catch all tray with accent color (vase mode)

While I was designing and printing my headphone hard case, I ended up printing too many pieces. Of course, since I only needed one case, they were kinda just waste. But on a recent trip, I ended up using the top of my headphone case as a travel tray in the hotel, and it hit me! I can make the extras a bit prettier with an accent ring and just use them as trays around the house.

When I printed these, my girlfriend saw one sitting on my workbench and immediately requested one, so I figure it's a good tray even if you didn't end up with it just because you screwed up designing a different model. So… yeah, here are some valet trays.

Print settings

You can either pick a tray with an accent ring on the outside or on the inside, depending on your style. I prefer the outside ring, since it looks a bit better and functions better. With the inside ring, since the pieces are designed to just friction fit, you may need to use a bit of super glue to keep the ring from bending inwards. In either case, here are the settings I use:

Tray body

• Spiral vase mode / Spiralize outer contour: turn this on, that's what this mode is all about
• Line width / Extrusion width: 0.8mm (you can do this even with a 0.4mm nozzle)
• Bottom thickness / Bottom layers: 1.5mm
  • Bottom pattern initial layer: concentric (this is optional, and not all slicers support it, but I think it looks better for display pieces… but use your own judgment)
• Speed: 60mm/s (this value almost doesn't matter, since it won't actually be used)
  • Wall speed: 30mm/s (unless you are super sure your extruder can keep up with faster)
• Ironing: enable this for a better inside finish (protip: Cura has better ironing support for vase mode prints from what I can tell)
  • Ironing Line Spacing: 0.4mm
  • Ironing Speed: 40mm/s

Accent ring

• Spiral vase mode / Spiralize outer contour: turn this on, that's what this mode is all about
• Line width / Extrusion width: 0.8mm (you can do this even with a 0.4mm nozzle)
• Bottom thickness / Bottom layers: 0!
• Wall speed: 30mm/s (unless you are super sure your extruder can keep up with faster)

Notes

The trays in the photos were printed on an Elegoo Neptune 2 with a 0.4mm nozzle. The trays are printed in Tianse woodfill PLA, and the accent rings are printed in Overture Matte Grass Green and Matte Purple PLA.