Category: Energy

Caddytown – 2 parts, a socket and power bit caddies – Created by Carl Calabria

The potential for 3D printing is limited only by your imagination.  Here is a great “case” study from our partners at MarkForged, innovators and manufacturers of 3D printers and systems. For questions about 3D printing or Markforged printers, contact Miller 3D.

Carl created caddytown in OnShape to house his ever-growing power-bit and socket collection. Both are printed in these pictures in nylon, without composite reinforcement. The nylon is actually great for this application because you can flex it slightly to pull out one of the bits. The nylon will bend slightly many, many times without cracking.

You could absolutely print this on a Mark One with a composite base, too. Eiger will add some fiber layers for you, or you could add some yourself. Adding a few fiber layers to the bottom could help the part print flat and add some stability, but this design works better using the compliance achieved with nylon – the bits fit snuggly and are easier to get out based on the way MarkForged’s nylon slightly flexes.

The socket caddy is also special for another reason. It’s specific to a Wera socket set that long ago parted ways with the socket holder. Carl was able to quickly model this holder perfectly suited to the size of these sockets.

Different socket sets may have different diameters than this tray. If you’d like to reuse it, the best bet is to scale the part to fit your sockets.

Carl submitted this part as a contestant in MarkForged’s internal “Part Of The Week Competition.” It was a close race, but Carl was first runner up. He lost to a shamelessly submitted customer part, that will be posted on the blog as well. You can also see this part on Thingiverse.

Specifications

Power-bit Caddy
Size 55mm x 46mm x 14mm
Estimated Print Time ~3h 48min
Nylon Cost ~$2
STL Download MarkForged_Bit_Caddy.stl ()

Wera Socket Caddy
Size 55mm x 46mm x 14mm
Estimated Print Time ~3h 48min
Nylon Cost ~$1.75