Mechanical Dice Box

Are you a tabletop gamer looking to impress your fellow adventurers with a fancy dice holder? Well, if so, you’re a nerd (so am I). If you’re not, then maybe there’s a nerd in your life who would appreciate a neat new dice box as a holiday gift? The Mechanical Dice Box is a seven-chambered functional box designed to store a standard set of tabletop dice (assuming a maximum spherical dice footprint of 1.06”). The box opens as the outer dial spins counterclockwise, which unrolls seven ridged doors along hidden internal circular rails. The doors stow within the box’s underbody, providing full access to all seven compartments from above. To close the box, simply spin the dial clockwise. See this function demonstrated in the attached gif below. All nine components of the box are pre-assembled within a single print-in-place file. Tolerances have been carefully designed to avoid print failures, ensure smooth movement, and ease the post-processing of the fresh print (see instructions below). Due to these fixed tolerances, scaling the print up or down is discouraged. Please read the post-printing instructions before printing the box. Post-Printing Video Instructions: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYfMyGVm/ After printing the file, the dial and doors will not be immediately moveable. Each will need to be carefully separated from the box underbody, without disassembling or breaking any component. Depending on your print settings, this may be more or less difficult than it is for others. Turn the box upside-down and place it on a flat surface. Squeeze and/or pull the dial downward, along the seam where it meets the underbody. You may need to use a thin flathead tool to pry it loose, but try not to score the surface of the print if you do. The dial will fully separate from the underbody, allowing it to spin. Now, pick up the box and turn it upright. Once the dial spins freely, turn it counterclockwise until the resistance of the locked doors makes it difficult to turn. Then, press your thumb down on the top of each door, near the dial. Press until you feel each door pop loose as it begins to glide smoothly on its circular internal rail. This process may also dislodge the doors where they connect to the center of the underbody (near the hole at the center of the box). If the doors are fully disconnected from the underbody, no more steps are needed. If any doors remain attached at the center of the underbody, gently twist or press each door side to side as you turn the dial further counterclockwise. Repeat for all seven doors as needed. Fully opening and closing the doors by turning the dial will be difficult at first, but will become easier each time. Remove any stringing by hand. I was able to smoothly open and close the box after about a dozen open-close cycles.