I designed these mason jar lid racks to keep loose lids contained, organized, and clean while being stored.
Solving a need
In 2019, I started exploring the zero-waste lifestyle more, mason jars and all. Like any good plastic-free acolyte, I got myself reusable stainless steel lids with washable silicone gaskets.
I quickly ran into a problem, though: the lids went everywhere. They didn’t stack or nest well, and they rattled around in their drawer every time I opened it.
I’d also recently bought myself a 3D printer, so I challenged myself to design and print a way to keep my lids tidy.
Design constraints
The 3D printer I had at the time, a XYZ Printing Da Vinci Jr 1.0 Pro, had a fairly small build volume. This limited the size of anything I designed to just under 6″ (150mm) on each axis.
The lids also had to stay put and not slip out of the organizer easily. Gravity is the simplest way to do this, usually by tilting surfaces back at a slight angle.
The last major constraint is one specific to 3D printing: I wanted to make a design that wouldn’t require any support scaffolding. Any overhangs or bridges in the part would need supports built up under them, to keep them from collapsing. This wastes material, increases printing time, and can be difficult to remove from the finished print.
The best design looked to be a small shelving unit, holding the lids flat one above the other.
First prototype
I sketched out a comb-like shape in my CAD software as the vertical cross-section for the shelves. They had a slight tilt backward to help keep the lids more securely on the shelves. I checked the total height against the maximum build volume; I could fit six lids, but not seven.
Once I had the cross-section done, I built up the rest of the organizer. I added sides and cut out the center of each of the shelves. This saves on materials and print time, as well as allows some airflow between lids.
I printed the first prototype back-down, with the shelves vertical, so that it didn’t need any supports.
The first prototype came out mostly the way I wanted it. All the measurements were correct, the lids fit just right, and they stayed securely in place. However, the design was a bit blocky, so I decided to clean it up a bit.
Improving the design
There wasn’t much to do, since all the functional bits of the design were correct. I could make some cosmetic improvements, though:
- Round all the sharp edges and corners
- Make the sides the same thickness as the shelves
- Fine-tune the depth of the shelves
The last major change was adjusting the measurements to fit regular-mouth lids. With that done, I printed a few more for my own use, and listed it up on my Etsy shop.
Successful product
The mason jar lid racks quickly became one of my best sellers. Customers frequently buy a few at a time, and appreciate the wide variety of colors I offer.
The pandemic unexpectedly boosted my sales, since many people were exploring canning and preserving. I used the profits from selling mason jar lid racks to upgrade from my DaVinci printer to a Prusa i3 MK3S+ printer in the summer of 2020. Ever since then, they’ve been a consistent, reliable seller. I’ve had many new customers referred to me by past customers who are very happy with their lid racks.