Ten 3D Printable Things: Unique Storage Solutions

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Welcome to Ten 3D Printable Things. Every week I’ll be showcasing 10 fantastic and FREE 3D printable projects, designs and models from all over the web.

While 3D printing cool things to use around the house is a lot of fun, realistically my house is only so big and only has enough room for so many 3D printed models and knicknacks. So lately I’ve been spending my time 3D printing things that I can give to people as gifts, either for a birthday or as a thank you for some favor done for me. I especially like to print models that can be functional, such as tools or functional accessories for electronics. I also have found that gifting friends with storage boxes also tends to be appreciated. So for this week’s column I decided to showcase some of the more unique and useful storage boxes that I’ve come across.

Here are Ten 3D Printable Things: Unique Storage Solutions:

UFO STORAGE BOX

USO : Unidentified Storage Object by muzz64

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

This storage box is out of this world. It prints in five individual pieces and has seven separate storage compartments all squeezed inside of it. You can set it on a shelf, where no one will even know that it has hidden storage inside of it, or you can hang it from the ceiling using the alternate top that has holes for string. This design was made to be printed in a silver material, but you can use any color filament that you like and it’s still going to look cool.

CAPSULE STORAGE BOXES

Capsules by muzz64

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Sometimes finding a useful keychain dongle or small container for travelling can be a real pill. These fun capsule-shaped boxes can be made in just about any size, and obviously the parts can be printed in different colors can mixed and matched. The printing process is a little tricky due to the shape of the box and the need for a solid first few layers. The designer suggests printing with a raft to make the process easier.

TARDIS WITH HIDDEN STORAGE DRAWERS

Tardis with drawers by MakeALot

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

There is so much storage inside of this TARDIS-shaped storage box that it almost seems like it’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. In reality though, it’s just an excellent design. The box has 6 individual drawers and the two working doors to keep everything together. The designer even created a mini chess set that you can print and store inside of the drawers if you want. Naturally blue is the obvious filament color choice, but I’m thinking of printing one in woodfill and using a blue stain to make it really unique.

LIGHTBULB-SHAPED STORAGE BOXES

A ‘Bright’ Idea’ by Muzz64

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

This lightbulb-shaped box is a really bright idea, and can be used to store any number of small doodads, or printed using an alternate STL that turns it into a coin bank. Print the bottom half in silver and the rest of the bulb any color that you want, just make sure your machine is well-calibrated so the threads all screw together correctly.

RENAISSANCE-STYLE CHEST

Box – Renaissance chest XVI by BA jp

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

Time was that if someone needed a small storage container they would need to make it themselves, from wood or a similar material. Then came modern manufacturing technologies that allowed things to be mass produced using plastics and we seemed to have lost the ability to craft things by ourselves. Thankfully 3D printing has allowed us to use modern technology to craft things on our own again. You can print and assemble this cool chest and really call yourself a renaissance (wo)man*.

MUSTACHE BOX

Secret Stache by Sebastian Salas

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

It’s easy to find yourself in a real hairy situation when you go to pull something from your pocket and discover that it had an unknown hole it it. This mustache-shaped box can be made small enough to fit inside of a pocket, but not fall out of any newly developing holes. It’s perfect for medication, small change or whatever you normally transport in your pockets.

ORBZ STORAGE BOX

ORBZ – A mutli-layerd orb shaped storage solution by muzz64

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

If you’re a maker then chances are that you have a lot of tiny parts and components, and keeping them seperate isn’t always a ball. But with 3 individual compartments, these Orbz storage balls are a great way to keep little parts separate. You can print all 4 parts of the Orbz the same color, or just mix and match if you prefer. Printing should be straightforward and simple, but due to the shape of the bottom piece it would probably be wise to print it using a raft just in case.

BULLETZ

BULLETZ by muzz64

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The caliber of storage containers on this list is really impressive, and one of my favorite designs is the cool bullet-shaped boxes. Not only are these just fun boxes, but if you’re doing some sort of military-themed cosplay they are perfect to hide money or other necessities in without overloading your costume.

ACORN CONTAINERS

Large Acorntainers by Devin Montes

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

Honestly, if just looking at these ‘Acorntainers’ doesn’t give you even a seed of an idea for fun ways to use them then I just don’t know what to tell you. I was thinking of printing up a few of them using a wood filament and putting them in a bowl on my table, like a centerpiece with hidden treasure that no one will know is there. There are also some smaller versions available if you’re looking for something more compact.

CLOUD STORAGE

Low Poly Cloud Storage by Lloyd Roberts

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

This cloud-shaped storage container looks like it was pulled directly from a Super Mario Bros. game and is a great place to stash anything that you may need on a rainy day. It prints in two separate pieces, won’t require any supports or rafting and can be scaled up or down depending on the size of your printing bed. Naturally white is the obvious filament color choice, but it’s going to look great in any color.

*I’m very sorry, that was a difficult pun to produce and I’m not sure that it was entirely successful. But I tried.

As always, you can email me your feedback and theme suggestions, and I always love to see what 3D printing projects you’ve been working on. You can also find me on Twitter @SJGrunewald, so say hi and feel free show off what you printed. Tag it #103dpthings and you’ll get a RT.

Will you be creating any of these projects? Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com, or share your thoughts below.

 

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