A general-purpose magnetic box with a high-degree of customization. Wanted something like this but couldn't find anything that checked all the boxes (hah). So I made my own and turned it into a learning project to figure out parametric designs in Fusion 360.

A new redesign is now available!

Customization

Length, Width, Depth

The dimensions of the box interior.

Wall Thickness

Thickness of the walls and size of various chamfers/fillets. The box actually ends up with double-thick walls to account for the lip around the lid and increase rigidity.

Lip Height

Height of the lip for the magnetic lid. A taller lip will lower the shelf within the box and not affect dimensions otherwise.

Notch Width/Offset

Width of the notch for removing the lid. The depth of the notch has a minimum of twice the lip height. Increasing the depth will add to this value.

Magnet Diameter/Height

Dimensions of the magnets used. Larger magnets will hold the lid more securely but take up additional space in the corners.

Foot Diameter/Height

Dimensions of the rubber or TPU feet (or magnets, even) used. The height controls how deep the cutout for the rubber feet will be. This parameter should not exceed the wall thickness.

Tolerance

Offsets added to all holes, insets, and the lip around the lid. Default is 0.2mm and should be sufficient for well-tuned printers.

Printing

Most standard profiles with a 0.2mm layer height should work just fine. Two or more wall loops and at least 15% infill of your choice depending on desired strength. The pre-built STL files are designed with a 0.2mm tolerance added to the magnet/foot holes and lid.

The cutouts for the feet may affect bed adhesion, especially with filaments prone to warping such as ASA/ABS. I have inset them quite a bit to mitigate this but a brim may still be required depending on your setup and material. The feet may be entirely removed by setting the height to zero.

There are no fine details on the box that should be problematic with thicker layers/nozzles. Though you may need to adjust the wall thickness parameter for anything larger than 0.6mm.

Assembly

The pre-built STL files expect 6x3mm magnets and 10x3mm rubber feet. I found a good method for aligning the magnets was to grab a stack and press a magnet into each hole. Then slide it over to leave the magnet in place. Use the other side of the stack when doing the lid and you should get the orientations right every time.

The default tolerance should allow the magnets to be press-fit. Further adjustment may be done in your slicer if the magnets fail to fit or you prefer to glue them in.

These magnets and the 10mm adhesive feet from this pack to work pretty well. TPU feet technically work but I found they act more as bumpers and provide very little grip on most surfaces.

Support

If you like my work and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee!

Update v1.1 - 11/19/23

• Updated lip to extend the full height of the shelf instead of halfway down.
  • Looks better and improves lid retention.
• More sensible depths for the 150mm variant.
• New 200mm XL variant.