A set of clear plastic tubes that can be bounded as pages.

This is based on my single tube design.

Tools

• Trigger clamps (x4)
• M3-16 (or longer) screws (x2)
• Optional M3 wing nuts (x2)
• Scissors
• 2mm or 3mm hole punch. I recommend this one

Materials

• White letter-size paper (Optional)
• Letter-size transparency film. 4mil.

Prints

The size of the book is arbitrary, depending on how large you wish to make it. This will change the number of things that need printing.

There is a jig required. This jig only needs to be printed once, regardless of page count.
It consists of these parts:

• TubeBook_Jig_InnerHalf (x2)
• TubeBook_Jig_Outer (x1)

The book consists of pages. Each page contains an array of 5 tubes.
For each page:

• TubeBook_Rackx5 (x2)
• Tube_Cap (x5)
• Tube_Top (x5)
  • There are 2 provided. I recommend using the med one unless it's too tight.
• Tube_Bottom (x5)
• TubeBook_Spine2in (x1)
• TubeBook_Rivet (x2)

The rack should be printed with supports touching the build plate. Everything else does not need supports.

There is also an SVG sheet that contains the cutout pattern for the transparency sheet.

• TubeBodies_3.0in.svg (x5 cutouts per page)

For binding pages together, there is a hinge system for each pair of pages that are bound.

• TubeBook_Hinge (x2)
• TubeBook_Rivet (x2)

Assembly

For the best understanding of how assembling tubes for the book works, it's recommended to make a single tube first (see link above). Their designs are very similar, except this one replaces a tube part with a connecting rack that supports five tubes together.

For assembly, see the video
https://youtu.be/kjKP4lxHdMI

Once caps are snapped, it's hard to unsnap/disassemble without damaging the assembly. At certain points in the video, it is recommended to double-check your work before proceeding.

Be careful to make sure that bumps and divots line up correctly, or parts will not snap together. When lining parts with the rack, divots will face forwards and backward. Bumps will face left and right.

Make sure the seam for the transparency film faces forwards or backward. Although it makes the most sense to have the seam on the back of the page for aesthetic reasons (when bound on the left like a traditional book). If the seam is on the left or the right side, it will be hard to tape the seam because another tube may be in the way.

When using the hole punch, sometimes the punch gets a little "sticky," which can stretch and tear the holes instead of providing a clean punch. This is an issue because of how close the holes are to the edge of their rectangle. I recommend curling the transparency a bit and committing to fast and forceful punches for best results. It also helps to check every now and then that the punch blade doesn't have previous holes stuck to it.

The jig is required because from past experience issues happen if the tube ends are snapped individually instead of all at once. Things can get difficult, and the end result tends to be janky.

The transparency film can pick up fingerprints easily. If you're worried about the finish of the film, consider wearing rubber gloves during assembly.

The cap is designed to snap fit, but it may be too loose or fit too strong to where the cap sticks to the top and rips the top off of the tube. This is sensitive in the design, and if you're not sure how your printed caps will handle, you may want to test how your printer prints caps on the single tubes first before committing to this larger assembly. The reliability of the cap snapping and unsnapping is hard to accurately test unless the entire tube, including the tape, is assembled.

Notes

Unlike a single tube, it's not a good idea to retrieve items by holding the container upside down and shaking it. Tweezers are recommended.