Fun and Useful 3D Prints

This page will collect all the fun and useful things I have printed, including links, images and slicer settings.

Print settings

Most of these prints are made with eSun PLA+, printed at 208 degC with a 65 degC bed; 0.2mm resolution and a 0.4mm nozzle. Any deviations from this, along with infil, supports and bed adhesion methods will be noted with the specific items.

Fun Prints - Prints that generally have no purpose but are super cool

My Brain

I recently had an MRI scan (don't worry, I'm fine) and I thought it would be super cool to 3D print my brain. Instructions are available here but the results are incredible. Printed at 100% scale in eSun Marble PLA at 190 degC, it took 63 hours and used 433g of filament (including raft and supports). The fifth image shows all of the test prints it took to get to the final result; and you can see from the last image that it took two attempts, but the first failed very early (due to poor retraction settings for this filament) so overall there was very little waste.

This is the first print I did at 50% scale to test the stl quality and check the support structure and interface. I found that there were lots of internal structures and voids which obviously meant lots of extra walls being printed: increasing the total time and filament used. I took the model into SpaceClaim and filled as much as I could by creating shapes on the inside of the model and merging them to fill the voids, this made the final model much easier to print.

This was the first (30% scale) test print in the Marble PLA from eSun and was printed before I had figured out the correct temperature, hence all the blobs. It did however do its job in demonstrating that the support structure would come off of the marble PLA just as easily as the PLA+ that I used for the first test print.

Ashoka bust

Description

Thing

Description

Thing

Description

Useful Prints - Prints that server a purpose

Whetstone holder and sink bridge

A mostly 3D printed whetsone sink bridge that is used to securely hold most sizes of whetstone over your sink so you can sharpen safely and easily. The reddit thread including a link to download the stls is in r/sharpening.

Bathroom basket hanger

The two basktes you can see below used to attach to the bathroom tiles with suction cups, however when I moved the bathroom tiles had a matte/chalky texture which they didn't stick too. Instead of buying new baskets or drilling into the tile I printed this simple hanger which attaches to the baskets and allows them to be hooked over the clear shower door, retaining the full functionality. I printed them in eSun Marble PLA because it was quite discreet, but around six months later the arms and the screw-down blocks started to fail. I have reprinted in eSun PETG and they seem to be holding up much better, but time will tell.

Hex-drive screwdriver handle

For a long time I was having to wind the bed of my printer all the way down to change the nozzle as all my screwdrivers were so long. This print from thingiverse solved all my troubles, looks super cool, and can accept any hex-drive screwdriver bit. Printed at 15% infil with a brim for bed adhesion and no supports

3D Benchy Photo Studio

Test prints were everywhere; on my desk, on my ottoman, on my bookshelves, on the floor, on the printer. This photo set-up let me take repeatable photos of all the test prints so I would have a clear test-print history and less clutter around the house.

Dibber

I have a friend with an allotment, and come the last frost of the year all their germinated seedlings need to be planted in the ground. To do this, they have to create consistent small holes for transplantation, and a dibber is the tool for the job. They also happen to be Star Wars fans.

M16 Spanner

Soon after purchasing our second kayak, my parter and I quickly got fed up of carrying both of them down to the river. Designing and building the kayak carts was generally easy, until I needed to put a nylon lock-nut on each end. Putting one on was easy, but I needed to add a jam-nut to lock it in place to bolt on the other one. Unfortunately, I only have one M16 socket, and no adjustables that big. At that particular time I only had some PLA+ on hand so I decided to make a fully captive spanner to give me the best chance of success; I made it a little small and pounded the nut in and it held perfectly. The nut didn't spin in the spanner and the second nyloc went on without any problems. Kayak carts completed.

Makita Circular Saw Dust Port

The left-handed blade give you much better visibility when cutting, but throws dust all over you as a right-handed user. 'thinghei' uploaded a model similar to the original (which as it turns out did come with the saw I just forgot about it) which I printed in magenta PLA+. I fits great and works exactly as intended; thingiverse link to the model is here.

Rotating Spice Rack on Slew Bearing

Description