12 Leaf Aperture Box

thingiverse

A 12-leaf version of my aperture box design, producing a sliding 12-sided aperture much like a camera iris. The box uses a simple mechanism that relies on sliding dovetail joints and screwed hinge joints. The box is approximately 80mm wide, 80mm tall (using the standard container), and has a 64mm container opening. It opens by pushing the handles on the doors in a clockwise direction (this can be reversed by mirroring the parts in your slicer). This design was originally posted on MyMiniFactory in late 2017 and I have now moved it here as well. I have designed many other iris boxes which you can find on my design page: https://www.thingiverse.com/BrienAllison/designs. I also have other designs which you can find on my MyMiniFactory page: https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Brien%20Allison, including an improved version of this design: 12 Leaf Aperture-Iris Box https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-87618. The part files are designed for M2x6 countersunk/flathead screws (as with all my designs that use screws); 24 screws are required in total for the box. The parts can be scaled to use larger or smaller screws, e.g., M3x8 screws at 150% scale. Note: it's a lot cheaper to buy the screws in bulk from a specialist supplier. Two versions of the container are included: the standard container that makes the box 80mm tall and a shortened container that makes it about 40mm tall (as used on the green/grey example). There are also two types of 'door' part: the 'Door handle' which has a ridge to grip and open the box (two are used on the printed example) and the simple flat 'door' part which has no handle extension.