Modular Parametric Fruit Crate 20x17 cm – Stackable Vintage Storage Box with Wood Grain

Modular Parametric Fruit Crate – 20x17 cm

A vintage-style slatted fruit crate, designed to organize cream tubes, jars, cosmetics and small bottles. It is built from a reinforced base with a slatted floor, plus stackable levels, so you can print small, quick parts and make the crate as tall as you need. Everything is parametric (OpenSCAD): size, number of levels, slats, ribs, floor bands, handles, wood grain and engraved label can all be changed in a few clicks.

Features

• Default size: 200 x 170 x 100 mm (base 8 mm + 2 levels of 46 mm)

• Stackable levels: the floor is printed separately as the base, and the levels only stack on top of it

• Reinforced base: transverse bands run across the floor slats and tie them to the side rails, making the floor much stiffer. The bands are flat on the print bed, so they need no supports

• Square pins and sockets on the corner posts for precise alignment, with adjustable tolerance

• Vertical ribs between the slats, designed so the model prints without supports

• Procedural wood-grain texture on the outer faces, with a random seed to get a different pattern

• Chamfered corner posts and bevelled slats for a realistic wooden-crate look

• Solid handle panels with oval grips on the two short sides

• Engraved label on the top level (default: "CREME", editable)

• Optional internal dividers for tubes and jars, built into the base

Parts to print

• 1 x base (part = "base")

• (levels − 1) x middle level (part = "level"), which has pins on top

• 1 x top level (part = "top"), which has the label and no pins

With the default levels = 2 you print 1 base, 1 middle level and 1 top level. With levels = 3 you print 2 middle levels instead of 1.

Recommended print settings

• Material: PLA or PETG

• Nozzle: 0.4 mm

• Layer height: 0.2 mm

• Walls: 3 perimeters (the 3 mm slats print as solid)

• Infill: 15–20%

• Orientation: as exported, with the floor of the base and the bottom of each level on the bed

• Supports: should not be needed with the default settings. The longest bridges are about 35 mm between ribs and about 48 mm at the top of the handle slot. Good part cooling helps

• Brim: not required

• Build volume: at least 205 x 205 mm (the rim protrudes 1.5 mm per side), and about 50 mm in height for each level. If your printer is smaller, reduce L and W

• Do a quick fit test with the base and one level first. If the pins are too tight or too loose, change pin_tol between 0.2 and 0.4 mm

Assembly
Place each level on top of the previous one, aligning the pins with the sockets. For a crate you want to lift as one piece, glue the levels together (cyanoacrylate or epoxy) or use small magnets in the sockets. Left unglued, each level can be lifted separately by its own handles.

Customizable parameters

• part – which part to show/export: assembly, base, level, top, print_all

• explode – spacing between parts in the assembled preview

• L, W, H – overall length, width and total height

• levels – number of levels above the base (the height of each level is computed from H)

• post, wall, base_h, rim_h, rim_over, bevel – posts, wall thickness, base height, rim height and overhang, edge bevel

• pin_size, pin_h, pin_tol – pin dimensions and socket clearance

• n_slats, slat_gap – slats per side per level and spacing between them

• ribs_n, rib_w, rib_proud – number, width and protrusion of the vertical ribs (0 turns them off)

• grain_on, grain_density, grain_depth, grain_w, grain_seg, grain_margin, grain_seed, grain_rim – wood-grain texture

• n_floor, floor_gap, floor_t – floor slats, gap (0 = solid floor) and floor thickness

• band_n, band_w, band_h – number, width and height of the reinforcing floor bands (0 turns them off; the height must stay above floor_t and up to base_h)

• handles, handle_w, handle_h – enable and size the handles

• div_x, div_y, div_t, div_h – number, thickness and height of internal dividers

• label, label_size, label_depth – engraved text (leave empty for no text)

How to export the STL

1. Download and open cassetta_frutta_modulare.scad in OpenSCAD (free, openscad.org).

2. Open the Customizer (View → Customizer) and set your parameters.

3. Choose the part in the part drop-down (base, level or top).

4. Press F6 to render (F5 is only a preview). The wood grain adds many small cuts, so rendering can be slow: enable the Manifold backend in Preferences → Features if your version has it, or set grain_on = false for quick tests.

5. Go to File → Export → Export as STL (or press F7) and save the file.

6. Repeat for each part.

7. Command-line alternative:
   openscad -o base.stl -D 'part="base"' cassetta_frutta_modulare.scad
openscad -o level.stl -D 'part="level"' cassetta_frutta_modulare.scad
openscad -o top.stl -D 'part="top"' cassetta_frutta_modulare.scad

Tips

• Glass jars are heavy: raise floor_t to 4–5 mm, add more floor bands (band_n 4–5) and keep floor_gap small.

• For small items, set floor_gap = 0 for a solid floor.

• Keep grain_depth below half of wall, to avoid weakening the slats.

• If the "Liberation Sans" font isn't installed, OpenSCAD will use a default font for the label.