{"id":164552,"date":"2022-03-26T15:33:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-26T07:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=164552"},"modified":"2023-02-01T10:35:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T02:35:59","slug":"functional-3d-printing-at-home-useful-3d-prints","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/functional-3d-printing-at-home-useful-3d-prints","title":{"rendered":"Functional 3D Printing at Home \u2013 Useful 3D Prints"},"content":{"rendered":"

Functional 3D printing does not get the same publicity as printing for fun. The share of useful 3D prints in domestic 3D printing is growing but such models are not appreciated enough. In our opinion, both types of modeling are needed and it all goes in the right direction. 3D printing for fun helps to attract the young generation and enthusiasts. After sharpening their skills in the fun department, they would eventually get involved in the functional side, that\u2019s when fresh ideas and new solutions may be born.<\/p>\n

3D Printed Tools<\/h2>\n

Functional Wrench<\/h3>\n

One of the most well-known objects in functional 3D printing is the\u00a0wrench by Daniel Noree<\/a>. Daniel is famous for his OpenRC models which are all functional. They say that if you manage to successfully print his wrench and make it work after removing the supports, then your 3D printer is calibrated well and the slicer settings are correct. We have to admit that our first attempt failed, but we got it right in the end. This model is very popular and was featured a lot in 3D printing related media.<\/p>\n

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3D Printable Wrench by Daniel Noree. 3D Printed in PLA (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thorn Remover<\/h3>\n

Unique 3d printed tools can be used for such simple tasks as a\u00a0rose thorn removing<\/a> for example. Professional florists use thorns removers quite often. This could be a nice present for a gardener.<\/p>\n

3D Printer Toolheads<\/h2>\n

Check the two blogs by Andrew Sink who turned his 3D printers into\u00a0food 3D printer\u00a0and\u00a02D printer pen plotter<\/a>\u00a0with printed at home toolheads respectively.<\/p>\n

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3D Printed Toolhead \u2013 pltr pen plotter (Photo: Andrew Sink)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fixes and Replacements<\/h2>\n

Do you have an office chair that keeps sinking under you? Chances are, you\u2019ve got a failing gas lift cylinder on your hands. If you are the owner of a 3D printer, you can permanently\u00a0fix your chair\u00a0to the desired height with a simple 3D print job.<\/p>\n

Recently functional 3d printing helped us to avoid a wardrobe disaster. One of the brackets holding a hanging rail broke sending all dresses down in a messy pile. We figured that it would be possible to\u00a0design and 3D print the bracket. It took us 30 min to design and 2 hours to print the replacement in rigid.ink ABS.<\/p>\n

While being designed, the brackets actually got upgraded, acquiring more strength and depth to support the rail. Disaster averted \u2013 the dresses are neatly placed back and waiting for their turn to go out \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Wardrobe Rail End Support Bracket Got Replaced (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brackets<\/h2>\n

This functional 3D printed item greatly helps to organize any 3D printing workspace as it holds a lot of filament spools. Joel Telling\u2019s spool mounting bracket has been showcased and torture tested in his\u00a0popular videos<\/a>. In addition, a themed 3D printing competition has been held on MyMiniFactory.<\/p>\n

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Joel Telling\u2019s spool mounting bracket (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holders<\/h2>\n

Pencil Holders<\/h3>\n

The majority of useful 3D models on STL sharing websites are different kinds of holders, equipment stands and mounts. We have printed an SD card holder, a mobile stand, a wine bottle holder and various accessories. Our very first functional 3d printing item was an Artichoke Pen Holder. It took us 20+ hours to print and it does the job very well.<\/p>\n

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Artichoke Art Pencil Holder by Gizmoticist (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Functional Mounts<\/h2>\n

Wall Mounts<\/h3>\n

An extra or replacement spool holder is frequently needed as well. We are very proud of our themed design \u2013 a\u00a03D Printing Guardian\u00a0spool holder as now we can replace a filament spool in seconds.<\/p>\n

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Wall Mounted Spool Holder (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bookshelf, Table Mounts<\/h3>\n

When we occasionally make a YouTube video, we use the headphones, but 99% of the time its wires lay around occupying space in the work area. Monster Headphone Holder by philbarrenger greatly helped to organize our workplace better.<\/p>\n

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Monster Headphone Holder by philbarrenger. 3D Printed in ABS (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Customized Nozzles<\/h2>\n

Of course, we tried to design something functional ourselves. Here is our\u00a0simplistic model<\/a>. There is a lot of dust collecting in hard-to-reach places around the house, for example, behind the radiators. This is probably a concern in many households. Our vacuum cleaner Henry didn\u2019t have a suitable nozzle to get through narrow spaces. Therefore, we designed a customized nozzle in\u00a0TinkerCAD<\/a>. It consists of several parts and is easy to print.<\/p>\n

Mobile Phone Cases<\/h2>\n

Another popular useful 3D print is a mobile phone case. There are many 3D printable files available on specialized platforms. These models are easy to customize further. Mobile phone cases are great as protection from breakage. For our mobile case, we used a beautiful orange\u00a0flexible filament<\/a>\u00a0that has a nice rubbery non-slip surface.<\/p>\n

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Customized Phone Case in Flexible Filament (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Useful Noise Dumpers<\/h2>\n

For some 3D printers, like\u00a0Original Prusa, we would recommend printing additional accessories, for instance, noise dampers by hofftari. These dampers significantly reduced the noise that made it possible to work overnight without disturbing anyone.<\/p>\n

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Noise Dumpers by Hofftari (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Usefeull Stoppers<\/h2>\n

Useful 3D prints must not be labeled as boring. A good example is a Hodor Door Stop by fixers who were inspired by the famous episode from the Game of Thrones. There is a massive collection out there in the jungle of file repositories. Very easy to design and modify the way you want. PTT teaches his students to design such objects in\u00a0week 1 of the Blender 3D design for 3D printing course<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Hodor Door Stop (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3D Printing Functional Lamp Shades<\/h2>\n

There are a lot of\u00a0STL models for free and a small fee on file repositories<\/a>\u00a0that would give you original ideas on how to upgrade the interior with gorgeous 3D printed lamp shades and light systems. Initially, we looked at this trend with a bit of skepticism as weren\u2019t sure about the fire safety. Check out our blog on\u00a03D printed lamp shades<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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3D Printed Lamp \u2013 Turn Your Art Into Lithophanes (Photo: ItsLitho)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Disclaimer:\u00a0We can\u2019t stress enough that every electrical appliance is a potential fire hazard if treated\/maintained inappropriately. Therefore, extra care has to be taken while undertaking any 3D printing DIY project that involves electricity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pots and Planters<\/h2>\n

File repositories offer a vast collection of plant pots or planters that can be 3D printed.\u00a0Vases and pots<\/a>\u00a0usually are desktop 3D printer-friendly and any filament can handle the task.<\/p>\n

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3D Printed Plant Pots and Self-Watering Planters (Photo: 3DWithUs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recommended material for the pots and planters is\u00a0PETG<\/a>\u00a0as it is more waterproof and less biodegradable than PLA.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the video below, we present functional 3D printing objects:<\/p>\n