Designing Hinged Lid?

[Anonymous]

Hi!

First time posting, hope this is the right spot for my topic. So my day-to-day job is a groomer and I'm trying to design a tool caddy that will hold my tools. I've got the basics working just fine and I'm pretty sure I've got it all modeled properly so that it will snap together post printing and stay together. That isnt the issue. The issue is that I need to put a hinged lid with a snap closure on the box for the clipper blades. This in of itself wouldnt be so tricky but I have to have it move it in a very narrow space. The blade box is removable from the caddy, which will be screwed into the end of the table. The space in which the box is meant to sit is basically the same size as the box itself, plus a but of space for ease of movement without allowing wiggling to make sure everything stays in place.

I attached a picture of the WIP so you're not trying to picture what I'm talking about. The round hole you see would be where the hinge would go in.

Can anyone help me design a lid that will work or do I need to scrap that idea? I know I can just flip it around and model the hinge from the open outside, but my concern is if we have the lid open and a dog moves, their foot could catch the box and toss it off the caddy. Clipper blades arent cheap!

Thanks so much.

[chrisplyler]

Okay... I get that you want a lid that...

A) covers that slotted box,

B) has some sort of snap closure with the box, probably on the side opposite the hinge,

C) pivots around the hole's axis,

...but I am sketchy on the other design requirements. You're worried about height of the lid when opened?

[chrisplyler]

Ooooo!

I had a stupid idea...

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/ca86319a-e00f-4c6e-a3e0-8f2f64a5e2e5

[Anonymous]

Ah! Sorry!

The snap closure I can manage on my own, that's no biggie. And I'm not worried about the height of the lid since it will be more or less the same size as the box and wont sit much above the back of the caddy (EDIT: Or, it will, but its still not a biggie since the caddy is designed to hang lower off the edge of the table). My problem is, whenever I try to build the lid, I either run into the problem of:

         1. when designed closed and you go to open it, it opens wider than the space allowed and would sit on the other side of the back of the caddy. Which means that it wouldnt open fully when seated in the caddy.

Or

        2. when designed open in the proper position of the top of the lid being against the back of the caddy, it doesnt close.

I know it really shouldnt be this complicated. [sigh]

[Anonymous]

Thats not stupid at all! Thats a really cool idea, it just unfortunately wouldnt work for this project. 😞

[chrisplyler]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Ah! Sorry!

The snap closure I can manage on my own, that's no biggie. And I'm not worried about the height of the lid since it will be more or less the same size as the box and wont sit much above the back of the caddy (EDIT: Or, it will, but its still not a biggie since the caddy is designed to hang lower off the edge of the table). My problem is, whenever I try to build the lid, I either run into the problem of:

         1. when designed closed and you go to open it, it opens wider than the space allowed and would sit on the other side of the back of the caddy. Which means that it wouldnt open fully when seated in the caddy.

Or

        2. when designed open in the proper position of the top of the lid being against the back of the caddy, it doesnt close.

I know it really shouldnt be this complicated. [sigh]

---

Ah I see... well, that's just a fact of geometry. If you've got a box pushed back against a wall, and it's just got a simple hinge at the back, then geometry dictates that the lid will open INTO the wall. Nothing you can do about it.

Now, you could make something that isn't a simple hinge. A four-bar linkage arrangement could be devised that would do the trick, making the lid move forward slightly as it is opened. There are kitchen cabinet hinges that do it, but really they're tiny four-bar linkages inside, not simple single-pivot type hinges at all.

The simplest solution, of course, is to leave space behind the box!

[chrisplyler · Accepted solution]

Oh my gosh I'm smacking myself on the forehead right now.

This is so simple. Don't have to use my design with the support on the exterior end of the box...could have the lid slotted at the back to fit over vertical tabs on the box, with a pin running through...but anyway it's so simple I feel stupid not thinking of it before.

Just move the pivot point up into the lid, such that the lid does not move rearward as it opens. (You will also want to emboss the phrase "ChrisPlyler is a moron" into the top of the lid.)

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/adee3e1e-2ae2-4d74-8f2d-06f165c08fbe

[chrisplyler]

A better representation...

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/daf9f5a2-aea1-4b0d-9104-10726236460c

[Anonymous]

*opens mouth, closes it and blinks*

... I love you. Lol

But seriously, thank you. I was trying to over complicate it, I think. Probably because I was more focused on making sure it all fit in the given space and locked together as a whole once it was all snapped together - I'm trying to build it so it can be printed on a smaller model machine that will be more in my price range to buy.

But if I do little nibs and indents, I can still make it work. 

[chrisplyler]

Good luck!

Tip: If you want to be on the good side of the forum members, it's highly recommended to come back to the thread and post pics of your finished project after it's done. It's a great feeling to see something I contributed to actually come to fruition in the real world. If you get the chance.

[Anonymous]

I'll definitely post a video of the project when I'm done modeling it! It'll be a whole before I can actually print it.  Thanks again!