Category Archives: 3d printing

Beat This Mario Block Like it Owes You Money

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

People trying to replicate their favorite items and gadgets from video games is nothing new, and with desktop 3D printing now at affordable prices, we’re seeing more of these types of projects than ever. At the risk of painting with too broad a stroke, most of these projects seem to revolve around weaponry; be it a mystic sword or a cobbled together plasma rifle, it seems most gamers want to hold the same piece of gear in the physical world that they do in the digital one.

But [Jonathan Whalen] walks a different path. When provided with the power to …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, arduino nano, mario, nintendo hacks, prop building, vibration sensor | Leave a comment

3D Printing Watertight Containers

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Most normal 3D prints are not watertight. There are a few reasons for this, but primarily it is little gaps between layers that is the culprit. [Mikey77] was determined to come up with a process for creating watertight objects and he shared his results.

The trick is to make the printer over extrude slightly. This causes the plastic from adjacent layers to merge together. He also makes sure there are several layers around the perimeters.

Of course, over extruding may not be good for your part’s dimensions. There are other techniques we’ve seen that work, too, like acetone smoothing ABS …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, airtight, watertight | Leave a comment

3D Printer Time Lapse Videos Ditch the Blur

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Most time-lapse videos of 3D prints show a steadily growing print with a crazy blur of machine movement everywhere else. This is because an image is captured at a regular time interval, regardless of what’s physically going on with the machine. But what if images were captured at consistent machine positions instead? [FormerLurker]’s Octolapse plugin for OctoPrint came out of beta recently and does exactly that, and the results are striking. Because OctoPrint knows where a 3D printer’s print head is at all times, it’s possible for a plugin to use this information to create time-lapse videos where the print …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, gcode, octolapse, Octoprint, octoprint plugin, plugin, time-lapse | Leave a comment

3D Print a Thinner Car Key

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Almost all modern cars come with keyless entry, some even come with keyless start. Of course, the price you pay for this technology is a bulky plastic keyfob that is an absolute pain to remove from your pockets, and generally spoils the lines of your carefully chosen outfit. [Jeremy] decided enough was enough.

The project begins with a careful disassembly of the original key. This is important to avoid damaging the PCB inside, particularly if there are any delicate wire links between different sections of the keyfob. With the piece disassembled, it was then time to start designing a replacement …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d printer, 3d printing, classic hacks, keyfob | Leave a comment

Handheld Propulsion Is Noisy, Awesome

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Lithium batteries are ubiquitous, cheap, and incredibly powerful. Combine them with some brushless DC motors and you’ve got serious power in a compact package. [Ivan Miranda] decided to use this to his advantage, building the Handheld Self Propelling System #1. 

Yes, we’ll come right out and say it – it’s a giant fan, and it blows. Or more accurately, it’s four moderately sized fans in one fetching wrist-mounted package. The one thing that seems completely absent from the video is an answer to the obvious question – why? Other than doing damage to the hearing of anyone nearby in an …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d printer, 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, drone hacks, thruster | Leave a comment

3D Printed Tank Tracks

Posted on April 1, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

[Ivan] has been keeping his 3D printers busy with parts he’s experimenting with to build a tracked motion setup for a tank-like vehicle. His design uses several interlocking parts, so if you want to duplicate it, we hope your printer calibration is up to snuff. He’s still printing more parts and promises to release the files once the design proves out.

However, you can see he’s off to a good start. Small pieces fit together and accept a piece of filament as a sort of hinge. Some pins keep the filament from working out. Pads fit into the main parts …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, drive train, robot, robotics, robots hacks, Tank Tracks, tank treads | Leave a comment

The Essential List of 3D Printer Accessories

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

You’ve acquired your first 3D printer and are giddy with excitement. But like all new additive manufacturing adventurers, the more you do with your printer the more questions arise. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.

Getting the most out of your time with a new 3D printer has a lot to do with the tools and accessories on hand and what you do with them. Let’s take a look at a few of the accessories that should accompany every 3D printer, be it in your home, school, or hackerspace. There’s already enough potential aggravation when it comes to 3D printing, …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, accessories, best practices, caliper, filament, fire safety, Hackaday Columns, Skills | Leave a comment

Casting Metal Parts and Silicone Molds from 3D Prints

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

The invention of the relatively affordable 3D printer for home use has helped bring methods used to produce parts for prototypes, samples, and even manufacturing, closer to designers. This tutorial on how to cast metal parts from 3D printed silicone molds is a perfect example of how useful a 3D printer can be when you are looking to make a custom and durable metal part at home.

After 3D printing a mold design using an Ultimaker 2 [M. Borgatti] casts the mold using Smooth-On Mold Star 15 that can withstand heat up to 450 °F (232 °C), which he points …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D printed mold, 3d printer, 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, cnc, howto, metal casting, mold making | Leave a comment

Student 3D Prints Eyes

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

[Ondřej Vocílka] is a student at the Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic.  In addition, the 23-year-old lost his vision in his left eye. While attending a lecture on 3D printing, he wondered if he could 3D print an ophthalmic prosthesis — an artificial eye. Turns out, he could. If you don’t speak Czech, you’ll need to call on a translation service like we did.

Unlike conventional glass or plastic eyes, it is trivial to change parameters like color when 3D printing the prosthetic. This is especially important with the iris and the finished product takes about 90 …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d printed prosthetic, 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, prostheses, prosthetic eye | Leave a comment

Repairs You Can Print: Model Coal Car Fix

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Model railways are a deep and rewarding hobby, and the mechanisms involved can be both surprisingly intricate and delightful. A great example that may surprise the unfamiliar is that of model train carriages, such as coal cars, that are capable of both receiving and dumping a load at various points on a model layout. This adds realism and, if we’re honest, just plain old fun.

When [Phil]’s father received his Lincoln coal car from eBay, it was unfortunately damaged, and incapable of dumping properly. Instead of throwing it away, a replacement part was developed and 3D printed. The part was …read more

Continue reading →

Posted in 3d printer, 3d Printer hacks, 3d printing, repair | Leave a comment