Cardboard PingPong Dispenser Using Fusion 360

I am a student at Allentown High School in New Jersey and I recently purchased around 50 ping pong balls and decided there had to be a more sleek looking container for them. I don't have a 3d printer but I still wanted to use Fusion 360 in this project. I never used the sheet metal tool in Fusion 360 but I was able to figure it out and use cardboard in replacement for sheet metal.

For this project you will need:

• Templates
• Hot glue gun/hot glue
• clear tape
• box cutter
• scissors
• 1 gallon Ziploc bag
• paint/paint brush
• cardboard
• cardboard tube
• 2 rubber bands
• Butter knife

I started out in Fusion 360 and I went into the sheet metal window, I then made a sketch, followed by a series of flanges, which allowed me to make a 3d model that could then be unfolded to printable templates. It you would like to edit the files yourself, the file is below. After exporting the flat face as a DXF, I opened it in DWG TrueView, then Adobe Acrobat DC, to eventually get the final printable PDF. You don't have to worry about any of this and just print the pdf, it is just here for anyone who wants to edit the files.

After you print the templates, assemble them together and then tape the edges of the paper together. DO NOT trim off the blank space between the sheets or the templates won't work. After taping everything together you can cut the pieces into sections depending on how big your cardboard is. The thin lines connecting the larger pieces are not important and you don't have to worry about preserving those. They are just there so everything can be in 1 pdf. Finally, using a glue sick, glue the templates to the cardboard and start cutting.

After cutting you are going to have to bend and hot glue everything together. The largest shape can be bent so that the bottom folds up into a box missing the top and the top folds into the smaller box without a bottom. To better understand the shape, you can look at reference photos throughout the project. The two largest rectangles are going to have to be bent. By taking a butter knife and searing the cardboard, you'll be able to bend it easier. You will then take this piece and glue it around the top circle.

For the push button mechanism, you will need to take the 2 equally sized small rectangles and the one slightly longer rectangle to make 2 walls and a ramp at the bottom of the dispenser. Then take the "u" shaped piece and lie it on top. Make sure the ping pong ball has enough clearance to pass through. Then you will need to take the 4 equally sized squares and make them into a cube. Attach the cardboard tube and push it through the hole. Then put on the ping pong paddle shaped piece on the other side of the tube. To make this spring back you will need to hot glue 2 rubber bands to the inside of the shell and the cube as shown. This step will require a bit of adjusting to make sure everything fits. If you don't want a mechanism, you can just add the ramp and move on.

After you have your cardboard together, take a gallon Ziploc bag and cut the edges off. Then discard the half with a logo on it. You can then slowly dot the perimeter of the cardboard circle with hot glue. Then stretch the piece of bag over the circular area. You might need to re-dot some areas with glue until the bag is securely on.

After everything is together I removed the paper templates from the cardboard. Then I painted the entire thing with metallic acrylic paints. I did a gold base layer and then added silver details. I took inspiration from old metal gumball machines when making this. After this, you're done!

You can load balls in through the top and retrieve them by pushing the button. Now you can mount this to the wall however you please and enjoy your creation!