best practice for connecting sheets of 3D-printed PLA or polycarbonate

[AagAag]

I am a newbie to both Fusion and 3D-printing, and need to design an irregularly-shaped container for lab instrumentation. The container is larger than the max print volume of my 3D printer, hence I will need to print several "components" (as defined in Fusion360) and somehow connect them.

I was wondering what people consider the best-practice for that. What I am imagining is some type of interlock that would provide reasonable strength and stiffness, even if the components are not (yet) glued.

You may argue that my question is excessively generic. Indeed I am wondering about the most versatile and generic method to achieve cohesiveness in additively-manufactured parts, and how said method would be best implemented with Fusion360. I would be grateful for any advice!

[chrisplyler]

You have to decide what method of fastening you would like to use, and then model with that method in mind.

If you just want to butt joint the edges and glue it together, just slice the model along the edge and that's it. This probably wouldn't be very strong, depending on how thick the edges are.

You might want to slice the model and then add a sort of slip joint, wherein one edge slides over the other, giving you positive location control, more surface area for the glue to contact AND giving some resistance to movement in more planes than one.

You might want to design some sort of snap-together bits along the edges. Imagine any electronic product you've ever seen which has to halves of its casing snap together.

You might want to flange the edges, put holes through the flanges, and use mechanical fasteners.

There are a zillion possible ways to hold two things together. You haven't really asked a Fusion specific question, but rather a question about a design decision. You know your desired results better than any of us do, so you have to make that decision.