Hexton Hills Stackable Storage Containers

Stackable containers to store Hexton Hills tiles (tabless).
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updated September 8, 2024

Description

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What is it?

These stackable storage containers provide an easy and relatively cheap way to store Gravenguild's Hexton Hills tiles (https://www.hextonhills.com/). Each container is +- 21cm long, 7cm tall and 8cm wide. They can be stacked on top of each other securely. The amount of tiles that can be stored in a container depends on the height of the respective tiles, but the container can be reorganized for thicker/thinner tiles at any time without effort.

This design is specifically for (magnetized) tabless Hexton Hill tiles (resin or FDM). 
 

How does it work?

To make the tiles able to slot into the grooves of the container, they need to be magnetized at the bottom, in the magnet slot that's built into the Hexton Hills tile design (10x2mm magnet). The magnetized tiles can then be clipped onto a small cartridge, which slots into the grooves of the container.

Depending on your print settings and the print quality of both the tiles & cartridges, the cartridges might clip onto the tiles with a little bit of clamping force. Thin/light tiles might even stay on the cartridge without using magnets. But for the most secure storage, I suggest using magnets on your Hexton Hills tiles none the less. 
There is a slot cut out in the cartridges to accommodate a small piece of metal tape (+-1.5mm thick) that interacts with the magnet to keep the tile secured to the cartridge. Any piece of magnetic metal will do, as long as it has the same approximate thickness as the slot (I used https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMT1CXW // https://www.amazon.de/-/dp/B07JMT1CXW/).
 

How to print?

The containers can easily be printed on any FDM printer with a print bed of minimum 180x180mm (I printed on the BambuLab A1 Mini). It prints without supports, the files are oriented with the optimal side towards the build plate.

The cap needs to be printed twice, as does the side. The cartridge needs to be printed once per Hexton Hill tile you want to store.

I suggest using PLA/PLA+, although PETG might also work (I haven't tried that). The design uses small tabs that need to bend a little to be pushed in place, and these are quite stiff. Using PLA gave me a secure connection, without breaking the tabs.
 

How to assemble?

All parts can be pushed together easily with a little carefully applied force. This will cause small tabs to click in place that hold onto the other parts. No glue is required.

  1. Start by pushing the two hexagonal caps onto the larger bottom plate. Keep in mind their orientation: the side where the tabs are flush with the side of the cap should be on the inside of the container.
  2. Connect the two side bars in the same way, making sure that the open side of the grooves faces the top.

After pushing the parts together, depending on how much the plastic deformed, it might be useful to spread open the tabs a little, to ensure a good connection.

In theory you can disassemble the container by pushing the tabs in again and carefully pulling the parts apart. This might weaken the tabs, so don't do it too often or you risk them breaking off.

 

Notes:
  • This design was inspired by Delberan's storage box (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4397870). My version was however made from the ground up, to be faster to print, fit on smaller printers and use less material. His version also couldn't accommodate tabless versions of the Hexton Hills tiles.
  • The mesh of some parts might not be the cleanest and leave a few artefacts. I need to brush up on my CAD-skills so this design was made in rudimentary software, causing some surface-finish deterioration. But this doesn't impact the functionality at all.

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