Modular Filament "Paper Tray" System – From Vacuum Bags to Open Spools

Tired of digging through bins or dealing with "slippery" stacks of bags to find the right filament? I adapted the classic office paper tray into a heavy-duty, modular storage system designed specifically for the 3D printing workflow.

Unlike standard racks, this system is built to handle it all: factory-sealed vacuum bags, home-resealed bags, and open spools. It’s the perfect way to classify your materials while keeping them accessible and expandable.

Technical Specs & Print Settings

Optimized for high-speed machines, these files are designed to be printed quickly without sacrificing the structural integrity needed to hold heavy 1kg rolls.

Printer: Creality Hi (or similar high-speed machines)

Speed: 250–300 mm/s

Material: PLA is fine

Walls: 2

Infill: 10% Gyroid (provides excellent omnidirectional strength for heavy spools)

Supports: Redesigned to eliminate the need!

Material usage: Less than 125g per shelf!

Files Included: Optimized trays for both full-sized (1k) and small/sample spools (250k).

The Labeling System

To achieve a professional "inlay" look, I recommend orienting the labels with the text face-down on the build plate. You can easily "color in" the text within your slicer for a clean, multi-color finish on the first layer.

Note: The images on the STEP files are oriented to show the text clearly for previewing, but for the best results, remember to flip them face-down!

Updates & Customization

NEW: In-Stack Labels - Added a divider label to help you separate material types mid-stack. Currently Label Available is PLA. Need more? I’m happy to generate additional labels (PETG, TPU, ABS, etc.) on request—just let me know in the comments!

Hope this system brings some order to your workshop the same way it did for mine. Happy printing!

Added 3mf files to the STL/CAD file section - 3mf files formatted as follows:

0.4 nozzle, 0.2 layer heights, aligned seams at 5%, 2 walls, 5 top layers, 3 bottom layers, 10% gyroid infill, outer wall speed 200, inner wall speed 300, no supports, outer brim 4mm with outer brim gap of 0.5.

Sizes and Material Usage for shelves:

1000g Filament Shelf, 119grams of PLA (40 meters), using 3mf file provided it takes about 4.25 hours to print each.
240mm x 205mm x 87mm

250g Filament Shelf, 54grams of PLA (18 meters), using 3mf file provided it takes about 2.50 hours to print each.
168mm x 143.50mm x 60.90mm

Filament Storage

250g Nylon Label, 0.2mm, 10% infill, no supports

250g ASA Label, 0.2mm, 10% infill, no supports

250g TPE Label, 0.2mm, 10% infill, no supports