed to maximise storage. Print bed seems to be the first possible drawback, as the size is 27.6cm x 37.8cm, so I'm wondering if anyone has a clue about how I could go about it, or knows someone that could design/print it for me. I've got seven of these drawers (I think I've got a paint acquisition problem) that are suitably stocked, so it's quite important for me to keep all these bottles from rattling about and causing me hassle. Old Skool me has a thought about pillar-drilling 25mm holes in a sheet of MDF or plywood, but that sounds horribly tedious and prone to errors both in accuracy and coming out with something that's still a bit weak after the event. Help a guy out with some ideas, would ya?
Captain Glumbo Posted February 6 Posted February 6 (edited) I knocked together a very basic one for the humbrol mini pots that come with the starter kits. I got my printer at Christmas so very much still learning. you basically want a square/oblong. You thenextrude it up from the base to how many mm high you need. Then to create the holes you create a tube and you can then negate it so it becomes a hole. This object can then be duplicated and spread across the base. I did find a tutorial online that gave me pointers on how to do the extrude and the making of the holes. here is the tutorial I used to work out how to make the holes - This is what I came up with for mine. I remebered after I printed the first one I added a bottom layer that was solid, it made printing it far easier as I had a couple of failures trying to print the "holes" directly onto the plate (well the filler around the holes tbh) This what it looks like in blender and here is the finished product - I printed 3 to fit in the drawer Edited February 6 by Captain Glumbo 2 1
dnl42 Posted February 6 Posted February 6 You could do the drilling. I would firs make a jig to drill pilot holes. Say 3-4mm, whatever would fit a 26mm Forstner bit, at the desired spacing. Press (or glue) a pin into one hole, then drill the 1st hole in a row, put the pin in that, and drill the rest of the pilot holes in the row. You can use the same jig to place the first hole of the next row. When done, you have a board with a nice rectangular array of pilot holes. Have a happy time with the Forstner bit, et voilà! As for FDM printing, just make a plate that's a fraction, say a 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, of your drawer that also fits the printing plate. This would be dead simple to lay out in Fusion. A rectangle for the base extruded to the right thickness. Then place a single ~26mm hole near a corner, and then use a rectangular pattern for the rest of the holes. You want a clearance fit for the bottle, I'd do a test print to make sure. BTW, you might find such very ready-to-print models on printables.com or thingiverse.com. 1
SnøMotion Posted February 6 Posted February 6 It’s a super easy thing to model, @Mike, happy to provide a file for you. I’m strictly resin printing, so can’t get anywhere near that size, or help with printing advice Martin 1
bootneck Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Mike, that sounds more like a job for laser cutting in bass or MDF. It would be just like someone cutting a section of platform for you, but to your dimensions. Here's an example that I found on t'web. cheers, Mike 1
Mike Posted February 6 Author Posted February 6 1 hour ago, bootneck said: laser cutting That’s a good idea. I’ll have a look and see if there’s anyone out there that’s offering the service for a reasonable fee.
ckw Posted February 6 Posted February 6 3 hours ago, Mike said: Help a guy out with some ideas, would ya? Well its not a very high tech solution, but I lined the drawers of my Ikea Alex unit https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/alex-drawer-unit-on-castors-white-80485423/ with egg cartons. Not elegant but an easy solution to the shifting jars problem Cheers Colin 1
Mike Posted February 6 Author Posted February 6 I've dropped these guys an email to see if they can help. The inserts coupled with the trays/drawers make for an incredibly dense method of storing paint, so it might be of use to some of you guys with a similar paint hoarding problem to me https://www.artisanmodelmakers.co.uk/laser-cutting-services/
Rob G Posted February 7 Posted February 7 I made up a simple set of dividers in 3mm ply for my Tamiya / Gunze bottles. It took a couple of hours worth of router and circular saw work, but they do the job. (I'll take a photo if anyone cares.) If you have access to a drill press and a hole saw / spade bit of the correct size, setting out and cutting the ply isn't all that hard, it just takes a bit of time. Accuracy is up to you and your pencilwork / eyesight. It would certainly be more rewarding to the ego than printing the things or getting someone else to cut them. If you're mad keen to print them, it would take 10 minutes in Sketchup to draw. Printing is up to you, FDM would be my preferred medium. 1
Mike Posted February 7 Author Posted February 7 9 hours ago, Rob G said: I'll take a photo if anyone cares I’d love to see them. It’s all grist to the thought process mill. Even if they don’t work for me, their presence here might inspire someone else
Hutch Posted February 7 Posted February 7 Mike, How many do you need? How many holes? I should be able to laser cut it out of 6mm ply if that helps. Hutch
Mike Posted February 7 Author Posted February 7 38 minutes ago, Hutch said: Mike, How many do you need? How many holes? I should be able to laser cut it out of 6mm ply if that helps. Hutch That would be utterly awesome, and I'd pay for them of course - I'm not a total free-loader I had a brain fart last night - I need seven inserts, but I'd forgotten that I have Citadel paints too, which need a different sized hole. I'm tired of setting them all up in rows, then coming back to find them all jumbled up Here's the revised graphic: As to the number of holes, I don't know, as I'm not sure how much space will be needed between them for the thing to retain any sort of rigidity! Packing them too close could just end up with a floppy mess, but I don't know the tolerances, yasee. As many as practical? I'd guess you'd need around 2mm between the holes, but you will probably know better through experience
spitfire Posted February 7 Posted February 7 The awfully nice people at EBMA Hobby and Craft made a custom set of drawers for me for my Testors Model Master paints, it was self assembly and turned out very nice. Here is one they make off the shelf for Humbrol/Xtracolor /Colourcoats tinlets. Cheers Den
Mike Posted February 7 Author Posted February 7 49 minutes ago, spitfire said: EBMA Hobby and Craft I didn't even think of them. Brain like a sieve 1
Philly1860 Posted February 7 Posted February 7 5 hours ago, Mike said: I didn't even think of them. Brain like a sieve Blame it on Covid or the Flu no one will question you🤣 1 1
Hutch Posted February 9 Posted February 9 On 07/02/2025 at 14:48, Mike said: That would be utterly awesome, and I'd pay for them of course - I'm not a total free-loader I had a brain fart last night - I need seven inserts, but I'd forgotten that I have Citadel paints too, which need a different sized hole. I'm tired of setting them all up in rows, then coming back to find them all jumbled up Here's the revised graphic: As to the number of holes, I don't know, as I'm not sure how much space will be needed between them for the thing to retain any sort of rigidity! Packing them too close could just end up with a floppy mess, but I don't know the tolerances, yasee. As many as practical? I'd guess you'd need around 2mm between the holes, but you will probably know better through experience Hi Mike Sorry for the delay but life got in the way 🙂 I'll try and send you a photo or two of mine, but as I've made racks for Tamiya and Mig/AK products I've virtually got the files already done. If you can leave it with me for a couple of days I'll see what I can do; my work is happy for me to use their large(ish) laser cutter, Hutch
Captain Glumbo Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I’ve seen the EBMA ones at shows and they do look good. I was temoted to get some but I do t really of tje desk space for them to encroach on
Mike Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 1 hour ago, Hutch said: If you can leave it with me for a couple of days I'll see what I can do; my work is happy for me to use their large(ish) laser cutter, Absolutely - don't want you to get any grief, and you must let me pay for parts/shipping etc. Incidentally, is there any benefit to using Plywood over MDF? Is it the cross-plys of the layers that gives extra strength?
Mike Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 4 minutes ago, Captain Glumbo said: to get some but I do t really of tje desk space for them to encroach on I've got some wall racks for paint, and they take up so little wall-space they're pretty useful. So useful that I've almost go no wall-space left, which is why I'm having to DIY it That is why I was I was embarrassed that I'd forgotten to think about them - there are at least 2-4 wall-racks within 5 feet of me
Hutch Posted February 9 Posted February 9 4 hours ago, Mike said: Absolutely - don't want you to get any grief, and you must let me pay for parts/shipping etc. Incidentally, is there any benefit to using Plywood over MDF? Is it the cross-plys of the layers that gives extra strength? Hi Mike I hope these photos work, I've always struggled in the past. https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/XWrnWfbt5Md1e5S3zSNuToChjIU3An7l4TYhtnWFK6w https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/crDQhEXWHEZ9qhiJh42fqFUByE0AWFRrB3Da76l5ZMt I'll design the layout tomorrow and see if that's what you want. Hutch
Hutch Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Mike Are you sure about the numbers of holes? I can get 119 per sheet for the 25mm pots, and 77 for the 32.5 pots. I know I have a lot of paints, but..... Hutch
Mike Posted February 10 Author Posted February 10 20 hours ago, Hutch said: Hi Mike I hope these photos work, I've always struggled in the past. https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/XWrnWfbt5Md1e5S3zSNuToChjIU3An7l4TYhtnWFK6w https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/crDQhEXWHEZ9qhiJh42fqFUByE0AWFRrB3Da76l5ZMt I'll design the layout tomorrow and see if that's what you want. Hutch Those don't work as pics, but following the links does lead to the pics though Very nice they are too. This is the drawer I got from Amazon for about £11 each that I want to put the inserts in: The insert will be a flat sheet, so quite a bit different from your angled racks, as for my purposes all the holes will be on a single plane, basically stopping the paints from rattling about laterally or falling over when I pull the drawers in and out of the chassis I built for them, which you can see below: It's just occurred to me, if the 6mm inserts turn out to be slightly too shallow to keep the taller pots from falling over, I could put little spacers under the corners to make them taller. I think I understand better why you use ply now, especially with many, many holes in it. It's also less susceptible to moisture ingress, although my workshop is dehumidified to keep everything dry. 119 pots in a drawer sounds great BTW,
Mike Posted February 10 Author Posted February 10 5 hours ago, Hutch said: Mike Are you sure about the numbers of holes? I can get 119 per sheet for the 25mm pots, and 77 for the 32.5 pots. I know I have a lot of paints, but..... Hutch Here's a hint. I bought a 1,000 bag of glass BBs for mixers, and have a couple of hundred left that haven't been put into bottles yet. Weird thing is, I've still never got the right paint to hand! 1
Hutch Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Mike I've cut one of each of the tray inserts. If you can PM me your address I'll send them up (you are up north, I'm down south) to see if they fit, and they do what you want. I'll also pop in all of the 'holes' so you can use them as stacking pieces. Hutch 1
Mike Posted February 19 Author Posted February 19 SUCCESS!!!!! Hutch came through, and sent me two example inserts in t'post today. The rattling of the "holes" inside the package got the family interested, and they thought they were cool, as did I. I hurried out to the workshop, and picked the emptiest drawer of paint to turf out as my example. This was a bunch of Army Painter 17ml dropper dropper bottles, requiring the smaller of the two holes. The sizing was just about perfect for the drawer/tray, which will be great to reduce over all movement, but I had to tip it upside down to bang it out. Because of the height and centre of gravity of the bottles, the 4mm ply wouldn't keep them upright, which explains why Hutch sent the holes in the parcel. The half-holes were very handy, as I could CA them around the underside of the edges of the inserts, which only took a few minutes. With a new height of 8mm, it was perfect. You'd have to give the drawer a really good hard jolt to get anything to fall, and even then they only topple. Result! I've just got my Metallics (black caps), Washes (red), and SpeedPaint (Silver) shades in this drawer, with plenty of space for more later, but the drawer that's gonna be full to the brim will be the Flexible Triads, which can now be laid out in their series, rather than lurking about in boxes in case I get them mixed up. The Citadel paints were next, and again I chose a drawer that wasn't as full as the others, but it turned out to be pretty full in the end. One solitary hole between the Drybrush and Air pots. Not bad. Here they both are in their respective drawer "units" wot I dun made. Look pretty good, don't they? Thanks go in spades to Hutch, and he's gonna cut the rest when he's back with his machine next week. So three more of the 25mm inserts (one spare in case I overflow), and three more of the 32.5mm inserts, as I've pretty much got all the Citadel paints I'm going to now. Army Painter FTW Now we set him up with a cheaper source for the trays, and he can retire on the income from high-density paint racks that don't take up all the wall-space you might not have My workshop smells of burning wood now, which is a smell I don't mind, coming from a long line of pyromaniacs, although my air purifier will sort it out soon enough
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