Design of the Week: Pop Up Square Basket

This week’s selection is the animated Pop Up Square Basket by designer Jason Preuss.

Michigan-based Preuss has uploaded a number of fascinating 3D printable designs to public 3D model repositories like Thingiverse, but one we particularly like is the Pop Up Square Basket.

It’s a design that is a complete functioning object that can be 3D printed in a single operation. No assembly is needed. It leverages the ability of 3D printing technology to reproduce unusual shapes that would be problematic using other making technologies.

Once printed it appears to be a big, flat rectangle and not much more. But if you grab the handle and pull up, it will dramatically expand into a fully functional basket.

Thus you can store the basket in far less space than it uses when expanded.

A caution though. Preuss suggests a well-calibrated 3D printer will be required, as many of the components of this print are closely located on the print bed and you wouldn’t want them to be fused together accidentally.

It’s so tight that Preuss has provided a “test model” that’s much smaller. It includes geometric features that echo the main model and allow one to ensure the rather large full print can be successfully executed on a given 3D printer.

I like this model because of its collapsible design, and at the same time it is also highly functional.

Via Thingiverse