I recently picked up the guitar again during this summer because my friend wanted to learn how to play a certain song. So I decided to help her out, and at the same time, I got myself into the guitar once again. After a while, I found out about a pretty cool guitar pick storage that she had, and that was what inspired me to create do start this project.
If you have access to a 3D printer at home or a public one, please feel free to print this model out. I will include the link to the STL files at the end of this blog.
Drawing Out the Plan
This step was probably the most important part of this build. Drawing out a diagram was extremely helpful when I was trying to brainstorm and put my abstract ideas together. Originally I found a design online that used a soft sponge as a spring, and I was about to go with that idea until I thought of using paper clips. I tried to make a design that was not too bulky, nor too conformed to the dimensions of the paperclip. In order to achieve that, I ended up with this design (on the left).
Designing in Fusion 360
Starting off with the sketch on the left, I just drew out a simple squarish design. I had the dimensions of a regular guitar pick measured out with the tolerances calculated in as well. The picture on the left is after the first round of extrusions. The pit in the middle is for the spring mechanic to rest in as well as for the piece to push the picks upward.
This next picture shows the mount for the paper clip springs. I designed it to use two paperclips to keep the model symmetrical. As for the image on the right, the red piece is the piece that the paperclips will push. It's nothing special, just a simple flat piece that fits in the hole.
In these two pictures I add the cap to the top of the case, and round some of the edges to give it a smoother feel. The cap will be printed in one piece connected to base.
Test Printing
Final Design
Above is the final design. As you can see overall its pretty rounded and smooth. There are just a few slight issues with the printing but those issues were all negligible.
Conclusion
Although paperclips weren't the best possible choice for a spring since they lose tension over time, I decided to go with them anyways since they were a more easily obtainable resource. A drawback of using paper clips was the size limitation of the pick holder–in two ways. One, the design was not able to be created as compact as I would've liked, since the paperclips' size required the design to be able to completely house them. Second, the paperclip springs' compressed thickness also limited the number of picks I could put in. Nonetheless, it was fun to design, and I'm not unsatisfied with how it turned out.