As a 3D printing enthusiast, I have been using my Makerbot to print all sorts of items. From student desk decorations to the latest iPhone case, 3D printing is making it easier for us to produce one-of-a-kind objects at home. In this post, I will share with you 10 functional tools that you can easily 3D print and use in your daily life. These are just a few ideas but there are many more out there! Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print!
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Top 10 functional tools you can 3d print
In the past years, 3D printing technology has gone a long way from simple prototypes that were used in industrial design. Today, 3D printers are capable of creating almost anything you can imagine, from toys to guns and even prosthetic hands for children. But it hasn’t always been like this.
In fact, there’s a very good reason why we call “3D printing” today by its full name – “additive manufacturing”.
The process involves adding material to make an object. This means you couldn’t print something out of anything – not before scientists developed software that would allow them to fill empty space on a virtual platform with new matter. For some time now, scientists have been using so-called voxels (the 3D equivalent of pixels) to build virtual shapes and then print them in real life.
However, 3D printing is not the only process that involves adding material to make objects – and it’s definitely not the one that has seen the most growth recently. 3D milling is a much more precise process that uses rotating tools (similar to how you would use a drill press). It can be used on materials such as wood, metals, plastics, and even glass if done with sufficient accuracy.
But why should we care? Well, this technology offers us an incredible number of possibilities when it comes to manufacturing functional items for home or industry use! Here are 10 things you could print out using your own desktop CNC machine
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print?
1. Custom-fit earphones
The advantage of this approach is that it allows you to get custom-fitted earphones that are capable of blocking out more sound. This way, your music will sound better while preventing hearing damage at the same time!
2. A protective case for your smartphone or tablet
3D milling is allowing us to manufacture custom phone cases within minutes – all by ourselves, in our own homes! No more waiting in long lines at stores or buying online and having to wait for days before you receive what you paid for.
Now, you could print a case for your phone in just a few hours. 3D printing also makes it easier than ever before to tweak the design so that everything fits perfectly – something that would be very hard to do with injection molding.
3. Functional, flexible electronics (including circuits)
Electronics are getting thinner and lighter every year – but they’re still too bulky for what we need them for. Luckily, there’s a much better alternative – one that is both much cheaper and more functional than traditional electronic components! We’re talking about using conductive inks within the 3D printing process itself.
Using this approach, it would be possible to print out everything from sensors to speakers (and even circuit boards) on almost any surface imaginable, including your skin! The applications in medicine alone would be enough to justify its introduction into mainstream manufacturing.
4. A stand for your smartphone or tablet
It’s not just about protecting the screen of your phone – there are plenty of other useful things you could print out to go along with it!
For example, a smartphone stand would allow you to comfortably watch movies on the go without having to hold up your tablet or phone. You could even use a magnetic case and make a custom mount for your car!
5. A Dremel-like rotary tool
That’s right – you can actually 3D print yourself a handheld power drill that is capable of drilling holes into metal, wood, or plastic.
The idea wasn’t new at all – but now that people have started 3D printing functional parts again for their RepRap printers, they’re coming up with some original ways of improving this tool.
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print?
6. Useful hardware for your 3D printer
The filament extruder was one of the first functional parts that people started printing in order to use in their own 3D printers. If you don’t know what this is, it’s basically a tool that allows you to easily turn plastic pellets into filament which can then be used by your printer.
Although this part isn’t exactly complex, it represents an important achievement since it allows us to print much more functional items out of basic materials! Other hardware that could be printed includes spools, feet, and other components necessary for proper operation. It all depends on what you expect or hope to get out of your RepRap 3D printer!
7. A universal clamp system (for wood, metal and glass)
If you ever need to work on thin sheets of any material using your own RepRap 3D printer – whether it be glass, metal, or wood – this universal clamp should keep you covered. You can use it for holding pieces together while gluing them or even as a way to avoid the piece moving around during printing. No matter what you intend to do with it, I think we can all agree that this is an incredibly useful addition to anyone’s home manufacturing arsenal!
8. A high-precision power drill for metal, wood, or plastic
As of right now, it seems that this prototype for a new 3D printed power drill is the only one to have made its way onto Thingiverse. But with hopes high for new additions to RepRap’s incredibly useful collection of parts, there’s no telling what else might appear in the near future!
9. Robotic hands and other types of prosthetics
The current front-runner on the 3D printing scene goes by the name e-NABLE, an organization dedicated to creating affordable replacement limbs for those who need them.
Even though they’re still working towards establishing themselves as a reliable source of quality prosthetics, some early adopters have started using their technology to create fully-functional replacements – even mechanical ones! We might even be able to see the second generation of affordable robotic hands once the technology behind 3D printing improves even further!
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print?
10. Your own custom bobbleheads
These collectible figures have been around for decades, but thanks to 3D printers – you’ll soon be seeing your favorite celebrity in a new light! With a few pictures and a bit of patient after placing an order, you can create your very own bobblehead version of yourself or whoever else you want.
Although this approach is limited only by the number of photos that are available, there’s no denying that it would make a wonderful gift for any collector out there. Just get ready for all those “I spy with my little eye” jokes…
11. Self-adjusting pliers (or any other hand tool)
When 3D printing really took off last year, there were many people who claimed that the technology would completely replace traditional manufacturing. With so many useful parts being designed and tested, you have to wonder if they might have been right!
What can you not 3d print?
3d printing is finally getting some kind of foothold in the consumer market, but there are limits. There are some things you can’t 3d print for various reasons. Let’s look at some of the restrictions and see what we can do to get around them.
First, a disclaimer: this list is not conclusive nor complete, and there are some things I am just choosing not to print.
In no particular order:
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print? (cre: howtomechatronics)
-Multi-color prints.
While the RepRap project has been working on this for a long time now, most 3d printers that can print in multiple colors have the printer head move from side to side while it paints each layer. This doesn’t allow for very high speeds – plus it takes more filament – so you have to watch your wallet as well as your build space.
-Fabrics & Textiles.
Take a look at these scarves. They were printed with a special foot so they wouldn’t collapse out of shape due to gravity and the weight of other layers, but most of them are printed with support material (see below) which renders them useless for wearing or any other practical purpose.
The same goes for all kinds of cloth, burlap, felt, wicker, and more. It can be done, but it’s not very cost-effective unless you make something like this.
-Foam & sponge.
These are two materials that most 3d printers cannot print due to their inconsistency, irregular surface area, and porosity. Some printers will attempt to fill the gaps with layers upon layers until it is solid…and then collapse under its own weight when finished. There are some exceptions, however: check out this awesome chessboard (although I don’t see how they did the pattern).
-Food items.
Some people claim to print food, but the majority of those are merely 3d printed molds to form chocolate or other treats around. You can’t really print your own cookie cutter shapes and expect them to be useful – especially if they’re small.
-Granular materials:
think sand and even salt (which will melt into a puddle if it gets too hot). Sometimes you just want to watch the world burn…or at least your creation is better off not being subjected to moisture like this failure which was later fixed by applying a layer of superglue (epoxy?) as a support structure for holding everything together (similarly done here ).
-Supports:
these are necessary for multi-color prints, complex shapes, and other items that cannot be supported by their own geometry. For example, anything with a hole in the middle should have some kind of support structure to prevent drowning from other layers piling up inside. Supports also solve printability issues such as overhangs. But you usually end up wasting a ton of filament (although there are some workarounds) which is why many people choose to make their own supports for free using software like Meshmixer (otherwise known as digital sculpting).
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print? (cre: all3dp)
-Protrusions:
if your model has any spikes or horns it will fail the first time you try to print it (although, they can sometimes be repaired by hand afterward). Things like this only come out at larger scales where excess heat from the extruder doesn’t melt it back down again.
-Overhangs:
if your model has an angle greater than 45 degrees, you may need to create some kind of support structure underneath (although there are also workarounds).
-Skeletons.
They’re almost impossible to make with most conventional 3d printers unless they’re extremely simple like this one. This is because skeletons tend to be long and narrow – similar to a spool of filament which you would feed into the printer head itself.
Traditional printers don’t print with two sides (the second side usually ends up on the ground) making them useless for printing anything that requires structural integrity like this failure or this one which was later fixed with a coat of white paint.
-Suspended features:
if something from your model is meant to be suspended in the air (like a lampshade, chandelier, or even a swing) it’s going to collapse under its own weight when finished because there isn’t anything underneath to hold it up anymore.
This is most prevalent with organic models like leaves, flowers, and trees. Even something as simple as this flag failed when it was finished despite printing just fine with support material on my Makerbot Replicator 2X. The only way you can get around this problem is by using some type of scaffolding structure that will eventually be removed later…or you have to round off all the edges so they’re smooth enough not to break off when finished.
Top 10 Functional Tools You Can 3d Print? (cre: ultimaker)
-Vertical holes:
if something in your model is meant to have a hole through it vertically, you will need to create some kind of support structure underneath (although there are also workarounds).
However, this can sometimes be hard to avoid because complex geometry will often deform the printer’s path so much that it gets stuck or causes an error. If you think one of these may be an issue, try turning on the option for ‘retraction’ which means the filament will be pulled back before each layer is applied so nothing gets too squished.
The above case study was created by James Stumpf, but I thought it would be useful because he approached this particular print like any other object with no special settings.
This resulted in a model that looked like this when finished:
Notice how the top half of the object is fine, but the bottom looks like it’s been hammered with nails because there’s nothing holding up anything underneath.
When he tried to print these circles on their sides they collapsed under the strain too because there wasn’t anything underneath them either. But after adding some support structures (and another coat of paint) they turned out much better
Conclusion
3D printing technology is a major innovation in the manufacturing industry, and it has been used to create everything from prosthetic limbs to customized chess pieces. As with any new invention, there are always some obstacles that need to be overcome before they can become mainstream successes.
One of those challenges for this exciting new development is getting your hands on one of these printers. There is only a limited number available at this time, so you may have trouble finding one near you or being able to afford to outfit your home office with the top-of-the-line equipment necessary for success as an early adopter.
Further Reading: