If you are in need of a custom fit present box this holiday season, why not make one with SolidWorks and your 3D printer? This project takes advantage of SolidWorks Equations to allow the user to input the size and 3D printer parameters and instantly update the design to any desired size.
The design consists of 4 parts – the Box, Lid, Ribbon, and Ribbon with Bow.
You can access all the design files I used here.
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The Box was designed as the base part, then the other parts were designed around the box within the context of the assembly. Using this technique along with equations allowed for the equations within the Box part to be updated and those updates to cascade down to the other parts in the assembly.
Changes to the width, depth, and height can quickly be made in a matter of seconds, the resulting parts exported and ready for printing:
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| Various sizes of presents generated by altering width, depth, and height variables. | ||
Since the model is designed to be 3D printed, it also has a wall thickness and layer resolution variable. The layer resolution variable is linked to the gap between the sliding parts. I found that with my printer if I left a gap that is equality to a single layer, it allowed for the right amount of friction between the moving parts. The wall thickness is typically 4 times the layer resolution, but you can also alter that as you need.
To edit this model, open the PresentBoxAssembly in SolidWorks, then select Present Box from the design tree and click Edit Component:
Next, right click on Equations and click Manage equations:
Now edit the variable in the Value / Equation column, click OK and the model will update with your new values:
With this technique and some different color filaments, you can quickly produce some fun and unique present boxes for your friends and family this year!
