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A Compact Two-Colour Case for Milwaukee Screwdriver Bits
I bought a set of Milwaukee screwdriver bits — which are apparently the best bits in the universe, because I love them already — but the case they came in was pretty massive. So I designed a much smaller replacement case, with embossed lettering flood-filled in a second colour, and printed it on my Bambu printer. The main obstacle was my AMS, which had broken down and left me unable to print the white part; I looked into manual filament swaps in the slicer, worked out I'd need four of them, and considered splitting the design into two glued models instead. In the end the AMS worked long enough to get the print done, and I love the result — though I did forget the chamfer, so it may yet get reprinted.
Description
I picked up a set of Milwaukee screwdriver bits and immediately fell for them, but the case they shipped in was far bigger than it needed to be. That seemed like a good excuse for a design project, so I modelled a smaller case of my own.
The lettering on the case gave me the most trouble at the design stage. I couldn't figure out how to paint a second colour onto the same flat surface, so instead I embossed the text and flood-filled the embossed portion with the other colour. That means the two colours live on different layers rather than on one face — worth noting, since it changes what's possible when printing.
Then my AMS broke down, which meant I couldn't print the white part. I looked at doing the colour changes manually in the Bambu slicer and it seemed workable, but because of the way the design is laid out I'd have had to swap filament four times. Bambu's slicer only pauses on a layer rather than on tool changes, which limited my options somewhat. I also considered splitting the design into two separate models and gluing them together, partly because I didn't want to reprint the piece I'd already made.
As it turned out, the AMS worked long enough for me to print the case. I didn't fix it properly — I just restarted it until it worked, and it breaks again when I turn it off. I'm waiting for Bambu to get back to me about it.
I'm really happy with how the case came out. The one flaw is the chamfer: the design has one, but the printed version is flat with only the corners chamfered — the vertical edges have a chamfer while the big original case has one all the way around. I forgot it, like an idiot, so I might reprint the part after all.
Also visible in the photos is one of my macropads, which I've been enjoying with a new key layout (keymap here: https://github.com/skorokithakis/macropad/blob/main/KEYMAPS.md). And I replaced the ancient Bluetooth adapter on my PC with a newer one, which works great now.
Gallery
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