With outstanding support through Discord, here is v3 of my expansion card case! It is designed to “snap” closed and when open, the cards pop out at a 45 degree angle. It is fully constrained when open, so gravity has no effect on functionality. I have tested with PLA on an Ender 3 (30% infill, supports only on “2_Card_Holder.stl”, 0.2mm layers) and it came out perfectly. There are inevitably some kinks that still need to be worked out, so consider this a starting point. The logo is a 0.6mm indent for those who want to try multi-color, just switch out the filament as layer 3 is finishing up!
Insert ‘2_Card_Holder’ into ‘2_Card_Bottom’. Push one peg all the way through at an angle and then come back. Make sure the small peg is on the top side.
Line up the ‘2_Card_Top’ onto one side of the previous assembly. Make sure the large peg goes into the circle cutout and the small peg is in the slot. You may have to lift the ‘2_Card_Holder’ slightly.
Stretch the ‘2_Card_Top’ over the other side, making sure the pegs line up in their respective cutouts.
For now😉 I may have some time next week to come up with other variations, in the mean time it’s still “beta” so once this one is finalized I’ll look into designing others
Looks cool! Nice mechanism. I’ll try printing it out. Regarding variants, an ethernet module would be nice. That is the module I keep out of the laptop most of the time due to it sticking out when installed.
It works and looks great, but the requirement for magnets has kept me from completing it. Those magnets are expensive and hard to find, at least around here. Also you really have to use epoxy to secure them in - this is very very messy.
Your design with a lid is much more appealing. Now that I have more 3D printing experience, I’m sure I could make it work. I do have a network card though, so I voted for the “2 card + network” option.
Yes, I’m currently printing the one @jared_kidd linked to, but I’ll have to find a spot for the screwdriver. I don’t use the screwdriver as often as swapping expansion cards though, so I don’t need it with me when I need the extra expansion cards.
Please let me know if you run into any issues! On my end, I’m struggling to find anything to improve as mine works as inteded, but if a majority of people keep seeing failed prints there’s obviously a flaw. My recommendation for anyone trying it: don’t be afraid of supports. Especially for the holder piece, it is crucial for it to print correctly and easy enough to smooth out with a file or knife.
Printed on my Ender 3 pro. Top and bottom parts were printed on their flat sides with no support and 20% infill. The holder part was printed standing up with the “pegs” end against the bed, using tree supports. First one I tried printing with normal supports but ended up breaking it when removing supports. Reprinted at 100% infill with tree supports and it came out solid.
This thing feels like an old cassette tape case, I like it.
A 2 card + Ethernet holder is in progress! I took me a while but I finally got my hands on an Ethernet card to get dimensions that for some reason aren’t available in Framework’s documentation. Expected to be published by 8:00pm tonight (EST).
The 2 Card + 1 Ethernet files are uploaded to Thingiverse!
Print at your own risk
I will not have access to an Ethernet card to verify everything works for a few days, but I will print the case tonight to make sure everything else works as intended.
