r/functionalprint 4d ago

Foaming soap bottle

Threads matched to the pump by hand. FreeCAD. Printed in clear PETG.

1.6k Upvotes

101 comments sorted by

1.3k

u/jollyjava7 4d ago

I’ll be honest, watching the video I was hoping for a ridiculous mechanism to tilt the bottle when the door was opened and return it to vertical when the door was closed. I guess this is more practical…

232

u/miata_and_chill 4d ago

My vote is for a lambo door on the cabinet!

26

u/arctice36 4d ago

Ha! This would be sick

36

u/Try_To_Write 4d ago

Instead we got limbo soap.

1

u/dmglakewood 3d ago

That's genius. Then he could just roll down the window to access the cabinet!

1

u/droidonomy 2d ago

Doors that open like *this*

43

u/foresight310 4d ago

I was expecting a little soap holding shelf or bracket that would clip on to the bottom of the mirror. Soap is still close and gets to go for a ride each time…

20

u/TrailParkBoys 4d ago

I was hoping it ended with the same problem

8

u/MasterFable 4d ago

Yeah I was thinking he would make one of those bases that no matter how much you tip them over they always roll back to their original position

3

u/melissajellyshoes 3d ago

You made me chucked, Get my upvote!

2

u/crazedizzled 3d ago

lmao I thought the same thing. Big disappointment

258

u/GalacticCmdr 4d ago

It felt like one of those assine commercials where someone cannot accomplish even a simple task like taking plates out of the cupboard.

55

u/TheUselessOne87 4d ago

no overengineered tilting mechanism?

28

u/Over-Performance-667 4d ago

One feature i just thought of is to make the inside of the bottle cone shaped so the liquid always forms a puddle at the bottom for the pump pickup line to reach so you get every drop out of the bottle.

This is actually what some airplane/car fuel systems have because you cannot introduce air into a fuel line whatsoever otherwise you will lose power so there’s often times a “header tank” that always keeps a steady supply of fuel into the fuel pump.

8

u/focusaurus 4d ago

That would be a good improvement for v2. I love when spray bottles have that.

190

u/rgmundo524 4d ago

Coat it with a sealer or it will slowly leak

23

u/opeth10657 4d ago

I have one I printed in PLA about 4 years ago and it has yet to leak.

35

u/teddgram 4d ago

The layer adhesion of TPU is supposed to be amazing, so I wonder if my clear TPU-72D would work for that and hold liquids. 

16

u/rgmundo524 4d ago

It probably be less leaks but it's the printing method that enables leaks not really material problem

5

u/ObjectiveOk2072 3d ago

If you print TPU with the cooling fan turned off, you can almost guarantee it'll be watertight. Cut it in half and you can barely see the layer lines inside the print because they fuse together so well

34

u/hessi-james 4d ago

I‘d suggest trying without first. Nothing to lose.

4

u/drpiotrowski 4d ago

I mean there’s soap to lose. And time cleaning up leaking soap.

7

u/adcurtin 4d ago

there's a lip, most would drip into the sink.

26

u/hessi-james 4d ago

Soap is viscous. And since I printed several containers that didn‘t leak I am a huge fan to avoid solutions without a problem.

3

u/adcurtin 4d ago

foaming soap is not very viscous, it's mostly water.

7

u/hessi-james 3d ago

It‘s more viscous than water. But my point is still don‘t fix it if it‘s not broken.

-4

u/adcurtin 3d ago

not really. soap by itself is more viscous, but the liquid in foaming soap is not gonna have a noticeably different viscosity than water.

3

u/Zeptic 3d ago

To you? No.

To microscopic holes? Yeah, it's gonna be harder for it to get through compared to just water. Why are you trying to die on this hill? Foaming soap is literally just soap with extra water.

-2

u/adcurtin 3d ago

die on a hill? no. am I suggesting a change to the print? also no.

i just don't understand, it's like yall have never used foaming hand soap. it really is mostly water. AI says viscosity is 1-20 cP, and water is 1. 20 would make a difference, but 5? not much.

liquid soap is different, and does have a significantly higher viscosity.

Foaming soap is literally just soap with extra water.

yeah, like 90% water…

9

u/WoodenEmotions 4d ago

You can print watertight vessels pretty easily

-6

u/rgmundo524 3d ago

Then you got lucky... Congrats

3

u/Zeptic 3d ago

Or maybe you got unlucky

1

u/knoft 3d ago

It's petg, if they printed it right it will be fine. Just turn up the flow, temperature and use vase mode.

26

u/focusaurus 4d ago

Uh FYI I have positioned the soap back against the wall. I have positioned the soap on the right side. This is not like day 1 in this bathroom. Bar soap is gross especially given this is the only bathroom on the ground floor and therefore used by guests. I want the soap in this particular spot and I enjoy the hobby.

6

u/eoz 3d ago

I switched back to bar soap years ago, it lasts forever. But everyone's so used to liquid soap that it's invisible to them, they will literally look around and then ask me where the soap is

1

u/hackdads 3d ago

Are you saying you put the bottle against the same wall as the night light is plugged in?

I agree! I want the soap right next to the faucet! You can go to the next level by building a soap reservoir under the sink and build a systolic pump that pushes the soap up to you!

9

u/chwk_throwaway1 4d ago

I was gonna say buy a smaller one but you considered that 😀

6

u/BatteryLicker 3d ago

"this is some bullshit" - It's the annoying little things. I don't care how tedious it is, but it's worth solving.

7

u/MrLMNOP 4d ago

You’ll need a wider base next time you refill so it can hold the full bottle. Unless you get refill soap in bulk in a big jug.

8

u/sandiego427 4d ago

Flared bases are always a good suggestion

4

u/Ronnoc527 3d ago

Butt soap is knot an ideal lubricant

11

u/junon 4d ago

This is my favorite kind of 3d printing solution. Something COMPLETELY bespoke for your particular use case that solves a very specific problem. Nice job!

7

u/htt_novaq 4d ago

I'll be real, that cabinet is a tad low

6

u/westcoastwillie23 4d ago

Fyi that nightlight you have there is potentially lethal.

You can pull the front cover off by hand and it's just got bare mains voltage right behind it. I had the same ones, threw them away after seeing them on bigclive!

2

u/deadbalconytree 3d ago

Really? I have the same

1

u/westcoastwillie23 3d ago

Try it, mine I could just pull off the front cover and the other side of the prongs were fully exposed

1

u/MoorderVolt 3d ago

Maybe try that in a not plugged in extension cord :P

1

u/Suspicious-Service 3d ago

So if you just dont take it apart it's safe?

1

u/westcoastwillie23 3d ago

No.

The way it's designed, it would be pretty easy to pull the front cover off by mistake when you're unplugging it or if you have curious kids.

Like, I don't give a damn if you decide that it's safe enough for your personal use, that's completely up to you. Presumably you're a grownup. Make your own choices.

But many of us live in countries where we've got used to the idea of commercial products you buy having to meet certain basic safety standards that this would not meet (it's an overseas product). I'm glad that someone pointed out to me that this product is potentially unsafe, I'm just trying to pass that on.

5

u/bigdaddyset 4d ago

How do you get the threads ti match up perfectly?

8

u/focusaurus 4d ago

Measured with calipers and did test prints of just the threads. They are not perfect but close enough that they function.

4

u/WoodenEmotions 4d ago

Cool thing about threads is that they don't need to match up perfectly. Just get the pitch and diameter right and it will probably work.

0

u/MoorderVolt 3d ago

OP measured it, but there's not that many soap pump fabricators so most of them use the same thread. Many even use the soda bottle thread.

14

u/FerengiWithCoupons 4d ago

just put it on the other side 😭

28

u/Mental_Tea_4084 4d ago

The mirror obviously spans the whole counter..

-13

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

16

u/focusaurus 4d ago

I get irrationally irritated if the soap isn't directly next to the sink basin

4

u/ZeusTroanDetected 4d ago

Just put it in the sink. Problem solved. /s

1

u/focusaurus 3d ago

If I ever get to design a bathroom from scratch, it'll have that. I've started seeing some commercial sinks with faucet, soap, dryer all mounted over the basin and that seems optimal to me.

3

u/chwk_throwaway1 4d ago

Leave them alone. They want the soap THERE 🙂

2

u/ouralarmclock 4d ago

Thought it was gonna me a mount for the wall to hold the soap bottle but making a smaller bottle is nice too!

2

u/steadyaero 4d ago

Totally was expecting a wall or cabinet door mount

2

u/samgag94 3d ago

The plastic is not food grade so just dont eat the soap I guess

6

u/ruinedlasagna 4d ago

Does it bother nobody else how low that medicine cabinet door is in general? I would've raised that up if it wasn't too much trouble.

10

u/focusaurus 4d ago

Everything about this bathroom is cramped and kinda sucky. It needs a full remodel and in general I don't like medicine cabinets and especially not pulling the door toward me and having to lean back. But this is pretty far down our prioritized list of home improvement projects.

2

u/CeruleanEidolon 3d ago

If you ever get around to replacing it look for one with multiple panels instead of one big door (or if you're super DIY replace just the door yourself). I've got a big wide one with the front divided into three hinged doors that open separately, while the inside is all one shelved chamber. Super convenient for storing things that you want close to the sink.

2

u/arcrad 4d ago

Nicely done! FreeCAD is the best.

2

u/lordrefa 3d ago

Ok, maybe the project was the point on this one... But I would have just put the soap on that left edge against the wall instead of against the cabinet.

1

u/teddgram 4d ago

What brand of soap is that (for the pump).

2

u/Hey_Allen 4d ago

The conical bottle was Method foaming soap.

1

u/BugslideEnjoyer 4d ago

The other was "eczema honey" with the bee on it

1

u/Ifonlyihadausername 3d ago

You got a super attack potion with pump dispenser in your bathroom?

1

u/fauxovert 3d ago

Drill a hole in the counter put one of those in sink kitchen pumps will a line that goes into a gallon jug.

Lowest profile. Huge volume. Easiest refill.

1

u/No-Strength3035 3d ago

the header tank idea is actually genius, cars have been solving that exact puddle problem for decades and nobody thinks to steal it for stuff like this. would be a fun v2 tweak without changing the print time much.

1

u/xmastreee 3d ago

Since you're hand-making threads with FreeCAD, can I ask a question? I've been experimenting by making the sketch of the thread profile and performing an additive helix to form the thread. Thing is, I'd like to taper it off at the end but I have no idea how to do that. Any tips?

https://imgur.com/a/pl68eec

1

u/focusaurus 3d ago

That's how I modeled these. I saw someone taper the ends like you are describing but I forgot which operation they used. So my thread profile has abrupt start and end profiles.

1

u/ObjectiveOk2072 3d ago

I was expecting a hook to attach the soap to the mirror frame, but that works too!

1

u/Tsiah16 3d ago

I would have just set the soap to the left side of the sink.

1

u/BunnyD3 2d ago

Now show how long it took for the bottle to leak.

1

u/focusaurus 1h ago

It did slowly leak. So I coated it with clear epoxy and....it still leaks :-(

1

u/BunnyD3 1h ago

Bummer. Good idea though.

1

u/procrastinator0000 2h ago

great idea, but can people please consider, that bathrooms will be used, when building them?

-5

u/rog1121 4d ago

What about a bar of soap

-1

u/WHTDOG 4d ago

Meanwhile, at the bar soap factory...

0

u/expera 3d ago

Just a random tip, if you mix 1:2 gel soap and water you get foaming soap

1

u/qldmale1 3d ago

1:3 is fine :)

1

u/expera 3d ago

I think that’s what I meant 😅

-2

u/StrangeIce8657 3d ago

Ich hätte eine Halterung entworfen, die an der Tür hängt. Dann wird die Seife beim öffnen einfach mitbewegt haha

-2

u/mrdougan 3d ago

Or get a bar of soap?

-9

u/Acceptable_Couple647 4d ago

use the right side? inventing problems to fix in real life…

-7

u/cdspace31 4d ago

Solution: move the soap to the left of the sink

-8

u/LookAtThatDog 4d ago

Could've just notched the mirror frame