Twisty Pen Pot

Twisty Pen Pot

This is a pen or pencil cup with a twist! The model is made of two parts, the Outer body and Inner body. The Inner body is designed to be printed in vase mode.

I created this two part design to allow printing on any 3D printer and still have different colours for each part of the model. 

There is a 0.15 mm offset between the Inner and Outer, so it should remain secure without any adhesive. If your printer's tolerances are good enough, it is fairly easy to remove the insert, which makes it super easy to change the colour in future!

Inserting the Inner body is simple. Line up the spiral arms on the Outer body with the grooves in the Inner body. Then gently push while twisting the Inner clockwise. You should be firm but careful with the Inner body, as it is easy to damage it with it being a vase mode print.

If you find you're struggling to insert the Inner body, check the spiral arms are not deformed in any way, there is a risk of this if they moved excessively during the print (see below for tips here). Application of sandpaper and/or a file and some elbow grease can help correct any dimensional issues with the spiral arms.

Dimensions

This initial version of the pen cup is approx 90 mm in height, and 50 mm Outer Diameter and approx 40 mm Inner Diameter (with the insert fitted).

I plan to create models with varying heights and widths in due course.

If you'd like a shorter version right now, you can just slice off the top of the model in your slicer. If you do this, make sure you have the parts correctly lined up (if you use the .3MF, this is already done).

Print Settings

The TL;DR is:

• Print the Outer body however you like
• Print the Inner body in Vase Mode

Main Body

This is more or less up to you. My settings (using a Prusa Mini) have been:

Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Infill: 5% (Support Cubic)
Perimeters: 3

I found that 3 perimeters made the spiral arms stiff enough to not move excessively. As the arms are not supported, they get quite flexible and can be pushed around quite easily by the printer, especially towards the end of the print.

2 perimeters may work with higher infill, but I found the dimensional accuracy suffered, at least with my set up.

If you find your spiral arms still move too much, you can try using more perimeters or higher infill %. 

Insert

This is designed to be printed in vase mode, so adjust your slicer settings accordingly. 

0.2mm layer height should be sufficient.
 

This part should be the correct orientation in the 3MF and STLs, however to be sure it is correct, there is an indicator on the bottom of the part. 

The side with the embossed pattern should be on the bed. 

 

Material

Anything you want! Contrasting colours/textures obviously makes sense here!