Ink Sample Storage Solution

    Let's face it: Most fountain pen users end up with huge amounts of ink sample vials because some prefer to buy ink samples or have friends who love to trade ink samples. My ink sample collection has been getting a little bit out of hand, and I needed to find a way to store them properly.

    I love 3D printing, I own a 3D printer, but printing a box for 60 vials would take me a long time. I want a quick solution since I'm currently working on another 3D print design, and I don't want to use my printer time to print a box to store ink vials. 

    I decided to visit my local Daiso store to find a box to store my vials. The only restriction I had was that I had to see the cap for each vial. I found a basket with the perfect size, so I took it home. There is one issue: Vials tend to be heavier at the top because of the cap, so some of them end up tilting, and if the compartment isn't full, the vials end up stored horizontally instead of vertically. 

    To solve the vial tilting problem, I designed a super quick and easy-to-print insert that fits firmly in place without needing glue. The basket pattern is the perfect surface to make the insert fit at any height you want. I tested different heights, and around the middle is the one that works best. 

    I'm quite happy with the result, and I'll get another basket in case my ink sample vial collection keeps growing.

    If you have the same basket, or can find it at Daiso, I shared the files on Printables for anyone to use under the Non-Commercial-Sharealike Creative Commons license. 

STL files: Ink vial insert for Daiso Basket

Enjoy!

K.