~ Swing Shelf Storage System From Recyclables ~

Organization and storage of small parts is a particular problem in my 3d printing lab. Sure, you can buy a bunch of shelves, drawers and containers but finding what's in them quickly is tricky and wastes your time unstacking piled up containers and looking in them over and over. Plus, we like to use what we can around here so let's make a quick and cheap solution from stuff we had tossed in a heap.

The swinging shelf rack system is the answer. It allows containers to be stacked up in a neat pile and to quickly swing one out to have a look or retrieve the contents without having to unstack and restack all the rest.

This easy project is made with a piece of old broomstick, some Dollar Store lunch containers and 3d printed brackets.

8 x 3-compartment Dollar Store lunch containers (we had 5 left over from another project)

1 piece of 22mm diameter broomstick (or any old round dowel at least 13mm diameter) length as needed

8 x 3d printed brackets (stl file attached so you can adjust sizes as you need)

The first image shows the problem. Stacking containers works ok but after they sit in a pile for a week or two you forget what's inside so you have to take them off the shelf, look and then restack them eating up your valuable building time. What we need is a system that can swing the container out so you can look and then swing back if it's the wrong one. You also need to easily lift or slide off the container you want so you can open it. Image 2 shows how it works.

So lets start by using Tinkercad to design a simple bracket that can both swing around a dowel (a piece of salvaged broom handle in my case) and support/slide a container at the same time. Before we design, we need to measure.

Image 3 & 4 shows the old Dollar Store school lunch containers with clear lids that we had left over so we decided to recycle those. They are 245mm x 170mm x 50mm. Image 3 shows that they have a V shaped notch in the middle which forms the internal compartments and we can use that as our shelf support point.

Measuring the top portion of the notch, we found that it is 6mm at the top, widens to 11mm and is 10mm high. Using Tinkercad we can quickly make a matching shape that fits into this notch, (image 5) and we set the length of this support arm at 130mm so the container will not tip off of it. This shape holds the container without much wobbling and is very easy to lift or slide the container off. Simply attach a tube shape 60mm high with a 5mm wall and 23mm hole to the end of the arm shape and you are done, (image 6). A 22mm broomstick is about 500 times too strong for this job but it was just sitting in the scrap bin so that's what we used.

For those unfamiliar with 3d printing, you must download your Tinkercad design to your own computer and slice it with software designed for your 3d printer. We used Prusa Slicer to generate the control codes (Gcode) needed to operate our Prusa MK3 printer then printed the brackets 1 at a time with PETG printer filament (Overature brand clear filament works fine for us).

When you have printed as many brackets as you need, assemble your swing shelf and you are in business.

Assembly could not be easier, simply slide the brackets on to your dowel/broomstick with the support arms at the top. You need a way to hold the broomstick steady after assembly so you can either drill a 23mm hole in a scrap board, insert the bottom of the broomstick and set it on a shelf or floor or you can print a 3d foot or, since mine was intended to sit between 2 wire shelves, I just cut a notch in each end of the broomstick that fits over the wire shelving. (image 1). You could use some strapping, pipe clamps or zip ties to fix your swing shelf in place.

Add as many brackets and containers as you like. Height of this system is unlimited but be careful if you go high as the unit can tip if you don't have a good foot on the bottom or fix the top of the broomstick to something solid.

This swing shelf holds the weight of the containers and plastic parts easily but your mileage may vary if you load heavy stuff on it. Enjoy, you are now officially a "swinger".