This is an Aperture Iris Box which features an easy opening twist collar and a decorative lid. The box is 80mm tall, 80mm in diameter and is opened by twisting the collar anticlockwise. Look out for new themed decorative tops which I will be making in future, such as this valentines design.

I also have many other iris boxes which you can find on my profile page.

Other than the printed parts, this requires M2x6 countersunk/flathead screws to assemble (as with all my other designs) such as these; 24 screws are required in total. Larger or smaller screws may be used if you scale the model appropriately e.g. M3x8 screws at 150% part scale. Note: it's a lot cheaper per screw if you buy in bulk from a specialist supplier.

There are two versions of the container, the standard container as used on the black and gold example and the shortened container which brings the overall height down to 48mm. The pattern on the green container was formed using the velocity painting technique on the standard container and there are many excellent guides online on how to do this. The floral pattern was Designed by GarryKillian / Freepik

There are two types of door. The simple 'door' is completely flat and is used on the black/gold and black/blue examples. The decorative door 'door-dec' creates a compass like embellishment on top of the container which can be seen on the green/gold example.

Part testing

If you can print my earlier design 'Aperture Box' you will be able to make this design.

Before printing off all the parts you should make sure the screw joints and sliding dovetail joints work correctly with your print settings.

Print two of the 'Door' parts (using some support on the dovetails) and test the dovetail sliding. They should be loose enough to slide mostly under their own weight for the design to work effectively. Try to avoid 'elephants foot' on the base of the doors, as this can reduce tolerances and cause excess friction. If they are too tight then try reducing the layer height or using outer contour XY compensation in your slicer (Ideamaker is a free slicer which does this). Lower friction materials are also ideal, I used PLA which works great.

Also check that your screws fit tightly in the holes on the base of the door parts. You may need to scale the parts or use hole XY compensation (Ideamaker also does this) to get a good fit. Also print off one of the links and check the screws turn freely in the holes, and the head is flush with the part surface.

Assembly Instructions

Also see pictures for visual instructions

To make the box you will need to print: 1x 'Container' or 'Short Container', 1x 'Collar', 8x 'Link 1', 4x 'Link 2' and 8x 'Door' or 'Door dec'.

Take the container and place the collar onto it.

Screw the narrower ends of the four small links (Link 2) to the holes in the container. Be sure you have them the correct way around, the difference is slight but important. The collar should now be held securely onto the box but also be able to twist freely.

Screw the non-pointed ends of the larger links (Link 1) to the collar.

For attaching the links to the doors it's easiest if you roughly assemble the doors in the open position upside down and place the container and collar assembly on top of them. Now screw the other end of the small links to the inside holes on the doors.

Now screw the larger links to the holes on the outside edge of the box doors.

You should now have a working Aperture Iris box! The mechanism may be a little stiff at first but should loosen up over time. A little big of silicon lubricant could also be used on the dovetail joints to make it work more smoothly.

If you have any questions or problems with this design, I will be more than happy to help.