A few posts in 3d printing Facebook groups have shown flat masses made by melting shredded failed prints and filament scraps. I do not want to melt PLA in my oven due to the fumes that would be generated, so I never tried, despite wanting to recycle prints instead of throwing them away. Having large,…
As active owners of desktop 3d printers, we inevitably arrive at a point where we ask ourselves about pursuing a patent for something we have invented. Inventiveness is one of the intangibles emanating from frequent use of a desktop 3d printer. Inventions may be insignificant at the beginning; still, the potential for significant ones constantly…
The arrival of Midges in Chicago this year incentivized me to make hats for the spring. The midges are no longer swarming, but my idea to make hats has taken flight. In designing the hat, I wanted something that was light in weight and colorful. I decided to keep it simple with a model that…
It has been a little over 2 years and the chair design I was close to printing has not been printed. I was having difficulty trying to figure out how to prevent the chair from collapsing in the middle. My goal was to have an entirely 3d printed chair that could be printed on a…
I wanted to make one of the closets in my apartment look tidy. Since I had wood left over from old or failed projects, which was contributing to its untidy appearance, I decided to use some pieces to make it look better. A bin for tall objects has been a desire for some time. I…
The idea for this jewelry box was spawned by Instructables’ organization contest. I decided not to enter the contest before I finished as not many instructions are needed to put the box together. Instructions are necessary for modeling the individual boxes and it was too much to explain, simply. I used Blender and Tinkercad for…
Living Hinges aren’t just for CNC work, they can be 3d printed as well. Stereolithography files of models designed with hinges have popped up on various online printing communities. Recently, I entered Instructables’ Lamps and Lighting contest with a project called Hinge Shade Empty Filament Spool Lamp. It features hinge pattern one from another Instructables…
What to do with empty filament spools? That question has been asked for some years now. I have seen it asked more frequently in Facebook printer groups during the past few months. The answer has not changed much over the years. Some filament providers have changed from using plastic to cardboard, but there are plenty…
Upon seeing an announcement about colorFabb’s LW-PLA, my first thought was cushions. The filament was on back order at the time and I waited a few months for it to arrive. I waited again before I tried printing with the filament as I learned a direct drive extruder was best. Finally, in February I was…
This is fan assembly iteration 2. The first iteration can be seen in a prior post. I have been working on this assembly for months, trying to find a 120 mm fan that works (literally), is powerful enough to blow air through a HEPA filter, and has a connection for a power outlet. Most 120…
3DPrint.com published an article a few days ago concerning research on using PLA filament for objects in the “sterile surgical field.” I can barely contain my excitement! Last week, I printed a mask using Atomic’s Clear “No Yellow” PLA. In order to thermoform the nose portion to my face, I dipped that part in boiling…
