Hello! If you’re reading this then that means the QR code has worked and you’ve found my pencil case.
Please use my contact page to send me a private message. Thank you!
In the meantime; if you’re interested in reading how this was made then buckle up for a boring story.
Design
There were only two criteria:
- The pencil case has to have an interesting opening mechanism.
- The pencil case has to fit a Casio fx-83GT PLUS calculator.
Technical knowledge regarding the bend radius for laser cut ply was gained from here: Making Flexible Plywood using a Laser – EnduranceLasers
The rest was hashed out in CAD over four iterative versions.
Manufacture
The central core was made from a single 3D printed part that contained the pocket and necessary sliders, runners & guides. To reduce print time, the infill was set to 0% and the walls were beefed up.
The flexible shutter and two end panels were laser cut from 4mm balsa ply. The total laser time including engraving the QR code and text took less than 30mins.
Finally a small 3D printed handle was added for grip.
Review
The build quality is not great. The core has significant warping at one end which creates an unsightly gap and weak point.
The shutter action is stiff (see video below), however this this does prevent the case from opening while in transit.
Ultimately, only time will tell if this pencil case is actually any good…
Last updated: 02/10/2023