Tag case

The CR-10 is an amazing printer. However, it does take up quite a bit of precious area in my small workshop so I decided to build a thin case under it. The computer is in the rear part of of the case, and the front will have drawers for storage.

The Materials

• 1/4 MDF
• M4 screws
• CR-10 3d Printer
• Wood glue

The Tools

• CO2 laser cutter

The Build

Here is the original CR-10. There’s that big ugly box on the side of it. It’s so tall that another couple inches isn’t going to matter.

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I took apart my CR-10 to examine all the wires, components, etc so I could get a good idea of where to place everything.

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Here are the internals of the printer. Pretty basic stuff actually. The power supply is the biggest thing. The board for controlling stuff, the mosfet for handling high current to the heating bed, a couple fans. I also added a raspberry Pi to run OctoPrint.

Based on previous projects, I am not going to leave any tolerance for the drawer. I put 1-2mm before and there was a huge gap, so going to gamble with a perfect fit here.

I glued the drawer together to prevent any screws sticking out messing with the clearance. The main case however is bolted together with M3 hardware. Getting ready to mount the components in! I decided to add a 1mm clearance to the drawers, I think that’s the right amount for all projects going forward. I did a quick test with 0 and it was just too tight.

I used double sided tape to mount the power supply, Raspberry, and other stuff. Surprisingly all the hole cutouts I measured pretty accurately! Maybe I’m finally getting better at this.

Put everything back together, removed the printer rubber legs and let the printer sit flush on the enclosure. Everything fits perfectly, the drawer works great. I left the top screws off just in case I need to get back into the internals. Gravity does a good enough job of keeping it in place.

Back on line printing again. Steady helping to make masks/equipment for donation for this CoVid-19 thing.

Updates

I added a nice coat of matte black paint to match the printer. Normally I like to leave MDF unpainted, but wanted a more unified look for the printer.

I thought I did a pretty good job with the fan grill.

I left the inside of the drawer unpainted to make it easier to see the stuff inside.

I previously built a minifig display case but it was big, heavy, and awkward. It also did not have a glass cover in the front and seemed to collect lots of dust, so I decided to redo it.

The Tools

• Fusion 360 / Lightburn
• 60 watt CO2 laser
• staple gun
• drill (only for pilot holes)

The Materials

• 1/4 inch MDF
• 5x3mm circular neodymium magnets
• plexiglass
• support board
• sawtooth picture frame mounts
• epoxy
• hot glue gun

The Build

I decided to make it 5 columns 4 rows of minifigs so 20 per display case. The Fusion360 design is totally parametric (I think) so I can easily adjust these to customize it.

There are 3 types of material used. 1/4 MDF for the frame and shelves, the white support board (like you get from cheap bookshelves), and plexiglass for the front cover.

I used bolts for the 4 corners of the frame. I did not want to use glue. Here you can see the notch that holds the M3 bolts.

I used neodymium magnets, 5x3mm circles, to hold the front glass together. The 1st and 3rd shelves have notches where I used epoxy to glue 4 magnets to the shelf. There are also 3mm holes cut in the plexiglass. It’s kind of weird, but works and I didn’t have to use any hinges.

I used a hot glue gun to mount the minifigs using the engraged indicators for perfect spacing!

After the first one was a success, I made 2 more. Still need another one!

I used 2 sawtooth picture frame mounts per display case to mount everything to the wall. All done!

Mistakes

• probably could have designed the frame mounts in the other direction so the frame can sit flush on a flat surface

Updates

I created another size for my 4 larger minifigs. It really tested my parametric design, which didn’t do so well so I had to make updates.

I noticed that my MDF was pretty fresh, so it was dry and also not as thick as I spec’d it out for. Also, I put the magnets in the middle, but since there is only 1 shelf, it’s a little wobbly. Going to add stoppers the top and bottom to make sure the glass sits straight.