The technology behind 3D printing has come a long way from where it began. While at one point it was almost impossible to fathom owning a 3D printer in your own home or even for your small business, that’s no longer the case. The cost of 3D printers and the supplies they use have dropped so dramatically that it’s affordable for almost anyone to own and use.
If you’ve been curious about what you can print yourself at home, you’re definitely in good company. Buying 3D printers has become something pretty common to do and there are plenty of groups online dedicated to home 3D printing ideas and projects. Sometimes the projects are extremely useful and sometimes they’re just something really elaborate and fun.
You can print almost anything you can imagine at this point. 3D printing technology has given us some pretty amazing possibilities in all facets of life, including the more basic at home possibilities. Still wondering what you might be able to print with a 3D printer in your home or business? Here are five awesome 3D Printing ideas for you to check out.
1. Organize Your Life
You can print a ton of things that will help you get your home or business organized and clutter-free. It just depends on what you want to do. Maybe you want some new shelving to put books on. That’s something you can print. If you want to make a peg board to hold your tools, you can print that too.
You can print things like headphone holders or a wall mount for your Amazon Echo to keep your tech spaces organized too. There are even some really fun and useful ideas out there like a tape dispenser that also looks like a seashell. The general idea with this first use for your home’s 3D printer is to make getting organized interesting to you again.
Use the designs you find to motivate you in a new way. If you’ve been putting off cleaning out your office or organizing your junk drawer, printing something yourself can really get you excited to get started. Print what you need and make organizing your home something you can show off and brag about in a whole new way once you’re done.
2. Show Off Your Fandoms
Everyone has things they love, and showing off what you love in creative ways is part of the fun. When you have a 3D printer you can print things related to your fandom that others just won’t have. It gives you a chance to be a step ahead of anyone else in your life with the same fandom interests. There are endless fandom designs out there just waiting to be printed.
You can print a Game of Thrones themed doorstop people will be immediately asking you about as soon as they get to your home. You can print your very own model of the grounds of Hogwarts if you’re a huge Harry Potter fan. Whatever your fandom, there’s a design (or more likely thousands of designs) you can print for it.
3. Create Your Own Tools
You didn’t misread that. You really can print your own tools with a 3D printer in your home or at your place of business. This might not be an application you’ve thought about for your printer yet but it’s entirely possible to do and people are loving the tools they make themselves with their printers every day.
If you aren’t sure what types of tools you can print you’re probably going to be surprised at the range of possibilities. Everything from a basic screwdriver to something like a wrench are all options. You can even print things that might be more about your everyday life (like hangers) than an actual tool, but the idea remains the same.
Basically what you’re doing when you start to print your own tools is replacing something you’d have to buy at the store with something you can print yourself. It’s fun and can really help you out if you’re in the middle of a project like hanging curtains and realize you don’t have what you need.
4. Make Your Own Novelty Items
This is more about fun than useful items for your home but it’s still an awesome way to use your 3D printer. You can print all kinds of novelty items yourself. This gives you the chance to give really unique gifts or just have some great conversation starters on your desk or in your home. The way you use your novelty items is totally up to you.
You can print things you’ve probably never even thought about buying like a brightly colored carrier for a six-pack of drinks. You can get even more novelty and print out funny dinosaur skulls or stackable drawer organizers with legs. Once again you’re in another category of uses for your 3D printer with thousands of possibilities. Your imagination is the only limit here.
5. Create Toys. Lots Of Toys.
This is possibly the most fun idea for what you can do with a 3D printer in your home (or at your business if you’re bored). The toys you can create with your 3D printer are a little more exciting than what you might find in a store. Sure you can print basic things you probably could buy exact copies of, but that’s not the real lure when it comes to printing toys.
3D printers and the designs they use mean you can customize your projects to be highly specific. If you want to make a marble maze that’s 3 times harder than whatever you found at the store, you can do that. You can make fidget spinners that no one else has ever seen before. You can alter current designs to include your own name or your child’s name.
Printing toys is a great way to bring kids into the fun of 3D printing too. You’ll be able to adjust designs to make them very geared towards your own child or a friend’s kid. When it comes to printing toys to keep or give away the best part is going to be how easy it is to customize them. A toy you can’t find in stores is a really exciting way to use your printer.
Conclusion:
The ways you can use your 3D printer are only going to continue to increase. The designs available grow in numbers every day. You can even learn to create your own designs if you have an idea you just have to see printed. 3D printers aren’t limited to large factories or medical uses any longer. Use what you’ve read here to apply the technology to your own life. You’re going to love it.
