Lab Fridge Repair: Thinking with 3D Printing

I’m posting this because it’s such a nice example for the standard “What are 3D printers really good for?” question.

When I got to the lab today, I was told the can chute in our mini-fridge was broken. Inspection showed that too many of the little plastic inserts/bushings that retain the bars were missing and/or broken. This is a years-old cheap GE minifridge, so it isn’t even worth looking for OEM replacements.

Now we get to the “Thinking with 3D printing” part: I plucked one of the remaining ones, went over it with some calipers, transferred the measurements into OpenSCAD, and printed one off to test fit. The ID was a little tight, so I adjusted the model, printed 6 more, and fixed the problem.

In case the model is useful for anyone else: OpenSCAD and STL.

Important Details:

  • This took like an hour from start to finish, and wasn’t the only thing I was doing at the time. The printing itself was around 1 minute per insert.
  • The new inserts are better than the originals. Not quite as pretty in some ways (though they are blue and glow-in-the-dark, because that’s our current junk filament), but the fit is considerably better.
  • That “iterate” step in the middle, where you just try it and adjust if needed is among the most beautiful things about 3D printers.
This entry was posted in DIY, General, Objects, School and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Lab Fridge Repair: Thinking with 3D Printing

  1. Sarah says:

    Calipers? That’s utterly ridiculous. Maybe long ago you could find calipers in every household across Kentucky, but not anymore.

    • pappp says:

      Ah yes. The 3D printer isn’t a big deal. The modeling software and its learning curve isn’t a big deal. But the calipers that have been around since the 6th century BC, that’s a show-stopper ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Nick says:

      Well, he /did/ mention that it was the Laboratory fridge, and labs seem like a substantially more likely place to have calipers. Though, to be fair, I do have several sets of calipers laying around my apartment, too, for whatever reason.

Leave a Reply to pappp Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *