Introducing the Gritty Grate Clay Tile & Coaster Press and Drying System PROTOTYPE by yours truly.
This system is best printed in FDM or SLA with a build volume of at least 147mmx147mmx140mm.
I've printed these out of PLA+CF, PLA, and PETG with a 0.4mm and 0.6mm nozzle and can upload additional spacers for easy stacking. It is recommended that the system be stacked up to 10 trays tall, supporting the drying of five clay tiles or coasters per system. Air gaps above and below tiles are necessary for proper airflow. Applying a plastic bag over top can also help with uniform drying, which is necessary for clay tile production.
It's currently optimized for 10mm and 7mm thick tiles that are 120 mm by 120 mm (4.75” x 4.75”, .28” or .39” thick). The trays print vertically to save space on the build plate.
Here's a fun rendering of the system in Spline ➞
The tiles, spacers, and base pin can be scaled up uniformly to support larger tiles (may need to increase the thickness of the trays and spacers to accommodate larger tile sizes).
Right now the spacer pins are sized to 5mm in diameter, and the voids within the spacers & trays are 5.2mm to accommodate shrinkage of materials (perform a test print to see how those press fit for you, I'm happy to update the file with additional sized spacers upon request). There should be a nice press-fit sound when stacking the pins, if it's loose, please let me know as it shouldn't be. The trays should also slide easily onto the pins for easy removal.
The author marked this model as their own original creation.