3.5 Inch Floppy Disk USB Holder

I don't know about you - but I am always searching for where I put my USB stick. It always ends up in the back of a drawer or under a pile of papers. So I thought I'd give a nod to the old 'save icon' and the storage of yester-millenium with a 3.5 inch floppy disk USB holder. The holder looks like a stack of the trusty floppy disk and holds my USB so I can use it. It also has a cut out so it can be stored flush inside the holder.

I go into a bit of detail about making the model and then how I brought the idea to life. Oh and if you like my work, please:

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OK, let's jump in!

For this project you'll need:

• Up to 5 different coloured 3D printer filaments (you can print with less, even one colour will work, but the 'stack' effect won't be as obvious).
• A USB stick
• Glue (I used PVA, but a hot glue gun or even superglue will work too)
• A 5cm x 7cm label

You'll also need access to:

• A 3D printer
• A computer with Fusion 360 and Cura installed (or another modelling/slicing program)
• A ruler
• Tools to remove 3D printed supports (I used the pliers and screwdriver that came with my printer)

Before I started on the design of the project, I did a bit of research. I measured the USB stick so I had all of the outer dimensions, and knew the size of the holes I would need to make in the holder so it would physically fit.

I also did a few searches online for information about the old floppy disks. The physical dimensions of one (93mm H x 89mm W), the label size (52mm H x 70mm W), what they look like (I'm old enough to remember, but I wanted it to look as true to life as possible).

Once I had this information, I got started in Fusion 360.

Open up Fusion 360 on your computer to get started.

I'm not a super proficient modeller in Fusion 360 and my skills are all self taught (with the help of Google and Youtube), so bear with me! Most of my modelling is using sketches and then extruding them to either cut or join to the model. I started with a box shape with the dimensions of a floppy disk (93mm x 89mm) and allowed 3mm for each of the 5 'disks' for a total height of 15mm.

I then drew a triangle on the top face and used Extrude (cut) to cut the corner off the bottom left corner.

I chose what would be the bottom of the disk to store my USB, and centred the rectangular hole in this area to fit the dimensions of my USB stick. Extrude (cut) is your friend again here, and you want to cut in the width of the USB.

Lastly, I centred another rectangle (the width of the USB stick) and cut further in, to accomodate the USB if it was in a position where it would be plugged into a device (enough to fit the body of the stick and have the USB plug part stick out).

As you carry on with your modelling, continue to sketch and extrude the different areas. Some of the detail like the 'cut outs for the label are only slightly cut into the model (at 0.2 or 0.4mm) - this only equates to one or two layers on the 3D printer.

Make a space for the label - I didn't have exact dimensions, so just centred a 50 x 70mm square and extrude (cut) 0.2mm in. Then I went to the 'top' of the floppy disks and made sure it followed around the top (as the labels had the option to wrap around to the back of the floppy disks).

The disks had small holes in the top right and left corners and these were used for write protection. The left side, was always hollow with no cover, so I cut a small hole all the way through the model. The right side had a cover for the write protection, so I only cut this in a small way to simulate this.

To make the cut out for the metal part where the data was accessed, I used lines and arcs to draw the shape (the arcs had a 3mm radius). Then, you guessed it - extrude (cut) to 0.2mm.

There is a small arrow that points the way you should insert the disk, so I also added this using line drawings and extruded it.

I wanted some small cut outs at the ends of the hole where the USB will go - this is so you can get your fingers around it if you have to, to get it out. This one was a bit more tricky, as I had to get the right face to do it on. Select one of the internal faces in the hole to get started, then I drew a circle (but only used a quarter of it). Then extrude (cut) like normal for the same depth as the rest of the hole.

Last of all, I added some small 0.5mm cuts at 2.5mm intervals along each side of the stack. These indents gives a little bit of realism that the disks are stacked up, as there is a small space between each 'disk'.

I decided to make the 'metal' part of the disk a separate piece to glue on (forgive me, I have no idea what it's called). The main reason for this is because it sits in an area that is slightly inset, it would be impossible to achieve the different colours if it was printed all in one.

I drew a shape with lines and arcs (3mm radius again) and then extruded it 2mm - it doesn't need to be too thick.

Then I cut the rectangular shape out of the middle left part of the model.

When you're done, your model should look something like the video above.

I've also added my STLs here in case you just want to start with mine.

This is where it gets a bit interesting. I've done multi-coloured printing once before, and it didn't turn out all too well. But practice makes perfect right!? My printer has a single extruder for a single colour (I'm using the Ender 3 V2). So you have to tell the printer when to pause printing so you can change the filament to the next colour you want to print in. Let's see how to do it...

Once you've loaded your model in Cura go to the menu Extensions > Post Processing > Modify G-Code.

This is where you can instruct the printer to pause. Click 'Add a Script' and select 'Pause at Height'. It then gives you a bunch of different things you can enter. You can choose a physical height or a layer height to pause at and then you can tell the printer to do a bunch of other things.

I chose layer heights and made notes of them when I loaded the model in Cura. The disk colour should change at layers 14, 28, 43 and 59. So these are the layers we will pause on. Choose Layer Number and then enter the relevant number. I changed method to BQ (25) as I heard if you leave it on the default it might not work with the Ender 3 V2 (mine's just a stock version).

Check out the screenshot for the rest of the settings - most importantly Park Print Head is where you want the print head to pause, I entered 0,0 for home as it's well clear of the print.

I ticked 'redo layer' to ensure the layers bond as well as they can.

I left the standby temp at 190 degrees (the temp I was printing at) as I was changing the colours almost immediately and didn't want the hot end to cool down in between.

The M300 code makes the printer beep at you when it's ready for the filament to be changed.

Repeat the steps by adding another script and entering the other layers and at the end you should have 4 post-processing scripts in the list, like in the screenshot.

Click close.

Make sure you print with supports (as the hole in the middle will present a problem otherwise!) I printed with 2 walls and 4 layers top and bottom with 20% infill.

Slice and upload to your memory card ready for printing.

If you're printing in a single colour, start printing and you can skip the rest of this step. If you're planning on printing multiple colours, read on!

Start printing with the first colour you want (I chose black) and let the printer go until it beeps at you. At this stage, the print head will also move back to the home position.

This is the part you have to be VERY careful! The extruder knob may be locked when the printer first pauses, but the lock will deactivate after a minute or two. In the meantime you can use the lever to remove the filament. However....

DO NOT MOVE THE PRINT HEAD OR THE Z GANTRY AT ALL!

It's very important that you take care on this step, as the printer moves the head up a bit when it pauses, but remembers the height it was printing at, and if you move the Z axis in any way, it will affect the print - you might hear crunching noises, or the print head may get caught on the print and lift it up off the bed rendering it useless.

I found the best way was to carefully wind the last colour out (once the lock deactivates) and then wind the new filament colour in.

Once you've wound the new colour in, keep winding it and push through some of the previous colour until the new colour starts showing. Remove the daggy bits and then hit 'Play' or 'Resume' on your printer to resume printing.

Watch and listen carefully and if you did everything correctly, it will just continue on. If you hear any scraping, scratching or anything else that may indicate friction, you may have pushed the Z axis down. Go into your Z axis offset settings quickly and bump it up until you can't hear the sound anymore. Keep an eye on your print though, as you want to make sure that the current layer is adhering properly (if the Z axis is too high, you'll end up with a big mess of filament).

Each time the printer beeps, follow this step again, remove the old colour, add the new colour, purge the old colour from the hot end and resume printing.

It's not for the faint hearted - especially as you get to your 4th and 5th colour. But I think the results paid off!

So the print is done, it's looking pretty in all it's wondrous colours, but you have to get the supports out! I found this part a bit difficult, but got my pliers and screwdriver in, and got it all out. Be careful at this step, as you don't want to lift the top or bottom layer off the rest of the print which could happen if you go at the supports too hard!

Get your label (I had to cut mine to size) and rule some lines on it like the old disks had (or leave it blank - it's really up to you!).

Print the 'metal' bit - you may have silver or light grey which might work - I didn't so I printed mine in black filament. Still made it look pretty original!

Stick your label in the cut out, add some glue to your 'metal' print and glue it in place and you're good to go!

Now you'll never have to search for your USB stick again!

If you've got any questions, pop them in the comments below. And please post your makes - I'd love to see them!