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?
I generally come across specific things that prompt me to print a custom solution for my life. I wouldn’t be surprised if there literally isn’t any truly useful better-3d-printed-than-purchased thing that someone can recommend for you. (But maybe I’m just not imaginative enough :))
Maybe the biggest category of things is replacement parts for stuff around your house. The $7 doohickey might cost you $1+time to print instead.
That said, here are some things I’ve printed for use around my house, which might give you some ideas for your own life:
- drain spouts with hose connection to route water from my gazebos “gutters” to the ground instead of just splashing down out of a hole
- a cover for the switch on my floor lamp so the light can only be toggled with the wall switch instead of in 2 places
- wall mount for my cable modem/router
- temporary oil cap replacement for my car when I accidentally lost it after changing the oil
- custom tool holders to 5-S my workspace
- large v block clamps for my drill press
- riser for my bench top power supply, to tilt it at a better angle for viewing
- infinite toys for my kids
- replacement part for a model kit that my kid accidentally broke
- handlebar basket custom sized for my kids bike
- replacement latch clip for my car’s fuse cover
What is 5-S?
It’s a whole process for streamlining production environments, but I just meant it as shorthand for organizing my tools, specifically giving each one its own dedicated place so I can tell at a glance whether everything is put away, and if not, what’s missing.
A couple examples of the concept
Cool, thank you! Based on that I also found it on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S/_(methodology)
These terms are often translated as ‘sort’, ‘set in order’, ‘shine’, ‘standardize’, and ‘sustain’.
Just some examples of things I’ve printed or plan to. Ones marked with an asterisk (*) at the end are ones I largely or entirely designed myself or plan to largely or entirely design myself. Ones marked with a plus (+) are ones that are half completed. Minuses (-) are ones I haven’t started yet but intend to.
- Wall mounts for Nintendo Switch components (dock, controllers, Joycon charger, etc.) Definite space saver. *
- Wall mount for a Raspberry-Pi-based NAS solution. *
- Parts to augment a computer chassis wall mount for my ridiculously-large chassis. (Yes, there’s a bit of a pattern there.) *
- A custom Raspberry Pi case that mounts nicely and nondestructively to my desk.
- A custom adapter for my drill that let me run the drain in my washing machine when the motor was broken. *
- A custom plate to cover my nightstand clock face so it doesn’t shine in my eyes all night. *
- A custom die for a Sizzix Die Cutting Machine for quilting use. (That one took a lot of work.) *
- A custom tool for precisely bending 16mm steel strapping (which I’d sharpened into a blade) in service to the custom die just above. *
- Custom yarn bowls for my crafty mother. *
- Custom stitch markers for my crafty mother. *
- Custom barrel buttons for my crafty mother. *
- A couple of custom mounts for SAD lamps. *
- Custom shelving for a bathroom. *
- Custom mods for some wire shelving in the same bathroom. *
- Custom mount for a reflector mirror to let me see more with the security camera on my front porch. *
- A tool for straightening 3D-printing filament. *
- Spacers for mounting a peg board on the wall.
- I also had a folding door that broke and got kinda janky. I had a few extra of those peg board spacers, and they turned out coincidentally to be exactly the right size to properly shore up that door.
- Custom shelving for DVDs/Blurays and video games. *+
- A custom shelf-drawer for my mousepad. *-
- A custom 3D printed mechanical keyboard… once I’m done writing the program for rapidly prototyping 3D-printed keyboards. *+
I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch. And the above is only the useful things and excluding the mostly art/fun items.
I have in mind to do more 3D-printing of tools. I don’t have much specifically in mind. But that custom steel strapping bender is pretty cool. Also, some of what I mentioned above is available on my Thingiverse.
Gridfinity
Gridfinity all the things
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.
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!
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.
Anything that custom-fits something. I do a bunch of functional prints, mostly things that are specific to something I own. I printed my wife a phone holder sized to fit her phone and case, I printed wall mounted holders for my remote and keyboard for my HTPC, and I recently upgraded to a larger printer that I used to create custom drawer organizers that fit exactly the things I need. I’ve also used it to print replacement parts for things, replacements for missing pieces, etc.
That’s sort of a perennial question but you can look on thingiverse for lots of designs, some of which might interest you.
Me, I need a replacement front cover for my ancient vacuum cleaner, for which original parts are no longer available. It’s 3d printable but would need a fairly large printer. I might try carving from wood instead. A Shapeoko would be great for that, but since I don’t mind it looking like crap, I might just try with hand tools.
print another 3d printer
Rep rap.
… And that’s how you gen Von Neumann probes.
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.
• replacement parts for appliances (dishwasher wheels, feet, brackets…) • upgrades for your 3d printer (a camera holder is a classic) • if you are a thinkerer (I’m assuming you are) custom boxes for small projects (electronics and so on)
I replaced the hinge on our freezer door with about half an hour of design time and a tiny amount of filament. Previously the fix required replacing the whole freezer door.
That fix alone paid for the printer.
Now I’m putting orthopedic insoles. It’s been a lot more effort since it required learning how to use TPU, but now I can just size the shoe and send the file.
Where a 3D printer really comes in useful is when you learn to model the things you need yourself, things that simply aren’t available as mass-produced products.
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.
- 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.
