Mailbox Door Project: Updates, Setbacks & Breakthroughs

Our custom replacement mailbox door project has been moving forward — but not without its fair share of challenges.

Customer Feedback & Redesigns

The very first customer gave us valuable feedback: the original design was just a little too small to fit properly. With those notes in hand, we adjusted the dimensions and created an improved version.

Along the way, another customer came to us with a different problem: a smaller-sized mailbox with a broken door. That meant going back into the design software and creating a second, smaller variation. Now we’ve got options for both standard and smaller mailboxes in development.

Printing Struggles with PETG

For durability, these doors need to be printed in PETG filament instead of PLA. But PETG has been… let’s just say, less than cooperative.

• On one printer, a print failure turned into a disaster: a giant glob of PETG fused itself to the nozzle, extruder, and even some wiring. The mess was so bad that I had to cut everything out, and the printer’s extruder assembly still needs replacing.

• Another printer refused to get past the second layer, no matter how many calibration tests I ran.

After countless hours of troubleshooting, cleaning, and fine-tuning, the machines are finally back on track and producing reliable results again.

Why We Keep Going

Designing these doors has been a frustrating process — but it’s also rewarding. Each test print, each failed attempt, and each redesign brings us closer to a final product that works perfectly for customers.

And at the end of the day, seeing a mailbox with a brand new functional door instead of a broken one makes all the effort worth it.

Stay tuned — I’ll be sharing more photos of the successful versions once we’ve fully dialed them in!