Home Smart by AE Mind
3D printing in the classroom lets students hold what they design, and one printed learning aid cost a school less than $5, according to teacher Stephen Elford in a TEDx talk. His school printed a Braille periodic table so a blind student could learn the table’s structure. Teachers on Reddit in r/ScienceTeachers suggest starting with […]
3D printed bathroom accessories work best in PETG, which Reddit users recommend over PLA for showers and wet areas. Jet L, a YouTube channel whose bathroom gadgets video has over 40,000 views, printed a drain snake that took about 5 g of filament and 20 minutes. In the laundry room, Jordan Prints, a YouTube channel […]
3D printed assistive devices can cost a fraction of store prices: Michigan Tech researchers priced one pill cutter at $23.75 online versus $1.27 printed, as reported by Medgadget, a medical technology news site. Print-in-place designs are the simplest place to start, according to EquipMeOT, a YouTube channel run by an occupational therapist and her husband. […]
3D printed fishing lures do catch fish when designed right, and solid lipless crankbaits avoid the slow water seepage that changes the action of many printed lures, according to Kenny of Upscale Lures, a YouTube channel that has printed and fished lures for more than six years (Upscale Lures, “5 Reasons To 3D Print Fishing […]
The best things to 3D print for camping are light, low-stakes gear like a tick tool that takes 2 g of filament and 10 minutes, or a fork-spoon that takes 8 g and 48 minutes, according to Jet L, a YouTube channel that printed 10 camping tools (Jet L, “These 10 3D Printed Camping Tools […]
The best 3D printed headphone stand holds headphones securely with a lip so they can’t be knocked off, rests the headband on a broad surface and manages the cable, the three things Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips judged when he picked a winner from 13 community-designed printed stands (Linus Tech Tips, “Headphone Stand Design […]
The best things to 3D print for gaming are controller stands, headset holders, desk mounts and cable management, and a printed dock mount can cost under $1 in filament versus about $20 to buy, according to Sergio of FromSergio, a YouTube channel whose creator printed most of his desk setup (FromSergio, “I 3D Printed 80% […]
A 3D printed Raspberry Pi case stays cooler when it’s raised on small feet and pulls air in from the sides, according to Slant 3D, a print farm whose engineer critiqued popular community Pi cases. A case that traps heat can push a Pi toward the temperature where it starts slowing itself down. For a […]
A 3D printed electronics enclosure lets you build a custom box without paying for an injection mold, which can cost “50 grand” before you see your first part, according to Slant 3D, a print farm whose engineer designs enclosures for manufacturers. Printing also costs about the same per part as a generic off-the-shelf box, he […]
3D printed RC parts can outlast stock plastic: printed A-arms flexed instead of shattering in a hammer test by ValRC, a YouTube channel that printed replacements rather than wait one to two months for parts from overseas. Print orientation matters most for strength, according to Karl-Emil Storm, a YouTube channel that prints RC spare parts. […]
A 3D printed drone frame can survive hard crashes if it’s printed in the right material: in throw tests by Mediocre Nerd, a YouTube channel that designs printable 1S quads, Polymaker PolyMax Tough PC came out on top of nine filaments, and a reinforced version outlasted the carbon frames he tested, at a weight cost […]
The best 3D printed cable management is modular: a printed grid under the desk that cable trays and hooks snap into, so you can add or move pieces as your setup changes. Snazzy Labs, a tech YouTube channel, built one on a Multiboard-style printed grid and said it was “like Legos.” For cables you store […]
3D printed hooks can be remarkably strong: a tuned PLA hook carried just over 250 kg in a test rig built by 3D Maker Noob, a YouTube channel that designed hooks for Polymaker’s strongest-hook contest (3D Maker Noob, “How Strong Can A 3D Printed PLA Hook Be?!?”). Everyday hooks should carry far less, but the […]
3D printed shelf brackets can test surprisingly strong: one mostly solid PLA bracket went past 395 lb in a rig built by DaveRig Design, a YouTube channel that load-tests printed parts, and the same design with three perimeters still held about 175 lb. In a fair comparison of PETG brackets by Filament Fabrication, a YouTube […]
3D printed hinges work well for boxes, cases and lids, but for strength, a printed hinge with a metal screw as the pin outlasts a print-in-place design, according to Angus of Maker’s Muse, a YouTube channel about designing for 3D printing (Maker’s Muse, “Incredibly Handy 3D Printed Hinges!”). Print-in-place hinges are convenient but need clearance, […]
3D printed drywall anchors can work for light items if they are printed in PETG, on their side, from a design made for printing. One such anchor held over 75 lb (34 kg) in its designer’s wall test, according to Ptarmigan, the Printables designer behind it, who adds: “I would not recommend putting anywhere near […]
3D printed knobs are a cheap fix for missing or worn knobs: a Reddit user in r/functionalprint printed a snowblower knob instead of paying about $25 for a replacement. Knobs suit printing because they vary so much and molds are costly, according to Slant 3D, a YouTube channel run by a print-farm engineer. 3D PrintSmith, […]
3D printed spacers, washers and standoffs are among the easiest useful prints: they take minutes, cost pennies and come out the exact size you need. They work best under compression loads, such as lifting furniture or holding a circuit board off a case. One Reddit user in r/functionalprint printed nine identical spacers to lift IKEA […]
The 3D printed hardware worth making is the low-stress kind, such as knobs, spacers and hinges, and Reddit users report printing a snowblower knob instead of paying about $25. Users in r/functionalprint say printing makes sense when you cannot buy the right part or need something custom. Keep metal on hand too. The Next Layer, […]
The best things to 3D print for workshop use are organizers, wall systems and small tools, and the most useful ones remove everyday inconveniences, according to Reddit users in r/functionalprint. Workshop-tools videos from Teaching Tech, a YouTube channel that tests printers and shop prints, have more than 3 million views combined. CNC Kitchen, a YouTube […]