Magnetic Parts Tray for Assembly/Disassembly (Multiple Sizes & Non-Magnetic Versions Included)

Problem

I am often working on laptops or other small electronic devices that involve lots of screws and small parts in the disassembly/assembly. I had used large dish-type magnetic parts trays before but this can cause problems when there are various sizes of screws that are hard to tell apart. It also didn't preserve the order the parts were removed.

Solution

The organizer has numerous semi-sphereical wells to hold each step and/or type of screw removed. The semi-spherical design makes it so screws naturally move toward the bottom and you can remove the screws the same way from any angle. I did a lot of experimenting to find the optimal fillet on the well edge to make it comfortable and easy to remove the screws with your finger. I also numbered the wells using reverse-extruded numbers to help keep track of the order of disassembly/assembly if desired. I printed two of each number mirrored in opposite corners to gaurantee that you can read the number no matter the orientation.

Variations

There are two sets of STLs in 3x3, 2x4, and 2x5 configurations. One for use with magnets and the other that can be printed without magnets.

Magnetic

The magnet-specific STLs include 15.5x2.2mm cavities near the bottom for insertion of 15x2mm neodynium magnets, one for each well, after it has printed the base. To use this variation, insert a PAUSE command in your gcode right before the layer where the magnet cavity starts being covered. When printing, after the printer pauses, insert one magnet in each cavity before resuming the print. I do recommend laying down a drop of some plastic super glue in each cavity before inserting the magnets. This keeps the magnets from rattling within the tolerance of the cavity.

Here is a link to the size and type of magnets I used: https://a.co/d/7e0YxPw

Non-Magnetic

The non-magnetic STLs can be printed as is. They are 3mm shorter as they don't include the extra section where the magnet is stored.

Printing Recommendations

Infill

I printed mine with 10% infill. This should be plenty because the nature of the semi-spherical wells creates various internal walls that give it additional structure and rigidity. In my prototyping, I printed at 5% infill for speed and they were still very usable. The only reason for going above 10% that I can think of is if you wanted some extra weight to make it less prone to extraneous movement on your desk or workbench.

Material

I printed in gray PLA. For the object's purpose PLA should be fine since it will not be load bearing or need to be placed outside. I chose gray for maximum visibility.

Layer Height

I printed mine at .12 layer height to maximize the smoothness of the semi-spherical wells. However, it's not absolutley necessary. .20 would work fine.