Large drill bit box with lid

In the very crowded category of drill bit storage boxes, I could not find a design that truly met my needs. I had an odd assortment of larger drill bits that did not fit in off-the-shelf commercial bit holders. These drill bits were often similar, but very slightly different in bore and length. Loved the excellent “Drill bit box” design by Erl that fits smaller bits, so I remixed it to fit my larger drill bits. This box is wider, deeper and handles longer drill bits. I modified the lid with rounded corners and adjusted closing tracks to make it easier to align and close. Embossed labels above each drill bit show the diameter in mm.

The drill box uses the common “push to lift” method of removing the individual drill bits (see photo).

Print Settings

Print the drill bit box as is, without supports. Print the lid by placing the top face on the build plate (flip the STL 180 degrees around the Y-axis).

Slicer: AnkerMake Studio

Printer: AnkerMake M5C 

Filament: PLA 

Nozzle: 0.4mm 

Layer height: 0.2mm

Infill: 15% Adaptive Cubic

Time: 2h 56m (Drill box), 1h 11m (Lid)

Consumables: 32.07m 95.65g filament (Drill box), 11.53m 34.39g filament (Lid)

Tips

The lid closing track has a 1mm overlap with the tiny flanges on the drill box, which is a very tight clearance. I used a CP Gratex deburring tool to run down both top, outer edges of the left and right sides of the drill box, pressing very lightly, to remove a very small amount of material, and then tested the fit. I found that usually about 2-3 passes on each side produced a lid that remained snug, but was much easier to get on and off.