Universal Paint Rack

Welcome to UVVU - universal paint rack system. The goal was to design a scalable solution, that allows hue wheel sorting with mixed paint brands, as well as convenient way of storing paints “reach ready” for people with no dedicated hobby area, printable on even smallest printers out there.

Basically any main brand of paint is accepted, up to 35mm pot/bottle diameter, in both top-up or bottom-up positions.

Brands it was specifically designed for:
- Citadel (all pot sizes)
- Citadel Decanted (20ml Amazon/Ebay/Aliexpress dropper bottles)
- Vallejo/Army Painter/Green Stuff World/Hataka/etc
- AK/Ammo MIg

Brands that should fit based dimensional information provided by the producent:
- ProAcryl
- Scale75

CITADEL NOTE: Citadel 12ml pots can be readily stored bottom-up, but there is a little clip-in (removable) insert provided to make removing them a bit easier or storing them in top-up position.

OVERSIZED BOTTLES NOTE: largest bottles it was tested with are Liquitex Inks, they do fit in bottom-up position only, and Vallejo 60ml (Primer) bottles - they also fit in bottom-up position only and stick out quite far that way. Tamiya 10ml pots probably fit tightly. If you want to store those large diameter bottles as well consider scaling everything to 103% (this can alter how bottom-up slots for Citadel Decanted bottles work a bit) and use “Citadel small pot insert” for Tamiya paints.

This rack can be assembled either as wall mounted, free standing or rail mounted. The main unit is 9-slice scalable both up and down, and smaller modules are provided for maximum use of wall area available. Single module is for 11 paints, basic 9 piece unit can store 123 paints, but there is virtually no limit on how big this can get (when wall mounted, free standing version has some limitations). For example, standard desk (160cm wide) up to comfort reach distance (four modules up) will give you capacity of about 380 paints. There is also a handle provided for free standing builds, allowing easy transportation between storage and desk for people without dedicated hobby area.

ASSEMBLY NOTES

No screws or magnets are necessary, everything is connected by dovetails. Dovetails and slots are designed for maximum rigidity, so you can only push them by hand up to a certain point. Use rubber mallet or plank&hammer method (never strike directly with hard hammer) to fit them all the way in. If you need to disconnect the parts there is a little opening provided for knocking out the wedge out of the socket (use flat topped 3-5mm rod). Connectors are Z-shaped so assemble row by row or plan ahead. Due to nature of FDM technology all flat-printed dovetails have stepped top edge which require slight filing/deburring this out a bit to ensure smooth insertion.

WHAT TO PRINT

For wall mounted variant:
- basic rack modules according to 9-slice lattice and your desired size of the unit.
- one double or two single or double wall_hanger_top and inserts, depending on your layout. Simple inserts are for perfectly leveled holes, eccentric inserts allow leveling up to 6mm difference in level.
- “spacer” connectors, for every intersection and edge connection,and plain “top-bottom” double connectors if you don’t use double hangers
- optionally wall_hanger_bottom for increased rigidity or if you use single top hanger

For free standing variant:
- basic rack modules. Free standing builds should not exceed 3 modules vertically. Wall-backed standing builds can have more vertical modules.
- connectors for every intersection and edge connection. You can use plain or “spacer” variant, which will ensure enough space behind the rack
- legs: there are two variants available, “spacer” for wall backed placement and “free standing” with increased backside length for increased stability
- optional handle assembly: use “single” supports variant for one or two column builds, “double” supports for odd number of columns and long handle for even number of columns.

For rail mounted variant:
- replace wall_hanger_ parts with railing_hanger_ parts and otherwise build like wall hanged variant. Rails can be up to 10mm diameter
- if using only top rail, then use “spacer” connectors

PARTS NAMING CONVENTION:

There is a lot of files in this download, so here is a little guide to how to find relevant pieces:

rack_main_… - basic 9-slices,
“Middle M” is the basic module, stackable in four directions. If you feel lazy and accept some obsolete parts sticking out, then print only this, otherwise there are dedicated top, right, bottom and left edge modules.

rack_… - additional smaller modules for maximizing space coverage.
slim… - single row top modules
thin… - 3 or _2 - narrower column modules for filling up leftover space. Provided as “right” only, mirror if you want them as left edge.
*_singleColumn…* - for printing single column build without obsolete bits sticking out

connector_… - well, connectors for joining units :)
single… - for left/right edge connections or for some edge mounted utility parts
double… - for joining columns together. Some utility parts can also be double.
_0_Xmm - “double” elements come in four tolerances: 0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mm space between columns and which to choose depends mostly on how precise your printer is and how much corner bulge it has. Choose the one best for you. 0.0 is for perfect prints.

_spacer - for wall mounted variant, and for close-to-wall standing version at least corner connectors should be “spacer” ones to ensure enough room behind the rack for sticking out parts of bottles, especially in bottom-up positions.

HOW TO PRINT

IMPORTANT: do not change axis orientation, parts are oriented for strength and rigidity.

• Minimum bed size: 170x158mm
• Nozzle: designed for 0.5mm, but will work with 0.4mm, use wall size =>1mm
• Infill: 15%
• Supports: none

• Weight: Single 3 row column with all necessary parts weight ca. 460g

• Use Brim for main modules or otherwise ensure perfect bed adhesion, any warpage will make assembly difficult or impossible. Connectors and other parts can be printed without.

• Ensure dimensional accuracy for proper rigidity of the final assembly. Minimize corner bulge (use “outer wall first” at slow outer wall speeds or Linear Advance, etc..)

If you liked it and printed it, please post a make.

If you have a suggestion for additional feature post a comment - if it is not overly laborous and can be universally useful to others, I’ll try to make it and update this page.

If you want/need to remix something from this system, please respect my work and don’t reupload everything in other places, only the remixed part with a link to this page.

Thank you and happy painting to you all!