Paper Tube Bench
Paper Tube, 3D printed washers, red rope
Cardboard tubes, a splash of red rope, and a few 3D‑printed feet—nothing fancy, just a bench that turns throw‑away cores into a place to pause.
Team: Nipun Prabhakar, Simran Channa, Joy Hrangkhawl
Printing shops toss these cardboard tubes the moment the paper rolls run out. We started collecting them, thinking there had to be a sturdier second act than the recycling bin. Eight tubes later, the bench took shape.
The build is simple. Each tube slips into a 3D‑printed foot that protects the edge from scuffing and lifts it just high enough to keep rain splash at bay. A figure‑x of vermilion rope weaves the tubes together, tightened, instead of glue or screws. We printed small washers to guard the rope holes, so the cardboard strands don’t fray with use.
Sit on it and the tubes share the load like sticks in a raft. The bench weighs less, lives happily indoors or on a shaded veranda, and tells a quiet story about how waste can bear weight—literally.
