Press the Customize button to customize!

A fully parametric open-top mesh basket: pick a rectangle or ellipse boundary, a solid border frame, and one of five interior grid patterns. Add an optional snap-fit lid, printed as a separate piece, that clicks onto the basket with a continuous printable ridge/groove around the whole rim.

Looking for a flat mesh panel or a bowed strainer/colander instead? Those are separate listings: Parametric Mesh Panel Generator and Parametric Mesh Strainer Generator.

Key Features

• Rectangle or ellipse boundary: set overall width and depth (or diameter, for a circle) directly
• Five grid patterns: square, diagonal (45 degree square), hexagonal honeycomb, triangular, and staggered circular holes; every pattern tessellates edge to edge with a uniform strut width between holes
• Open-top basket: solid bottom panel plus mesh side walls; 4 flat walls for a rectangle, one continuous wrapped curved wall for an ellipse
• Solid bottom / solid sides toggles: make the bottom panel or the side walls solid (no mesh) independently of each other
• Snap-fit lid: an optional separate piece (switch the Customizer's view to lid) with a skirt that slides inside the basket opening and clicks into place
• Solid lid top toggle: make the lid's top plate solid instead of meshed
• 3D-printable snap ridge: the ridge/groove is a single continuous triangular bead wrapped around the entire rim, tapered to a self-supporting 45 degree slope so it prints with no supports on either the basket or the lid
• Auto-sized holes and struts: hole_size and strut_width default to 2.5x your nozzle diameter when left at 0, so a fresh copy prints cleanly without any tuning
• Pattern rotation: rotate the whole grid independently of the panel's default orientation

Print Settings

Download the optimized print profile from this page, delete the sample models off the plate, and import your STL into it.

How to Use

1. Outer Shape: set shape to rectangle or ellipse, then outer_x, outer_y, and thickness.
2. Border: set border_width; 0 removes it entirely.
3. Basket: set basket_height for the side wall height. Use basket_solid_bottom or basket_solid_sides if you want part of the basket solid instead of meshed.
4. Lid (optional): turn on lid_enable, set lid_skirt_height and lid_fit_clearance to match your basket opening, and leave lid_notches_enable on for the snap fit. Switch view to lid and re-export to get the separate lid STL.
5. Pick a pattern: choose pattern and, if you want a specific look, set hole_size and strut_width; leave both at 0 to auto-size from nozzle_diameter.
6. Export the STL (once for view = "model", once more for view = "lid" if you enabled the lid), delete the sample models off the plate, and import your STLs into it.

Customization

Use the MakerWorld Customizer. All parameters are grouped and annotated.

View - view: model renders the basket, lid renders the separate lid piece (only produces geometry when lid_enable is also on)

Outer Shape - shape: rect for a rectangle, ellipse for an ellipse or circle - outer_x: overall width, X axis (mm) - outer_y: overall depth, Y axis (mm) - thickness: panel / wall material thickness (mm)

Border Frame - border_width: solid border frame width around every face (mm); 0 = no border

Basket - basket_height: height of the side wall(s), measured up from the top of the bottom panel (mm) - basket_solid_bottom: make the bottom panel solid instead of meshed - basket_solid_sides: make the side wall(s) solid instead of meshed

Lid - lid_enable: add a snap-fit lid - lid_solid_top: make the lid's top plate solid instead of meshed - lid_skirt_height: depth the lid's skirt reaches down inside the basket opening (mm) - lid_fit_clearance: gap between the skirt and the inside of the basket walls, per side (mm) - lid_notches_enable: add the continuous snap ridge/groove around the rim - lid_notch_depth: how far the ridge/groove projects past the nominal skirt/wall surface (mm) - lid_notch_band: vertical height of the ridge/groove's tapered profile (mm); must be at least 2x lid_notch_depth for a printable 45 degree slope - lid_notch_offset: distance from the top of the wall/skirt down to the center of the ridge/groove (mm)

Mesh Pattern - pattern: square, diagonal, hex, triangle, or circle - hole_size: hole size (mm); flat-to-flat, edge length, or diameter depending on pattern; 0 = auto (2.5x nozzle diameter) - strut_width: wall width between holes (mm); 0 = auto (2.5x nozzle diameter) - pattern_rotation: extra rotation applied to the whole pattern (degrees)

Printer - nozzle_diameter: drives the auto strut/hole sizing and minimum-feature warnings (mm)

Pattern Notes

Every pattern is built as a continuous solid lattice rather than a punch-through grid of disconnected holes, so the remaining material always stays one connected piece. Triangular and circular holes sit on the same tightly-packed triangular lattice as the hex pattern, so every hole is equidistant from its six neighbors and the gap between any two adjacent holes is a uniform strut width.

Snap-Fit Lid Notes

The lid's skirt slides inside the basket's top opening, and a continuous triangular ridge on the skirt cams past the basket wall until it seats into a matching groove cut into the wall, holding the lid down with a light friction snap. Both the ridge and the groove taper at a 45 degree slope (never more), so the whole feature prints cleanly with no supports on either piece. If the fit feels too tight or too loose, adjust lid_fit_clearance; if the snap feels weak, try increasing lid_notch_depth a little (keeping lid_notch_band at least 2x that value).

Sizing Tips

• If holes print closed or clogged, increase hole_size well above 2.5x your nozzle diameter.
• If struts look flimsy or go missing, increase strut_width; anything thinner than 2.5x your nozzle diameter will not print as designed.