Upcycle your empty cans to cool the unopened ones with a little help from 3D printing!

Use the high thermal conductivity of aluminium to suck the heat out of your 250 mL cans with this portable six-slotted hexagonal can cooler.

Here’s how it works …

1 . Take a few empties, fill them mostly with water and put them in the freezer (the gap is to allow the water to expand as it freezes)

2. While they’re freezing print the cooler chassis, cap and outer band (see below for parameters) and find yourself some string / cord if you want a handy handle for carrying your cooler!

3. Thread your cord / string in a loop through the holes down the chassis (don’t forget the cap).

4. Take an ice-filled can, slot it in the centre of the cooler chassis and pop the cap on.

5. Lay the outer band around the cooler chassis, slot in the cans that you want to keep cool and pull the band up around them to hold them in contact with the centre can.

6. Wait! Let thermodynamics do its job, as the heat is sucked in the centre can through the contacting sides.

7. Enjoy a refreshingly cool beverage!

That’s all there is to it.

The orange tops on the cans here are simply from another project, don't worry about those!