A fully custom storage container designed in SolidWorks to your exact dimensions and requirements. The base and lid connect via integrated hinges, snap-lock hooks, or clip mechanisms — whichever suits your application. Internal dividers can be configured for any object layout: vials, components, tools, or merchandise. Optional custom logo embossed or engraved on the lid. Printed in PLA for lightweight general use, or carbon fiber reinforced filament for high-strength, impact-resistant applications. Any size accepted — from pocket-sized to industrial storage. Delivered as STEP, STL, and SolidWorks source files, ready for 3D printing or manufacturing. Show More
A fully custom storage container is one of the clearest demonstrations of what end-to-end custom 3d printing design delivers — geometry that no injection-molded standard product can match, designed to your exact internal dimensions, divider layout, and closure mechanism, and produced as a file set you can print on demand without tooling costs.
Client Requirements
The client needed a storage solution for a product sample kit — 24 small cylindrical vials arranged in a 4×6 grid, each held securely to prevent contact and breakage. The container had to fit inside a specific carry case with 1mm clearance on all sides, close with a hinged lid secured by snap-lock hooks, and carry an embossed company logo on the lid face. Off-the-shelf cases with foam inserts were unsuitable because the vial diameter varied across the kit and no standard foam layout matched the pattern.
SolidWorks Design Process
The base was designed with a parametric divider system — each divider wall driven by a configuration table, allowing the grid spacing to be adjusted by changing a single dimension in the SolidWorks part without rebuilding. This is standard practice in our 3d printing design service — designs are built to be modified, not just printed once. The hinge was designed as a living hinge integrated into the wall geometry, eliminating assembly hardware. Snap-lock hooks were modeled with 0.4mm interference fit for PLA and 0.6mm for carbon fiber reinforced filament, accounting for material stiffness difference.
Logo Embossing on Lid
The client’s logo was provided as an SVG vector file. We imported the profile into SolidWorks as a sketch, extruded it as a 0.6mm raised boss on the lid face, and verified the minimum feature width against FDM printability (minimum 0.8mm for a 0.4mm nozzle). The embossed text and icon printed cleanly at 0.2mm layer height without requiring a separate color change — part of our cad design for 3d printing design-for-print review process on every order.
Material and File Delivery
The client ordered two variants: PLA for the sample kit prototype and carbon fiber reinforced PLA for a production run of carry cases for field sales teams. Both variants used the same SolidWorks source file — material properties and fit tolerances were adjusted via configurations rather than rebuilding. Our prototype design service delivered STEP, STL, and SLDPRT files for both configurations in one order.
Why Custom Design Outperforms Modified Templates
A common shortcut for storage container projects is downloading a parametric box generator and adjusting dimensions. This approach fails for this client’s requirement because the vial pocket grid needed non-uniform spacing — the vials were not all the same diameter, and the grid layout had to accommodate three different sizes in a specific arrangement. A parametric box generator cannot produce this geometry without manual workaround that breaks the parametric relationship. Building the container from scratch in SolidWorks meant every pocket was individually defined and could be adjusted independently without affecting the others. The custom 3d printing design approach also allowed the living hinge geometry to be tuned for the specific wall thickness and PLA grade — a 0.4mm wall thickness at the hinge pivot, verified by a print test before the full container was printed for the client. This is what a complete 3d printing design service delivers: engineering decisions made before the print, not discovered during it.
Design Your Custom Container
Any external dimensions, any internal divider layout, and any closure mechanism including hinges, snap-locks, magnetic catches, or clasps — our prototype-to-print file bundle service covers the complete path from requirement to print-ready files. Start at Order and describe your internal layout. Pricing starts at $34 at Pricing.
