Blog

Notes from the workshop behind the generators.

basics 12behind-the-scenes 7bug-reports 2cad 4editor 3enclosure 2gears 1geometry 18gifts 1gridfinity 3hose 1models 2rugged-box 3site 6vase 1

• Drain hair catchers, and the dome that tore in the slicer11 October 2026

  The Drain Hair Catcher Generator makes a basket for a sink or bathtub drain or a slotted cover for a shower grate, and getting a perforated dome to survive an STL reload took three attempts.

• A T-handle for any hex key, and the key sizes behind it11 October 2026

  How the Hex Key Handle Generator sizes a printed T-handle, screwdriver grip or lever sleeve from the number stamped on an L-shaped hex key, with the ISO 2936 and ASME B18.3 arm lengths it uses.

• A lens cap is a standard part, so I built a generator for it11 October 2026

  The Lens Cap Generator turns the filter size printed on a lens into a push-in, slip-over or screw-in cap, with a strap holder and a fit-test ring, and here is the thread math behind it.

• 3D printed hose adapters: stop buying, start measuring10 October 2026

  A 3D printed hose adapter fits on the first try when you measure the right surface of each end. Here is which one, with real port sizes for shop vacs, sanders and saws.

• Box dividers down to 3 mm, and the layout that needed 4.8 GB10 October 2026

  The rugged box generator now builds divider compartments as narrow as 3 mm of free space, and a 400-cell layout that used to need 4.8 GB of memory now needs 0.45.

• 25 useful 3D printed gifts people keep, with the sizes that make them work6 October 2026

  Twenty-five 3D printed gift ideas that get used instead of dusted, from name keychains and monogram coasters to spice jars, stands and print-in-place boxes, each with the numbers that decide whether it works.

• Six everyday parts from the browser CAD editor I'm building5 October 2026

  An electronics enclosure and its lid, a storage box with dividers, a shelf bracket, a pen cup and a phone stand, modelled in the CAD editor I'm building for the browser, and what it got wrong along the way.

• "Cookie cutter walls, magnet pockets and keyholes: the rules a printable part checks while you type"30 September 2026

  Every generator page on alpaco.it now checks your numbers before the preview asks the server. The rules that matter most for cookie cutters, miniature bases, wall hooks and spacers, and the broken preset that testing turned up.

• Why is Gridfinity 42 mm? What Zack Freedman said, and what the number does for your drawer28 September 2026

  Gridfinity is 42 mm because the number divides many ways, which makes bins nest into storage and plates nest into drawers, and because a microscope slide fits a bin as a window. The Hitchhiker's Guide joke is real, but it is the smallest of the reasons.

• A mount for any box and a window vent insert, two generators I built from Reddit threads27 September 2026

  The Device Mount and Rack Panel Generator holds a router, power brick or mini PC under a desk or in a 10 or 19 inch rack, and the Window Vent Insert Generator turns a window gap and a hose size into a panel cut into tiles for your bed.

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