3D Printed Exemplar Gift Box

Box shown from front with name dropped into the side

Challenge: To produce a box that would push the Ultimaker 2+ 3D Printer to its limit in terms of design features and size.
Background: At the end of the year one of the students who had been working on designs during the school year (which in New Zealand runs February to December) wanted to finish the year by producing something special.  He wanted to design a box that would test the limits of the 3D Printer in terms of design, such as features on it including size and a drop down lid.   The design was always going to be complex, large and detailed.  Originally it had been conceived as a Glow-in-the-Dark Filament print - however attempts to do so given the scale of the print were less than satisfactory so a change was made to go with a dark blue instead.   Each of the four panels of the box

had a design or a theme to it.  The designs were delibrately sunk into the base of the box to ensure that they looked as visually appealing as possible.    The lid was designed to work specifically in relation to the top of the box featuring a sunken lid design.   There was further personalisation with the lid and the handle. 

Left: Design on the second side of the box featuring a motorcycle. Some of the detailed required minute rafting removal. 

Above: Third side featuring Rugby

Level of Diffculty:   High - for an eleven year student with two years experience of 3D Printing design and creation, this student has shown time and time again that he has a talent for creation.   This sort of design is as difficult as it can get to be successful.

Timeframe: Thirty six hours for the printing of the box - which was completed with starting with a full roll of filament.   The lid took a further twelve hours.  Again this is not normal but rather a reflection of the scale of the design, there was significant 'rafting' in this design, each of the panels on each side of the box had a false

Above: the final panel with a goat.

Size:  As noted, in at attempt to push the printer to its limits the print was designed to make a large storage box.  This measured 140mm across (the base at the bottom) and was 140mm deep.  There was a significant lip at the top of
the box that was a 10mm square to allow for the drop down lid.   The box from top to bottom measured 100mm.   The width of the sides of the box was 15mm, with an edge of 5mm on the top of the box, the rest of the sides maintaining a 10mm width.   The lid for the top of the box reflected the dimensions of the base - it had a raised drop down lid which overlapped with the top of the edge of the box.   The lettering that dominated the top of the box was raised 10mm.   The handle used for the positioning of the top of the box was 45mm from the top of the lid. 
What we would do differently/Next steps for students: There was one or two slight issues created by the removal of the rafting, this created some marks visible in the final print (in the name panel and the motorcycle panel) these perhaps could have been larger.