Moving Mr. Meeseeks Box Door Stop - Customizable

◾DESIGN

When this box is pressed against a door and the wedge is pushed forward a rack and pinion system pop-ups Mr. Meeseeks to help with his can do attitude.  

I designed this to be a reusable movement and concept that can be re-themed to other popular box memes, such as Kirkland brand Mr. Meeseeks boxes, companion cubes and cake, or Joker jack in a boxes.

I put this together in 24 hours and did not go through many iterations other than getting it to work.  A future iteration could employ a bigger gear to create a longer stroke.  Right now the gear limits the stroke to 40mm, meaning the item popping up is smaller than I would like.

◾HOW IT WORKS

This uses a rack gear, which is a gear on a straight line instead of around the circumference of a circle.  This gear is printed on the wedge of the door stop.

The wedge-rack combination drives a pinion gear, which is used also as a crank shaft.  The crank connects via a rod to a linear slider that moves up and down.

◾PRINTING

🔹Meshes

All files have be arranged in the orientation for printing, no supports are required for any item.

🔹Material Choice

I have not tested different materials but have no reason to believe any rigid material type would have a problem.  Flexible materials such as TPU would not work.

I'd recommend just keeping the material choice here simple.  PLA or PLA+ for most parts.  Silk PLA for the wedge if you want smoother action.

🔹Decor

The current decor with Rick and Morty themed.  The side panels are layered, so you can easily do filament changes.

The Mr. Meeseeks' pop-up can be easily outlined with just a sharpie, if you get the background color correct.  Otherwise you may need to pull out your arts and crafts to make it work.  Last resort can always be breaking out the old 2d printer.

🔹Slicing the Gear Assembly 

The axle, gear, rod and pin are designed to be printed in place.

The gear assembly is not terribly difficult to print, but here are a few settings that are important.  I did not experience any problems getting the pieces to free.

• Infill: 20%
• Walls: 3
• Ironing: All Top Surfaces

🔹Slicing the Shell Assembly

When slicing the shell assembly make sure your slicer is not hiding the seam in either of the two cylinders.  If the seam is hidden in the cylinder it may cause the slide not to move freely.

◾ASSEMBLY

🔹Post Printing Processing

Prior to final assembly you are going to want to make sure all parts fit together properly.  You may need to file down, smooth, and lubricate surfaces.  Take extra care with surfaces that have another part moving against them. 

If you are using PLA you can use a file or acetone to smooth out layer lines on walls or patterns on the ceiling or bottom of surfaces.    If you are using acetone, do not apply too much at once.  Important areas for smoothing are the cylinders within the shell assembly, the cylinders on the slide, the surface of the side rails and the sides of the wedge.

🔹Movement

Although the movement is printed in place, you may need to apply some force to free the parts.  I recommend first attempting to use an exacto knife or scrapper to attempt to separate.  

Remember to use safe practices when using sharp items.  Always have the direction of the cut going away from you.  

If you are unable to break parts lose with a exacto knife or scrapper, use a chisel and hammer to work the pieces apart with care.

If that still doesn't work my I'd recommend the following last ditch effort: First, apply a bit of heat with a heat gun or hair dryer to the joint.  Then with a pair of pliers attempt to twist the part free from an non-heated spot.  Be careful; too much heat or too much force with the pliers and the part can deform permanently.

And if that doesn't work, you will need to reprint it with adjusting your print settings or materials. Smaller nozzle, slower speeds, reduced flow and increased air flow all can help.

📝 Note: The different colors in the animations are just to help understand the different pieces.  The print in place assembly is internal and can be printed in the same color.

🔹Popup & Slide

The popup needs to be pressed into the slide.  Here are the three methods of securing Mr. Meeseeks:

• Too Loose: You can use super glue or another adhesive to permanently bond the two together.
• Just Right: You can just press the two together using a friction fit.
• Too Tight:  Use a match or lighter to heat up both of the pegs.  With just a small bit of heat the surfaces will bond together. 

The slide is designed to be bolted onto the “pin” of the movement.  The use of  brass thread inserts are always best to use if you have them.  You can also thread directly into the  plastic if you do not have inserts to use.

You can use a long and short bolt for this.   Both bolts should be M3s. The long bolt can be 20mm long.  This long bolt will go support the pivot.  The short bolt can be 12mm long which is use to prevent spinning or backing out.

🔹Box Assembly

The slide goes into the two cylinders, the movement assembly goes into the right channel and the rail goes into the left channel.  The wedge is placed in between the rails and movement.

All pieces should be slide into place together.  Super glue can be used to secure the complete assembly if it doesn't friction fit.

If the rail assembly and movement assembly does not sit flush at the bottom, you may have them in the wrong channel.  Try swapping sides.

🔹Tuning Movement

Other than aforementioned smoothing technics, there is one additional item that might be needed to get the movement perfect.  The backside of the rod and pin may need to be filed down as well.  You can also use a knife to trim the back as well.   These two areas are places for friction to occur. 

🔹Box Decor

This comes with 4 panels that are decorative to match the theme.  The “Full” Panel needs to be printed twice.

These panels have no integrated attachment mechanisms.  You can use super glue, but I'd recommend using 2 sided tape.  If you use 2 sided tape, you can replace the decor without reprinting the entire assembly.  I'm hoping additional themes come out for this.

◾DISASSEMBLY

You can disassemble the box as long as you didn't use permanent adhesives.  Move the wedge so it is in the middle of it's movement.  Take a hammer and tap wedge downwards at the four corners of the box.  This should work the inner pieces out a bit.  On both the gear assembly and the side rail there are slots on the back side to allow a flat head screw driver to pry them out.  Slowly move between each slot to pry the pieces out equally.

◾MORE INFORMATION

🔹Part Color Code

The animations and diagrams are color coded to help understand the movement.  In case you are confused about what part is which, here is a reference.

🔹Themes

I'd love for you to apply and share additional themes.  I provided template models as a starting point for you to create your own decor and themes.  These files can be found in the “Template for Custom Themes” folder.