Parametric Ikea Helmer Tray (OpenSCAD)
Description
PDFA fully parametric version of the Helmer tray. Adjust width, height, depth, even wall thickness to your liking. The code also supports adding multiple compartments.
Note: the preview can look a bit weird depending on settings. Use the final render (press F6) to check what the tray will actually look like.
How to Print
Supports are required for the flanges on either end. I used the “0.30mm DRAFT” profile with variable layer height (0.4mm nozzle). You can also try a 0.6mm nozzle to reduce printing time.
With a flange width of 245 or less (see below for recommended values), the tray will fit on the bed of a Prusa Mk3, but some slicer settings have to be changed (select “Expert Mode” in PrusaSlicer to see all settings):
- Skirt & Brim:
- Skirt turned off (Loops = 0)
- Support material:
- Generate support material = on
- Overhang threshold = 20°
- First layer expansion = 2mm
- Style = snug
Helmer Variants
Ikea has sold (at least) 3 versions of the Helmer cabinets over time. These are:
- Bought approx. 2002. Welded frame, no label holders, single-layer walls on the drawers. Not suitable for these trays.
- Bought in 2015. Flat-pack, narrow folded walls on the drawers, drawers supported at the bottom. Recommended flange_width=245.
- Bought approx. 2018. Flat-pack, wide folded walls on the drawers, drawers slide on rails near the top. Recommended flange_width=240.
Parametric Options
| flange_width | The total width of the tray, including the flange at the top. See above for recommended values. |
| width | Outside width [x dimension] of the tray (without flange). The default value of 231 is a snug fit in Helmer types 2 & 3. The inside width for a single compartment is (width - 2*wall). |
| depth | Outside depth [y dimension] of the tray. The inside depth is (depth - 2*wall). |
| height | Outside height [z dimension] of the tray. The inside height is (height - floor_h). |
| wall | Vertical wall thickness. |
| floor_h | Floor height. |
| flange_h | Top flange height. This determines how far the tray will stick up above the walls of the drawer. |
| r | Outside radius of the four corners. |
| chamfer | Chamfer at the bottom of the tray. If chamfer is too big compared to r, the floor will become disconnected from the walls. It's a good idea to check the minimum wall thickness near the bottom after slicing. |
| compartments | A vector to define the compartment sizes. Set to [] for a single compartment. See examples below |
Set r=0 and chamfer=0 to get the rectangular shape of the original tray.
Compartment Examples
The compartments are set using a vector of compartment sizes, except for the last one (which takes up the remaining width). This means that to get a single compartment, the vector should be empty:
compartments = []; // single compartment
3 compartments measuring 50mm, 100mm and the remainder (the 3rd compartment's inside width will be width-50-100-4*wall):
compartments = [50, 100];
To get a number of equal-width compartments, use this example (adjust n=5 to the desired number of compartments):
n=5; compartments = [for(i=[0:n-2]) (width-(n+1)*wall)/n]; // n equal compartments
One compartment of half width and two compartments of quarter width:
compartments = [(width-4*wall)/2,(width-4*wall)/4]; // half + 2x quarter compartments
When generating the preview (press F5), the actual size of the compartments will be shown in the OpenSCAD console window, e.g. for the last example above:
ECHO: “Compartment sizes: [111.5, 55.75, 55.75] x 146 x 33”
Tags
Model origin
The author remixed this model.
Differences of the remix compared to the original
Re-created in OpenSCAD, added chamfers & fillets.
