Atom Case (and some Yarn/Knit Bowl updates) (Patreon)

Howdy, wonderful people!

Yes, it's a box with a print-in-place hinged lid!  It has a threaded-ring closure, a top that flips over from the back, and a snazzy utilitarian sci-fil kind of feel :)

You may have noticed that I like print-in-place hinges, especially boxes and lids!  These kinds of models can be characterised by the kinds of constraints they incorporate, whether that's accommodating moving parts in a lid, having certain dimensions, or, in the case of this one, being a robust box with a lid thickness that is independent of the body thickness.  That's the key aspect that differentiates this particular effort from the Clamshell Cases from a little while ago - that design required that the lids and bases be identically thick.

The hinges at the back are the key to how this one works - they allow the lid to print flat, upside-down on the print bed, and rotate up and over the top of the box.  However, that also means that the bottom of the lid and the top of the box had to be designed so that they wouldn't overlap at any point in that hinge movement, but so that they still connected in a complete and satisfying way when the box was closed.  

Printing Tips

No supports needed, and the Atom  Case is designed for straightforward printing!  As usual with articulated designs you'll want to make sure your bottom layer is nice and neat, and that you don't have any print issues like stringing or overextrusion that might cause binding in moving parts!

The case prints base-down, with the lid open, like so:

Multimaterial Printing

You'll find a separate set of models for multimaterial printing, which provides that retro atom-ish image on the lid that inspired the name of this model :)

Note that the image part is only quite thin, so that the impact on print time and material usage is minimal, even if using purge towers!

Print Dimensions
The Atom Case occupies 185mm x 80mm on the printer bed, and is 40mm tall.

The Atom Case Ring occupies 30mm x 30mm and is about 7.5mm tall.

File Location
You'll find this on dropbox under 740 Atom Case

(Dropbox link post:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/dropbox-and-are-31697592 )

More Updates on Yarn Bowl and Knit Bowl!

Just a few things to mention!

1. By popular request, the Yarn Bowl now has a version with the needles separate from the lid!  As with the Knit Bowl version, the needles are threaded for a screw-in fit.  You'll find this new version as a subfolder of the existing 741 Yarn Bowl folder.

2. All four of the existing Knit Bowl/Crochet Bowl bases have been altered very slightly so that the lid doesn't potentially rock slightly when closed.  It's just an adjustment of 0.1mm to each of the 45-degree faces on either side of the magnets on the base, just in case you want to sand any existing prints down :)  The new versions of the bases all have V2 at the end of the file name.

Happy printing!

xoxo

Sven.