Small Parts Storage Box

I've been on a mission to sort out my small parts collection. I've got several dedicated boxes for various assortments, but it can still be a challenge to find exactly what I need. I decided to print some fantastic small parts boxes from MakerWorld, like the visually appealing ones by Josh-3D or the clever Clamshell Parts Box by Nick Johnson, which cleverly hides the hinge in a built-in stand. These designs are great, and I've printed a few, but I found myself wanting to make some tweaks. I already have containers that require custom sizes, so I designed an alternative to better fit my needs.

Printing Time and Material Usage

These boxes are intended for small parts, so there's no need for thick, chunky walls. I've set the wall thickness at 1.2mm, which is sturdy enough to do the job without adding unnecessary bulk, which would increase print time and filament usage. The walls maintain a consistent thickness, which reflects the outer shape on the inside. Though it's only a millimeter here and there, it slightly increases the load capacity. The shape helps retain the form without compromising stability, despite the thin walls. By reducing everything to the minimum, there's no filleting inside, making it easy to get things out. 

The print time for the box without dividers is about 29 minutes, 
using approximately 25g of filament on my P1S.

Note: Using thin walls does affect print quality. You might see some bumps where the inner dividers are, as there's no infill available, which might push them outward a bit. This isn't a beauty contest, and I'm okay with that—it’s a known and accepted issue due to the process limitations.

Design Choices

The labels can be quite large for the size of the box, thanks to the small cover plate and corners, which provide a 15x50mm space. This is big enough for longer texts to be readable and offers plenty of room for 12mm/14mm label makers. Even the default Bambu Lab labels for small parts fit nicely when cut to size, retaining most of the relevant information.

The cover plate and box are designed so the lid can be stored underneath, snapping into place just like it does on top. With limited space, I've often had lids misplaced, but with this design, I always know where it is, and it's not in the way when I need to shuffle things around. It takes up less space than the Clamshell approach, which suits my personal preference since space is at a premium for me.

Size Choices

When designing this project, I considered useful sizes and, since Josh-3D and Nick Johnson did such a great job with their designs, 70x70x25 with a 5mm corner radius seemed like a good fit. This makes the boxes interchangeable and compatible with the community-designed storage solutions, so it made sense to stick with their choices. There's no need for another format of small boxes. If you need different sizes, you can easily create them.

Dimensions:

• Length: 70mm
• Width: 70mm
• Height: 25mm

Note: If there is a broader demand for other sizes, let me know.

Variations

There are currently 5 ready to print profiles for the Size 70x70x25mm with different compartments inside. 

1 Compartment	2 Compartments	3 Compartments
4 Compartments	6 Compartments

Tray

I've added a tray that holds up to six boxes. The tray comes in two variants: one with Gridfinity support and one without. Both match the Gridfinity specs of 2x4—the version without support omits the bottom anchors to reduce print time and material if not needed. The tray features a cutout in the middle, as the boxes are stable enough without the additional material here.

Customizable

As always, I've included the Fusion Source Files in the Download STL/CAD File section for those who find it useful. You can see how it's done, with the dividers included as groups you can enable in the timeline (one at a time). You should be able to adjust all parameters to your liking, but the length, width, and height are the most important ones. You probably won't need to adjust any other parameters to generate new sizes. Just note that the label size may differ when creating smaller versions, as there might not be enough space available.

I hope you enjoy the design! Please leave a comment or rating if you like it, or share your feedback!