Introduction: Upcycle Can for Pencil Sharpener

A simple and fun project to upcycle an old tomato paste tin into a waste container for your pencil shavings. Looks very cool on any desk. This is an excellent project for kids introducing them to Tinkercad and reusing materials.

The project takes about an hour, plus about an hour of printing.

Supplies

Materials:

  • metal pencil sharpener, wedge shaped, double hole (less than 1€)
  • empty small tomato paste can, 140 gr.

Equipement

  • Can opener
  • 3D printer
  • File for metal
  • 3D design programme, like Tinkercad

Step 1: Preparations

Empty the can, and wash thoroughly. Use tomato paste for your favourite recipe. Use file to deburr sharp edges.

Step 2: Design Lid

Use your favourite 3d design programme. Tinkercad, is free and very well suited for this simple job.

Measure inner diameter of tin can. Select a cilinder and adjust diameter to match tin can.

Make the cilinder about 7 mm high.

Then select a polygon, make it slightly larger than cylinder, so that you will have a holdfast when removing lid from can, Make polygon about 3 mm thick, and place on top of cylinder by draging it in tinkercad.

Next, select wedge, adjust the dimensions to match your pencil sharpener. Make it a "hole" in properties, and push it in the lid, such that a hole appears that would fit your sharperner snugly.

Then make a round roof, adjust size such that it is smaller than shapener. Make it a hole. From the bottom side of you model push it in, but not though to the other side, so that a hole is created where the shavings can fall down from the eraser.

Select all shapes and group so that they form one shape, circle and polygon combined, with the holes cut out.

Export model as stl file and print on your printer.


Step 3: Print

Open stl fle in your slicer. No support is needed to print, a very small amount of filling suffices (10%). PLA wi do nicely.

Step 4: Assemble and Show Off

Use a file to remove sharp edges from can. Use a file to make 3D printed lid fit the can, it should be rather tight.

Press shapener in lid, a bit of glue may be needed to keep it in place.

Enjoy sharpening your pencils.

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