Filament Enclosure

I've always wanted to organize and seal my filament, and I've printed many box designs from model websites. After several attempts, I found a few issues. First, strength. To control print time and filament consumption, most designs use thin-walled structures, which aren't sturdy enough. Second, sealing. All sealing structures on the market require thick materials as a prerequisite, but with 3D printing filament and thin walls, the sealing effect is generally poor. Third, it's not convenient to access. Given these issues, I strengthened the structure. Due to the 3D printing process, horizontally printed crossbars have very high strength, while vertically printed ones lose a lot of strength. So, I ultimately printed all 12 connecting rods separately and used screw connections. Once all connected, it can even be used as a stool. Regarding the second point, I also considered aesthetics, so I used transparent acrylic panels for all 6 sides, secured with double-sided tape. For the third point, many online designs use swing doors or latch-on lids. I opted for a magnetic closure solution, using 2mm single-sided foam for sealing. While it can't compare to the sealing effect of a finished rice container, it's much better than the gaps found in typical hinged doors. Of course, I wasn't the first to come up with this idea; I simply optimized many structures in terms of aesthetics, strength, and ease of access, and I designed stacking parts

Now, let's talk about print time and material costs. The print time for 2 plates totals 8+6 hours, and one roll of filament can print 3 units. The acrylic panels consist of 5 ordinary 220*220mm pieces and one pre-drilled 220*220mm piece (CAD file already uploaded), all 3mm thick. Ordinary panels cost 5 yuan, while drilled ones incur an extra 3 yuan labor fee, widely available on Taobao. The remaining magnets, screws, double-sided tape, and single-sided tape together cost about 10 yuan. The total cost will not exceed 50 yuan, and it can hold 3 rolls of filament, making it relatively economical at about 17 yuan per roll

Regarding assembly, I'm not very handy myself, but I found it quite simple to put together. First, the frame; screwing in the parts is very easy. Then, apply double-sided tape to 5 sides (I used the transparent nano-type, 1mm thick * 5mm wide), and attach the acrylic panels. For the last side, first insert 8 magnets (pay attention to polarity); just press them in. Then, attach the single-sided EVA foam (2mm thick * 10mm wide), and the box body is complete. Next is the door panel. Since the outer diameter of magnets from different manufacturers varies slightly (I chose 6mm diameter * 3mm thick), I initially drilled 5.5mm holes and had to sand them down. The second time, I made 6mm holes and needed to use UV glue to secure them (note: the CAD drawing shows 6mm). It's up to you which method you prefer

Materials List

Large flat-head screws 48 pieces (see image)

Nano transparent double-sided tape 220mm * 20 strips

EVA foam single-sided tape 220mm * 4 strips

Magnets 3*6 16 pieces

Note The large square frame is the base only one is needed per stack or you don't have to print it