catch all tray with accent color (vase mode)

While I was designing and printing my headphone hard case, I ended up printing too many pieces. Of course, since I only needed one case, they were kinda just waste. But on a recent trip, I ended up using the top of my headphone case as a travel tray in the hotel, and it hit me! I can make the extras a bit prettier with an accent ring and just use them as trays around the house.

When I printed these, my girlfriend saw one sitting on my workbench and immediately requested one, so I figure it's a good tray even if you didn't end up with it just because you screwed up designing a different model. So… yeah, here are some valet trays.

Print settings

You can either pick a tray with an accent ring on the outside or on the inside, depending on your style. I prefer the outside ring, since it looks a bit better and functions better. With the inside ring, since the pieces are designed to just friction fit, you may need to use a bit of super glue to keep the ring from bending inwards. In either case, here are the settings I use:

Tray body

• Spiral vase mode / Spiralize outer contour: turn this on, that's what this mode is all about • Line width / Extrusion width: 0.8mm (you can do this even with a 0.4mm nozzle) • Bottom thickness / Bottom layers: 1.5mm • Bottom pattern initial layer: concentric (this is optional, and not all slicers support it, but I think it looks better for display pieces… but use your own judgment)

• Speed: 60mm/s (this value almost doesn't matter, since it won't actually be used) • Wall speed: 30mm/s (unless you are super sure your extruder can keep up with faster)

• Ironing: enable this for a better inside finish (protip: Cura has better ironing support for vase mode prints from what I can tell) • Ironing Line Spacing: 0.4mm • Ironing Speed: 40mm/s

Accent ring

• Spiral vase mode / Spiralize outer contour: turn this on, that's what this mode is all about • Line width / Extrusion width: 0.8mm (you can do this even with a 0.4mm nozzle) • Bottom thickness / Bottom layers: 0! • Wall speed: 30mm/s (unless you are super sure your extruder can keep up with faster)

Notes

The trays in the photos were printed on an Elegoo Neptune 2 with a 0.4mm nozzle. The trays are printed in Tianse woodfill PLA, and the accent rings are printed in Overture Matte Grass Green and Matte Purple PLA.

Design and description by Catdad Workshop , licensed CC-BY-SA.