Customizable Hinged Magnetic Appliance Sign

Our Microwave Oven shares a circuit with our Electric Fireplace (old house wiring is weird). So we need to remind people to double check the electric fireplace is off before using the microwave or risk popping a circuit breaker. This magnetically attached sign blocks the controls but can be swung out of the way or removed when not needed. The print in place hinge allows the sign to print flat and requires no extra parts.

I spent many iterations with ChatGPT trying to get a usable design for this and it never converged. The hinge was the major problem. So I used a library hinge and salvaged a small bit of the sign code from ChatGPT, wired it all together with magnet pockets to complete the design. The code is provided here but it is not pretty. The text can easily be changed to suit your needs.  It does require the BOSL2 library be installed in your OpenSCAD, a free CAD modelling system for STL files.

I printed this in PLA but most any filament should work. 0.4mm nozzle 0.2mm layers, the clearances are default for the print in place hinge and should work with most printers. I printed it on a Prusa XL with 2 colors changing extruders at 3mm Z height to get contrast, but any manual or automatic filament change should do the job. 

There are two 13mm disc magnet pockets which can be adjusted or used as is for any disc magnet smaller. I used cyanoacrylate cement to keep the magnets in place or tape would also work. The pockets have a thin bottom layer.