Every now and then you see an object and think "I gotta have that!". That's what I thought the instant I saw this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:976826 The only bummer for me was that the wheel was too big to fit my printer bed. I also wanted fewer sectors so bins in my smaller wheel would hold more -- then I started thinking about wheels with different numbers of sectors, and bins that form a flower shape for aesthetic and functional reasons (the petal tip is the handle). Obviously a job for openSCAD, something I need practice in anyway.

Action Video, including full-speed air powered spin up: https://vid.me/jOJ4

Note that this script will generate only the wheels and bins. You will need to get the base from mat_neu27's posting, linked above. I found that using 5/16" nuts to weight the base fit a little loosely in the 8mm holes, but a couple drops of superglue fixed that.

The wheels/bins are very configurable:

• 2 to n number of bins, though over 10 it gets a bit ridiculous.
• Adjustable wheel radius to fit the limits of your buildplate.
• Adjustable bin heights.
• Tweakable shapes for front faces.
• Nozzle size adjustment to ensure a nice fit.
• Use whatever diameter support rod you have on hand (you'll have to build your own base if you choose a central rod that is not 5/16" or 8mm diameter).

You will need to use supports for the bins. This is somewhat annoying of course, but it allows the bins to extend beyond the wheel diameter which means even a small printer can make bins of a usable size.

You can either download the source and use openSCAD to make your own STLs, or use the "open in customizer" button in the right hand column of this page. I would suggest using openSCAD directly so you can zoom in on various parts to make sure you like them. The customizer shows a pretty zoomed out image of the parts and it is hard to see what is going on in the front corners of the bin.

I have included the STL files I used for the demo parts. All were printed on Lulzbot Mini with eSun ABS. This printer has a 0.5mm nozzle (if you use these demo STLs with a smaller nozzle, the fit might be loose). The file names are ridiculously long, but contain info on the parameters used to generate those demo parts.

Lastly, I'm still new to openSCAD and I'd be glad to hear of any criticisms that will help me improve my script. One issue I have is that in higher sector levels, when showing both the wheel and the bin, it exceeds openSCAD's ability to generate a preview although it compiles and exports just fine (using OpenSCAD 2012.05.26 on Debian Wheezy) -- the downside is that compiling is way slower than previewing which makes tweaking settings hard.

NOTES: I found the following explanations very helpful in this project and considering how atrophied my math skills have become, I wouldn't have been able to get this into some semblance of function without these tutorials:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Circle-CircleIntersection.html
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CircularSegment.html