Optimized Christmas Glass Ball Ornament Protector

thingiverse

I needed a protective storage case for some custom glass ball Christmas ornaments. When I couldn't find any online, I designed a very basic one. It worked, but was slow to print and used a lot of plastic so I played around with some designs to find a balance of strength and efficiency. This optimized design prints in a fraction of the time and has good strength. It's not quite the protective juggernaut that the original design is, but it should be fine for cases where the ornament just needs a little structural protection inside a storage box with other ornaments. Here's the original, stronger, slower design, in case you need a beefier container: <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4582989">Christmas Glass Ball Ornament Protector</a> I designed this to be simple to print, but not necessarily simple to open and close (since i only plan to open them once a year). To assemble the box, print the top and bottom pieces, and print 6 connecting shafts and stick it all together. The bottom piece is solid around the outer rim, and the top piece has notches around where the shafts insert. The shaft orientation isn't critical, but I suggest that the flatter edge be inserted into the base, with the curved side facing out. Ideally the shafts will stay inserted into the bottom permanently, and will fit snugly but not permanently in the top so they can be slid off when needed. As always, it's good to test fit to make sure things stay or slide the way you want them, and glue/file/reprint at a different scale to meet your needs. Glass ornaments are fragile, and I'd hate for someone to break theirs trying to open the case they printed to protect it. It would not be difficult to redesign this to keep the same general construction but add a simpler removable lid. I just wasn't sure if there would be any demand for that. To protect the finish of the ornament, I suggest wrapping it in a small sheet of bubble wrap or foam before putting it in the storage box. The inside diameter is 90 mm and the height is 100mm, which is just right for a standard 2.5"/65 mm glass ball wrapped in 1 layer of bubble wrap. Disclaimer : It's your ornament, your printer, your settings, your risk. I hope this model is helpful for someone but use common sense. I'm not responsible if something goes wrong. Please post makes, remixes or comments if this was useful to you. If you'd like the CAD files or have a suggestion for an improvement, let me know.