0027A 3d Printed Coffee Filter Holder for the Kitchen Rail

Our office kitchen has a nice kitchen rail, but no appliance for storing paper coffee filters. Let’s fix this!

3D Modelling 3D Printing Hardware Projects Household

The rail includes a number hangers with a somewhat peculiar but practical design. I started by recreating this design in [Fusion 360][].

It wasn’t necessary to 3d print this hanger because we still have some spare originals. However, I did a quick print to check my design against the original. Surprisingly, I got it almost completely right at the first try.

The design for the holder went through several iterations – the construction drawing has quite a few features that weren’t used in the final model. One example: The rods connecting front and back. I initially planned to have three round rods on each side, 4mm in diameter. But I quickly realised that, apart from obvious concerns regarding stability, 3d printing such small, elongated features would be bit of a hassle. So instead of three round rods I went with two oval rods on each side.

This decision had another positive effect: To simplify the printing process I planned to print the holder as two separate parts, removing the need for support structures (the finished parts would then simply be glued together). Having the larger rods made allowed for including small tongue and groove features to help align the parts accurately.

To my big surprise (for the second time in this project) everything worked out neatly on the first try. The two parts fit together perfectly – the lower tongue and groove features were such a tight fit that I didn’t had to use glue on them at all. The upper rods needed a few drops of glue to secure them in place.

Let’s have a coffee!

Downloads

• 3D model (Fusion 360) for changing or remixing the design.
• 3MF files for 3d printing (at printables.com).