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Practical 3D Printing: 10 Things to Make With a 3D Printer

Practical 3D Printing List

Practical 3D Printing: 10 Things to Make

Our friends at Internet of things blog Hack Things put together a list of 10 practical things to make with a 3D printer. Here’s the practical 3D printing list.

After digging through ThingiverseShapeways and Ponoko, there are plenty of practical, every-day creations to justify the purchase of a 3D printer.

Here are ten practical things to make.

iphone case1) iPhone cases
At the Apple store even a bumper is going to cost you $30. With a 3D printer, you could print a new case design every week. And there are a lot of beautiful designs out there.

handle replacement2) Replacement parts
If you like to fix things, a 3D printer is magic. When a small plastic part breaks, you no longer have to throw the whole product away. This guy’s dishwasher had a broken handle, so he printed a new one.

macro lens3) Smartphone accessories
3D printers have come up with innumerable little ways to get more out of your smartphone, various stands, cord wrappers, sound amplifiers and camera attachments like this cheap and effective macro lens.

camera mount

4) Camera gear
Photographers are willing to spend serious money for the right gear, and manufacturers set prices accordingly. From tripod mounts to lens cap holders, camera buffs can 3D print inexpensive accessories made to fit their kit.

mudguard5) Bicycle accessories
Cyclists are already used to tinkering to get their bike perfectly in tune. A 3D printer opens up whole new opportunities. Create clips to attach to the frame, a carrying handle, or even a whole pedal.

anemometer6) Science
From a tray for washing microscope slides to custom lens mounts, you can 3D print whatever tools you need to do science. Good for the grad student on a budget, or for family science projects. You can even print this anemometer.

purse

7) Wallets and purses
It turns out you can make a great wallet or an interesting purse out of plastic. Like the iPhone case, this really changes the way you think about these kinds of accessories. If you are making them yourself you can experiment with designs you might not buy in the store.

clock8) Clocks
A cheap quartz clock movement and a little 3D printing, and you have a beautiful clock. Pick from many styles.

toothbrush holder

9) Containers
Look around your house and you’ll probably find a lot of small plastic containers. You can print those, and tailor them to their purpose, like this toothbrush holder.

legos10) Legos
If you are a Lego fan (and if you are reading this, you probably are), imagine printing any shape you want and just plugging it directly into the Lego universe. I guess you could even print a Lego-compatible Yoda head.

Hack Things concludes:

Obviously if you want to mass produce something there are more efficient tools than a desktop 3D printer. The same could be said about printing with ink. If you want to publish a bestselling paperback, you don’t do that at home. But no one doubts the value of an inkjet printer.

All the hype aside, for small plastic parts, when you factor in shipping and customization, a home 3D printer actually makes sense today.

3D Printed Parts: Sculpteo Selling Customizable iPhone 5 Adapters

3D Printing Parts iPhone 5 Dock Adapter

3D printing may change the world in the future, but many ask what the “killer app” is today?

Sculpteo, a 3D printing marketplace, is making a push into 3D printed parts, specifically adapters and spares.

Take, for example, this customizable iPhone 5 dock adapter, compatible with a many sound systems, including:

  • BOSE SoundDock 10V2
  • INVOXIA NVX-610
  • Geneva Modèle Geneva Xs/M/L/XL
  • Harman-Kardon MS 150
  • Beat Beatbox portable
  • JBL On stage mirco III
  • JBL Radial micro
  • ONKYO iOnly play ABX-100
  • JBL On time micro III
  • SONY ICF.DS15 IP Silver
  • LOGITECH Pure-Fi Express plus
  • I HOME IP 15 Translucide
  • BLUESTORK AC200
  • DENON CEOL N-7
  • PIONEER X-HM 71-S Silver
  • YAMAHA TSX-112
  • PIONEER X-HM20 Silver
  • YAMAHA MCR-550 Silver
  • YAMAHA MCR-332 Piano
  • YAMAHA MCR-232
  • PIONEER X-CM31-W
  • YAMAHA MCR-040
  • JVC UX-LP55
  • PANASONIC SC-HC 37 EF
  • I HOME IP 41

 

In an interview with TechCrunch, Sculpteo founder Clement Moreau said, “This story and this adapter is opening a new field of 3D printed spare parts for a lot of different devices. Battery covers, clips, docks, handles … a lot of things can be lost, or become unusable because some other device changed or has been updated. We really see 3D Printing here as a way to work smoothly in a moving environment, where big companies have really good reasons to change standards from time to time.”