Foldable Mini Red Packet 小红包 Keychain with Blessing Characters (福, 吉) for Chinese New Year

Please give a 👍 if you like this! It is my first time using Fusion 360 and Tinkercad to design and make a model of my own. It was a very fun experience and I look forward to making more models. 😄

I wanted to print more Chinese New Year decorations and trinkets with my new 3D printer, but I couldn't find much options that I liked. Since this contest opened up, I thought it would be a good idea to challenge myself and participate, since the topic is something that I related to.

Red packets (红包 hóngbāo) are often given during Chinese New Year or special occasions (e.g. weddings) as a monetary gift and blessing to the recipient. Red symbolises luck, and is an auspicious colour in the Chinese culture. The words on the two red packets in the image is 福 fú and 吉 jí, which means “blessing” and “lucky”, and they are often encountered on Chinese New year decorations.

The model prints as a 2-layer 2D net. The colour of the characters are only in the bottom layer (facing out). The net can be folded into a red packet. The attached model with 2 red packets take ~20 min to print. 1 red packet takes ~15 min to print.

Instructions for use:

1. Fold the sides and slot the circle into the gap.
2. Fold the bottom and slot the circle into the gap.
3. (Optional) Insert a tiny gold bar for your recipient.
4. Fold the top and slot the triangle into the gap.
5. (Optional) Attach a keychain or string to hang as an ornament.

Remarks regarding print quality and settings:

• Arachne wall generation is selected, as it seems to result in better quality infill for intricate details. The 福 red packet (left) was printed with Classic wall generation; notice the gaps. The slicing looks better with arachne.
• Beware of the folding. Repeated folding or stress may cause the folded edge to tear or break.
• Prototypes were printed using Bambu PLA Matte Scarlet Red and Bambu PLA Basic Gold.
• Disable prime tower to save filament.
• Start print with Gold to save one filament change. (Objects > Plate Settings > First layer filament sequence > Customize)

The plain red packet was designed in Fusion 360. The characters were written using Ma Shan Zheng font (Open Font License), save as .png, and converted to .svg. The red_packet.stl and character.svg were imported into Tinkercad and resized/repositioned, then exported separately as .stl. The files were then opened in Bambu Studio, recoloured, then saved as .3mf.

I can create the models of other characters/images, and will update with the other variants. Do leave a comment or send me a message if there's anything I can help with.