I am thinking about buying a 3d printer but I have no idea what I would do with it. I did some blender training and made a donut but it did not really inspire me.

I browsed thingverse and some other sharing sites. Nothing really caught my eye.

I think something that would are mechanical kits for making gears or small machines etc. Printing a mechanically true LS1 V8 for example kind of interests me.

Any thoughts to share?

  • Mindlight@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    3D-printing isn’t for everyone. However, most of us that got hooked have found ourselves spending 3-4 hours designing a spare part for a broken plastic thing that would have cost us $1 if we bought it.

    It’s more the trip than the destination for a lot of us. It’s creation. It’s art.

    Some silly things I have downloaded / designed and printed:

    • wall mount for a ZigBee motion detector
    • detachable shelf for the dredge door
    • gardena male connector prototype (going to design a sprayer for our mini greenhouse)
    • vacuum cleaner pipe adapter (old attachments to new vacuum)
    • Taylor made boxes for RPi and Arduino
    • foldable dice tower
    • astronaut token tningy for Planet Nine card game
    • Custom made box for Exploding Kittens card game
    • some cute Groot thing my SO wanted
    • modifications for my 3D-printwr

    There are numerous sites that may or may not give you inspiration.

    https://www.printables.com

    https://www.myminifactory.com

    https://www.cults3d.com

    Why not search for your bike / car model on https://www.yeggi.com ?

    I’m still a rookie but here are my five cents regarding cogs mechanics: I’m not sure PLA is a good choice for things you put torque on. Normally Nylon is used and according to what I have understood that’s no fun printing. PLA is the easiest. Next Step would be to try PETG. Then there is ABS and ASA which require more from you for a successful print but the reward is a result with a better durability. (Depending on application of course) Also there are toxic fumes when printing those so be careful. Google the different types of plastics and characteristics to get feeling for what to choose for what application.

    Good luck.