Laundry Bag Inner Frame

My laundry bag stopped standing up on its own so I designed an inner frame taking reference from what I saw on Google. Google gave me the idea to use PVC pipe and connect them like a 3d rectangular prism. 

To build one for yourself, first print the clearance jig below. It is titled “Laundry Bag PVC Clearance Test”. After printing, see which hole a ½ PVC pipe fits in the best. I went for a friction fit and so with my printer choose the 0.010 tolerance hole. (NOTE: I would recommend going a little looser than “barely able to get the pipe in the test hole” as when printing the elbow, if you use supports those holes on the sides will come out slightly oval even after some light sanding. This means you want a slighter larger tolerance but not too loose as if you print with one hole facing straight up and two horizontally, then the one with no supports facing up may be too loose while the other two are slightly ovalish. Good luck! I was able to assemble mine but needed to use my entire body weight to push the PVC into the hole as far as it would go, your mileage may vary.) There is a diagram in the photos section detailing which hole aligns with what clearance, as well as a notch indicating the top left and front corner of the plate. Also note on the bottom the holes are chamfered while filleted on the top. 

After getting the correct clearance using the image and the hole sizing jig, then select that 3-way elbow from the list of parts. The beginning number is the clearance measured in inches. Once you're done printing 8 of them, you can assemble them into a frame using whatever length of PVC pipes you would like. 

Just for reference, no matter the clearance, the face from the hole to the opposite end of the part is always 2.25" and the depth of each hole is always 1".

In my case I cut 4 x 20.5" lengths for connecting the top and bottom, and used 8 x 11" lengths for creating the two squares, one at the top, and one at the bottom.

Interesting note: When scouting Lowes for materials and to see how thick the different PVC pipes were I asked about a 3-way elbow, and the employee said they didn't make that. I proceeded to model it and only later found it on Lowes's website when googling to see if anyone else modeled this already and had a better way to 3d print it. Saved about 13 dollars though!

TLDR:

1.) Print the clearance plate.

2.) Figure out the right size hole for friction/glue, your choice (Holes printed horizontally with supports will oval and be slightly tighter, maybe print the jig vertically).

3.) Find the right clearance elbow using the jig and the diagram of clearances, then print 8 of them.

4.) Cut PVC to length, the total length of the part is 2.25" and the depth of the holes are 1" no matter what clearance you select.

5.) Assemble.

Total Cost Aprox: $16

Cad models available through contacting me: Link to my website

Note: I made these with a student copy and so I don't believe I can allow them to be used for commercial use. Sorry.

Have a great day!