I’m going to have access to a 3D printer for a few days. I know two friends who’ve used them, but it’s only been for art and figurines, or professional purposes.
Are there any other cases you can think of where a custom-printed item is better than the myriad of mass-produced plastic items?
The most esoteric item I’ve printed is a tiny clip that holds the fill tube in place, in my toilet. And I didn’t have to design it myself, someone else had the same problem with the same toilet and posted their solution.
I threw a bunch of broken glass, cold, heavy cream and sugar into the printer and I confidently said “Computer! One milkshake please!” with great gusto. I broke my printer. Thanks Jean-Luc!
print another 3d printer
Rep rap.
… And that’s how you gen Von Neumann probes.
Just buy a 3d printer and you will find that there are a bajillion doohickeys and whatsits that you never knew you needed. Half of my house is now 3d printed.
it makes me wish that someone with 3d printers would offer to print things out for other people small fee.
i’ve got lots of broken plastic things that i glued/duck-taped/melted together because they were integral to how something (most appliances) function and i would pay someone to copy and print out a replica of it so that i can replace it.
check your library! a lot are adding maker spaces. My local library has a couple 3D printers, laser cutter/engraver, cnc vinyl cutters and all sorts of handheld implements.
Thingiverse is great, but the real benefit of a 3d printer for me is the super-custom stuff. The gap between my kitchen sink and wall is pretty small, so I designed and printed a sponge caddy that sits in there perfectly, and drains into the sink. My sunnies didn’t fit into the holder in my car, so I designed and printed a little clip with a holder on it that fits in really nicely.
I’ve printed lots of functional stuff. Custom BedJet fan routing, angled connectors for deck rails, a wall mount to hold my EV plug, etc.
Most recent functional print, I printed some of these sheet stays for my bed.
Filament printer? I’d print a couple of microSD card holders, USB stick holders, those thingamabobs that help you organize your million loose USB cables, organizing cases for card games or specific boardgames, some hexagonal organizing shelves because they look neat
If there’s something you can buy, it’s both less hassle and higher quality to just buy it rather than to try to print it yourself. A 3d printer really shines when there’s something that you want that you can’t buy. Custom parts, repaor parts, things of that nature. Unfortunately, that also means that the things that you print aren’t likely to be something that you can plan for ahead of time
I am not knowledgeable about how to design anything :(
But I have printed a rig for kite photography and a saxophone mouthpiece, and a headphone stand bc someone already designed them.
I recently joined the ranks of 3d printer owners. The first thing I printed where a pair of risers for mounting some hall effect sensors on my garage door mechanism. Very simple shapes but super handy.
Ant nests and water dispensers.
Parts for many things that may break and are too old to find replacement or too expensive, like oven controls.
Supports for things in aquariums, like tubes or plants.
Supports for hanging keys, controllers, etc.
The thing is many times is cheaper to print and the things you print are specific to your needs.
- Cases for dev board and other electronics projects.
- Various spacers hard to find just right from the shops.
- Exotic lamp shades
- Cool front grille for your car.
Interior parts for 80s cars
Shells for atari 7800s. They are insanely brittle.
There are a lot of minor things, that are much faster to print than to get delivered. (If you can find them at a sensible price).
