Fully parametric upcycling drawer cabinet generator (25 grams/drawer)

Designer

Kondeeka

Designer relation

Ingen

Kategori

Hobby & Makers > Organizers

Licens

Creative Commons Attribution Creative Commons — Attribution

$ ↺

Attribution påkrævet.

Designer commercial

Other

Først set

2026-07-11 01:42

Sidst set

2026-07-16 20:10

Tags

parametric upcycling recycling modular dvd cd openscad cassette cassettetape optimized optimization parametricdesign sustainability vhs sustainable vhsc sustainabledesign minimalmaterial

Beskrivelse

Put your old physical media racks to use again! This fully parametric drawer generator will generate drawers with custom dimensions and compartments. It has been programmed to maximise strength while minimising material and printing time. A CD case sized drawer weighs 25 grams and prints in 1 hour, but with a 0.6mm nozzle only 30 minutes. Bigger drawers are still easily kept below 100 grams and 2 hour printing time. A DVD case drawer weighs 29 grams. I tried to add features and print optimizations, while keeping everything as flexible as possible. I designed three different handle styles, as well as optional label space which can be assigned separately on both sides. Preset sizes are CD, DVD, VHS and audio cassette cases, but if you can think of other useful formats, please let me know and I can include them. The drawer generator This generator can also be used if you don't have a old cabinets lying around, scroll down for the parametric cabinet generator. Drawer parameters include: - Size (Width, Depth, Height) - Number of rows and columns inside the drawer - Horizontal wall thickness - Vertical wall/floor thickness - Chamfers for added strength - Diagonal raised cross to increase strength and allow reducing floor thickness further - Separate slot-to-slot height and rails width for multiple slot height drawers, second width for cabinets that are narrower in the back - Bridging height, so you can keep vertical walls small while ensuring enough layers in the handles to make them look neat - Optional mini brims on the corners so they won't come off the printbed, but without the material and time cost of a regular brim The handles also have a slight inwards profile so the bridging distance at the top is a bit smaller. The chamfers increase strength significantly, for most purposes you can get away with 1mm walls and below 1mm floors if you include a chamfer of 1 or more millimeters. You can choose the style of the handle too, and fully parametric as well: Cabinet generator A fully parametric cabinet generator is also included, dimensions are calculated automatically from the drawer dimensions in the script. Keeping material costs low is tricky for something so large, although I still was able to keep an 8 slot DVD case cabinet under 350 grams. Cabinets can have interlocking forks on all sides, the vertical ones stick out and the horizontal ones are integrated into the walls. Parameters: - Wall thickness, used for all five sides - Back wall can be solid, or only a diagonal cross with horizontal bar of variable width - Rails for the drawers have adjustable width and thickness - Extra space can be added between the rails to make the drawers fit easier to slide - All cabinet dimensions are calculated based on the drawer dimensions and parameters above - Drill holes can be generated (variable diameter and a second diameter+sinkheight for flush bolts) - Interlocking clamps can be generated on all four sides; - Clamps have variable width, height and length - Bottom interlock can be used as a foot too, simply set the height a bit higher - Vertical interlocks stick out and give a segmented look, while the horizontal interlocks are hidden inside the walls to give a uniform look - Bottom and right interlocks are covered from the top for fixed links hide the interlock mechanism - These interlock tops are long bridge overhangs, you can either print them as is, or use one of two options to improve them: - Interlock bridge intervals can be added, which are small 45 degree ribs that are printed right before the cover itself, cutting the bridge length by 4 - Drop in bridges, these are small slates that have to be printed first, and then placed in the opening when the bridge time is reached, using the pause command in the slicer. Having the interlocking features parametric also allows for connecting different sizes of cabinets to each other, as you can give them the same size. About the software and this project This has been written using OpenSCAD, a free and open-source coding based CAD tool. Everything is built up from cubes, cylinders and spheres that are placed using code. If you've never heard of it, download it and give it a go, it's tiny and runs on anything locally. All the parameters are at the top of the script, and scroll down to see the drawer calls (you can comment them out to hide them by adding // to the front, or removing the // to see it). OpenSCAD is a bit tedious to get used to, but for parametric designs that involve determining dimensions using formulas it can be very useful. The Prusa MK1, 2 and 3 were designed using this too! Inspired by one of Chris Borge's models, but tried to take it to the next level.