Lost Cities Game Box Insert

thingiverse

Another board game lands on my desk, and I'm greeted by a nickel-per-unit cost savings with no organization in sight. The sigh escapes me as I open the box to find a sprawling mess inside. This one's a big deal, though - it doesn't fill the entire box, leaving a small gap at the top, but there's plenty happening here. To lighten the load, reduce print time, and minimize material usage, I hollowed out the underside with hemi-cylinders. The goal was to avoid supports altogether, but printing without them revealed that minimal supports (just touching the build plate) would be beneficial. Check it out for yourself to see if it works better for you. There are three trays - numbered 1 through 3 from bottom to top: - Trays 1 and 2 hold all the setup and distribution materials at game start, which can stay in the box during gameplay. These eventually get assembled into a single unit after printing. - Tray 3 is designed for removal from the box and placement on the table within reach of players, holding all earned bits throughout the game. I added finger wells to easily retrieve it from the box. Since it holds loose chits, I created a lid held in place by 6mm x 2mm cylindrical magnets so nothing escapes during storage. Find these magnets at **[Deryun 180 Pack Refrigerators Magnets Fridge Magnets for Whiteboard](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0782VHLN8/)**. **WARNING:** Be extremely cautious with magnet pole orientation! Ensure correct alignment to attract the lid to the tray. Printers and settings will vary, and magnets might fit snugly or easily in the slot - it's best to dry-fit them before gluing. You can shave the walls down if needed or use a sparse drop of CA glue in each slot. I'm including two versions of this model: - Split versions for smaller format printers with left and right pieces. For trays, print 15 triangular splices (16 if you're like me and prone to dropping one). For Tray 3's lid, print 1 lid splice - it bridges the gap and reinforces where the two pieces meet. A bit of 5-minute epoxy will make multiple parts as one. - Whole versions for larger format printers that can be printed as single pieces. I've included a single piece each of Tray 1 and Tray 2 that can be glued together with 4 triangular splices or a monolithic Tray 1 & 2 assembly. This model passes my storage test - packing the box and giving it a good shake while turning it in all directions keeps everything in place. I've tried various shapes and sizes for splice pieces, and I'm pleased with the recent triangular shape. It's easy to print flat without obvious shear weaknesses along the radius, and it acts like a keyed join to increase part alignment accuracy. Also, my surface quality needs dialing in on the slice - that's on me - but most of the ugliness is due to using adaptive layers. I've had mixed results with these, especially at sizable layer heights (.262), which can sacrifice some quality while shaving off print time. In the end, this will be sitting closed in a box 99.99% of the time, so it wasn't worth reprinting for a pristine surface.