Expandable Folding Table/Cake Plate/Cupholder

thingiverse

Behold my triumphant entrance into the prestigious FirstBuild/Thingiverse kitchen countertop challenge! This magnificent creation is an adaptable table/cake plate, boasting a striking expandable design that can transform at will. With the skirt measuring 75mm in diameter when folded, and a breathtaking 100mm in diameter when fully expanded, this remarkable piece of engineering proves its mettle. I've meticulously crafted this masterpiece with a focus on precision, incorporating .2mm tolerances throughout to ensure a flawless print quality. Currently standing at an impressive 100mm when fully expanded, it's easy to envision this design scaled up to grand proportions, reaching diameters of 200 or even 300mm, still compatible with small printers. My inspiration for this design was drawn from the storied history of the Fletcher-Capstan table, itself loosely based on a patent filed in 1835. A testament to its complexity, the Fletcher-Capstan boasts an astonishing 962 components - I'm proud to say that my creation stands at a mere 22 (or 28 if you choose to print the larger pieces in quarters) - a veritable engineering triumph! Unlike its illustrious precursor, mine doesn't boast the capacity for rotation - a deliberate design choice given my time constraint of just two weeks. However, I believe my expandable/collapsible model holds a significant advantage over its six-sided counterpart: when folded and expanded, respectively. With each piece meticulously aligned to facilitate effortless 3-d printing, all 22 (or 28 with glue) components have been carefully crafted to achieve seamless slip fits. The individual pieces can be found in separate STL files, allowing for flexibility and accommodating the unique needs of various printers or circumstances where printing larger pieces may require gluing quarters together. These intricate details combined with deliberate design considerations took an extraordinary week-long period of ceaseless creation, modification, and total revampment to refine this masterpiece. Unconnected from the body, yet carefully aligned, the skirt slides snugly into place when in folded or unfolded configurations. There are 4 expansive rail parts and four compact supporting elements involved in its construction - all you need to do is neatly insert the rail components into their matching slots within the base component, gently ease on each of the four leaves, and they'll lock smoothly together! For additional stability when this table/cake plate is collapsed, the lower support rail parts will effortlessly slot beneath it. I feel truly elated having finally completed this grandiose piece! An uncountable number of painstaking hours were dedicated to its conception, with numerous refinements applied before bringing it to life. Kudos and heartfelt appreciation to both FirstBuild and Thingiverse for making this spectacular opportunity possible - I am thoroughly thrilled to have seized entry number 250 in this thrilling contest.