I have designed and printed two boxes with snap-fit lids, which also allow for the boxes to be stacked and snapped together (the lid and bottom of the box both have the same recessed channel with snaps).
The first style is a narrower design where the lid and boxes snap together perfectly. The second style is double the width of the narrower version. However, with the wider style, the box has a slight twist. It is just enough that, from corner to corner, the boxes won't stay snapped together all the way around.
Both versions are printed on a Bambu PS1
- the narrow boxes are 41.5 mm x 131 mm
- the wider boxes are 86 mm x 131 mm
- printed with PETG
- 4 wall loops
- 40% infill density
- adaptive cubic infill pattern
- supports are on to support the channel around the perimeter of the bottom of the box
- the walls and bottom of both styles of boxes are 3 mm thick
When printing, the box shows no warping or pulling away from the print bed; all edges remain fully attached to the print bed. It does the same thing whether I force it off the bed immediately after the print finishes or wait for it to cool. I even left it overnight to cool with no difference.
This is a cross-section of the larger tray bottom; it shows the upper "lip" that snaps into a lid or another tray. It also shows the channel around the bottom of the tray that mirrors the channel in the lid.
This is the larger style. The lip on the top of the box snaps together with the channel in the bottom of the lid. Each box also has the same channel on the bottom that allows the boxes themselves to be stacked/snapped together.
This shows how the two boxes will not stay snapped together. One of the opposing corners pops up if you press the opposite corner down.
If I lay a single wider box on a flat surface (lid or no-lid), I can slide a piece of paper under each of the opposing corners, showing that it isn't the lid "pulling" the corners up. It demonstrates that there is a slight twist or warp in the bottom.
This is the narrower version, where there is no issue with the two boxes staying snapped together.
Any ideas on how I can fix this? It seems that printing a simple box/tray like this should be one of the simplest types of objects to print.
I'm not super new to 3D printing but have only been at it for a few months, so tweaking slicer settings is not something I've done much of.
