What useful things have you printed on a 3D printer?

dc42

When I first started working with 3D printers, one of the questions I asked was: what are they actually good for? So here's a thread for folks to list useful things they have printed. For the purposes of this thread, a "useful" printed item is one that:

Serves some functional purpose, even if only temporarily
Is not a part for a 3D printer, or for building, calibrating etc. a 3D printer
Is not an ornament or other purely artistic item
Mostly consists of printed plastic, although it may contains nuts, inserts etc.

What are the most useful things you have printed? What printer did you use, and what filament?

dc42

I'll kick off. Useful things I have printed include:

Outdoor earthing rod cover, to protect it from cats who rubbed up against it and tended to fracture the earthing wire
Shelf supports (B&Q sells them but it was quicker to print my own)
Parasol shaft adapter, to allow a parasol shaft to be inserted into a parasol stand that was designed for a larger diameter shaft
Aviation headset earpiece adapters and microphone adapters, to allow allow military headsets to be refitted with modern high quality headphone speakers and electret mics
Reinforcing bracket to repair a microwave oven broken door latch
Round sanding block

All printed on my Kossel XL powered by Duet 3 Mini (Duet 2 before that, Duet 0.6 before that), older parts in Esun PLA, more recent parts in Overture PETG.

Electriceye

@dc42

I have been on this planet for 62 years... and technology has come a long, long way. Working in a scientific research and engineering background with 1200 employees, 3D printing really helped pave the way for prototyping, short run production and proof of concept every day.

Now I have my own company and rely on 3D printing (among others) to brings my ideas in the world, including one I was able to prototype and create in my kitchen, now an actual consumer item and the best in it's class. I have 2 patents on that one (and counting). Check out Sealgenie if you want to know more.

Being an inventor means you are always trying to make it better, faster, lighter smarter...using technology to your advantage. I have created 3D printed parts for family, friends and others just because I could- often times it was special parts that were no longer available or so esoteric parts simply were not made available to the public.

Pushing the envelope with 3D printing has been a great inspiration to ALL makers, and my latest is a novel graphene/carbon fiber filament (and SLA resin) that actually IS hundreds of times stronger, unlike the fake stuff they try to peddle to the consumer market now. I have world-wide patents pending on that, among others already)

So...when you ask- What can you do with a 3-D Printer?
My answer is..what CAN'T YOU DO?

Leonard03

For me at least, a 3D printer is the perfect companion for those who like to do electronic projects.

Electronics are my toys from when I was born, so this hobby persists to this day. Every project needs some kind of enclosure.

I'm thinking about an Arduino/Raspberry Pi. As these boards can interact with many peripherals, 3D printing is indispensable for that "professional" touch.

There are generic "project boxes," generic ones, injection molded. But it is something generic. As an enthusiast, I think that every project, custom and unique.

If in some shop I see something that catches my attention, most of the time in my mind comes an "I can do it better", for me at least.

For an enclosure for that board, sensors, lights, and everything else, it is one thing to mount it with double-sided tape (maybe), and it is another thing that every LED, sensor, and internal layout has its own nut, bolt, and its own place to be mounted to.

Another benefit of 3D printing in this area is the freedom to choose your own color schemes and different materials you can print (e.g., matte vs. glossy vs. CF).

I've seen very good projects done using generic components and plastic components, but in my opinion, those can't beat your personal idea, and the fact that this technology can really bring a thought to reality just as you imagine it.

infiniteloop

@dc42

I started my 3D printing ”career” 7 years ago with an RFID controlled time recording terminal - a USB / HID device attached to some iMacs in a medium-sized factory. Bought the casings, but needed mounts for display, Arduino and other components within. So I bought a CR10 bed slinger, instantly replaced the controller with a Duet, subsequently re-printed most of my printer, modding it heavily (water-cooled Chimera, heated chamber, etc.).

As I just print mechanical parts, often for outdoor use, I almost exclusively use PETG. For my electronics, I mostly rely on Arduinos of some kind, often using several of those communicating over CAN. Here are some random projects of mine, all using 3D printed parts:

Hydraulic work platform / scaffold - conversion to electronic / remote operation:

Mounts, brackets and housings for electronics

Wheel loader - conversion to electric drive:

Analog levers for hydraulic controls
Hand throttle
Dashboard
Mounts for power supplies and electronic components

Lawn tractor / mower:

Battery case

Kneading machine:

Reinforcement mount

”Mobile socket” / outdoor power station:

Battery housing
Control panel
Covers, mechanical connections
Mounts for cable reel, heat sinks, electronics etc.

Gas burner:

Clip for alternative cartridges

Thermostats:

Housings, mounting parts for MCU, display, controls

Bikes:

Base for bike stand
Mount / housing for USB lighting system
Replacement keypad on the handlebar (E-Bike)

27" iMac to Thunderbolt display conversion:

numerous internal mounts for Arduino, Audio and other components

mike_b

@dc42 the most useful thing I have printed on my 3D printer is....another 3D printer, of course! And then with that new 3D printer, I plan to make all the plastic parts required for build a PrintNC CNC router.

elmoret

@infiniteloop these sound awesome - do you have a blog or other place you document these projects?

infiniteloop

@elmoret Sorry, no time to blog as long as I make

martinv

@dc42 the first useful thing I remember printing was a clip. A simple clip. I had a PC case that I really liked - an aluminium ($$$ at the time) Lian Li ATX or similar PC case. It had a removable front that was just clipped on with four clips; you removed the front in order to get at the fan filters for cleaning. Anyway, after a while the clips broke, one by one. At some point the front really didn't stay on any more and I was considering the $$$ options for a new case and all the headaches... Then I bought my first 3D printer. The clip was a simple extrusion, which I took a photo of from above, and used some web based software at the time to extrude it, and then printed it. No CAD even. Worked a treat and saved the case from landfill.

Since then, I have printed so many things. I learnt early on that brackets and adapters were the unsung heroes. Never even thought about that as a use for a 3D printer until I owned one.

o_lampe

@dc42 I lately printed funnel-like adapters for my woodworking machines. Many machines needed wood chip/dust extraction of a different diameter.