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“I’ve Been Waiting For This Moment”: 82 Cool And Useful Things People Created With A 3D Printer
With some imagination, a dash of patience, and well-timed inspiration, you can turn any creative hobby into something that borders on true art and great design. If you happen to be into 3D printing, then you’ve got an incredible amount of flexibility. Meanwhile, the internet is full of truly amazing hobbyists who want to share their best ideas with anyone who will listen.
Bored Panda is featuring some of the best 3D-printed designs that we think should be celebrated far and wide. Scroll down for our curated list of the best pics, and don’t blame us if you have the sudden urge to check if you have enough space for a 3D printer at home.
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#2
My girlfriend recently got chickens and I've been waiting for this moment.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 45 minutes ago
I'm legally allowed to keep a few chickens in my city. I've been wanting a few for decades. If I ever get any, they are absolutely wearing things like this XD Y'all know my propensity for putting my pets into costume! XD
Creativity doesn’t come without a cost. If you care about the environment, your mind might naturally start to wonder just how big of an impact 3D printing has when it comes to plastic pollution.
The downside is that this hobby results in lots of wasted material. As reported by Filamentive, a whopping third (33%) of 3D prints end up as waste. What’s more, around 70% of 3D printer users don’t recycle their waste.
The upside is that a huge amount of that waste can be recycled and reused. What’s more, the future looks bright with advances in tech leading to improved recycling and a more efficient circular economy.
#5
So my two year old daughter didn’t have a proper place to keep her shoes - So I made this for her.
Some of the things that you can do with your 3D printer’s plastic waste include granulating it, donating it, and melting it down.
Granulating the waste makes it reusable for the 3D printing process. The upside is that creators and businesses save money by reusing existing material, instead of it ending up in landfills.
#9
Finished printing 2.5 days. Cleaned up remainder of trees then preped for paint. Here is the completed render bronzed.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 45 minutes ago
Looks amazing! And plus ten thousand points for the Belgian Malinois, of course XD
Another thing you can do is donate your scrap materials to schools and colleges, which likely have 3D printers. If your waste materials are actually reusable, you can help your local community out this way.
Alternatively, you can melt your scrap to make molds for crafting or to sculpt new designs.
#12
Hi everyone, here's my latest and biggest project. My three-legged cat finally has his own bed on the floor ^^
Have a great day, and keep being creative!
One huge issue that might lead to more inefficiency and plastic waste is how your 3D printer is set up.
A recent piece on XDA emphasizes how your printer’s factory settings might be the cause of greater amounts of scrap. The problem is that factory profiles favor “reliable results over efficient material use.”
However, as you learn the ins and outs of your machine, you can then find ways to make better use of your resources.
#14
LakotaWolf (she/her) 44 minutes ago
I thought this was a photograph for a split second while scrolling down! Looks awesome :)
“Your printer’s default profiles weren’t designed for your room, filament, or typical projects. They have to work in dry offices, damp basements, warm spare rooms, and many other environments the manufacturer can’t predict. They also have to work for people who may not yet know what half the slicer settings do. That means leaving a comfortable margin wherever a leaner setting could cause a failed print,” XDA explains.
#16
Started printing a couple months ago and my goal was to make figures because i’ve always been an avid collector of figurines. This is my first finished print! took a lot of time and work but i’m pretty proud of it.
#17
Fresh off the printer! Articulated iguana printed on my Bambu Lab P1S. Can’t stop playing with it!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 43 minutes ago
I've seen a billion of the same old articulated dragons, foxes, lizards, etc. in a billion peoples' online shops, but this one is more detailed than usual, and the eyes are a nice touch!
#18
My Little Free Library is up and running! I 3-D printed the decorations, and books have been donated by amazing neighbors!!
“Those margins make sense when you’re just getting started. A manufacturer would rather have someone waste a little extra filament than risk a first print lifting, sagging, or coming loose from the plate. The problem is that the same profile often stays in place long after the user has learned what the machine can handle. At that point, a beginner-friendly safeguard can quietly become a permanent source of waste.”
#20
I am an elementary public school librarian and I have an area called MakerSpace where the kids get to be creative. Printed these for decor and fun.
I’m also working on a big 250 USA celebration and theme in my library this year, so the Lego man with the Mohawk is red, white, and blue.
So excited for my students to see them in a few weeks!
#21
So I've printed some Faerie houses, this one being part of a faerie village in a tree trunk out front. It got it's first visitor today. Pretty sure my daughter put the juvenile toad up there, but love the pic regardless.
In a nutshell, consumers value reliability. 3D printer manufacturers know this, so they pre-program settings that don’t prioritize efficiency.
The idea is that you end up using slightly more material, but you don’t have to worry about the design collapsing or having aesthetic flaws.
#22
Hello, I created a 2 in 1 (both a bird drinker and a feeder in the winter) you can install it on a wall or hang it on a thread.
What you can do is experiment with your printer, changing one setting at a time so that you find the right balance between speed, quality, and resource use.
“Some factory settings can stay exactly where they are because they work and don’t create enough waste to justify the effort. Others deserve attention because the same unnecessary plastic appears after nearly every job. The goal isn’t a printer that produces no waste. It’s knowing why the extra material is there,” XDA stresses.
We can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Upvote your favorite pics and join the conversation in the comments with your fellow Pandas.
Which of these designs impressed and inspired you the most? What is the coolest thing that you have ever 3D-printed yourself or seen someone else create?
#32
I just finished this made-to-order, one-of-a-kind Halo 2 themed OG Xbox case. It’s printed in ASA, with a PETG gold “X”.
#36
LakotaWolf (she/her) 42 minutes ago
Very cool, but I wonder why it's necessary, unless this is OP's source of hydration while they drive XD
#39
I just started 3d printing around 2 months ago and wanted to share my first ever print from scratch!
#40
LakotaWolf (she/her) 41 minutes ago
While cool, I am somewhat sad that people cannot be without their phones/streaming/TikTok/media/doomscrolling for even a few moments while outside in the pool :/
#43
I had way too much fun with this. I think it's sparked my creative side and I've really enjoyed learning Blender to fine tune and tweak them.
#45
This wasn't just my project—it was ours.
I handled the printing and assembly, and my beautiful wife absolutely crushed the paint job. She turned a great print into an amazing display piece.
#49
First 2 items for grandkids.
#50
Just finished my latest project. The Christmas House. Made it on my Snapmaker U1. Took me about a week to complete it and the most waste I had while doing the projects was the prime towers but other than that there was very little poop. ( it’s the waste when changing colors.). The detail on this project is awesome and there is absolutely no bleeding of the colors.Just hoping my glue will hold up, if not will need to get stronger glue.
#52
Been printing for a little over a month now. Pretty proud of this one. Im a member of local Veteran Chairt MC and I wanted to replicate our cut. This was step 1. The leather vest.
#53
This is my first big print. It took over 96 hours and a whole lot of patience. We are a Harry Potter loving house and making Dobby fits perfectly.
#54
I made this for a customer from a photograph he sent me...
Printed in white, then hand painted.
#60
A print in Memory of my Star who passed away.
#61
LakotaWolf (she/her) 37 minutes ago
The pet store sells stretchy silicon versions of canned-food lid covers. I wonder what the advantage of a 3D-printed one is; it seems like it wouldn't make a complete seal on the can to hold in moisture.
#65
Power means control, and control means... an ultimate 3D print!
Printed on Bambu Lab, and the level of detail is out of this world! From his iconic metal mask to that menacing, rule-the-world posture, Doctor Doom is ready to bring some serious Latverian supremacy to the shelf. There’s honestly no better feeling than a perfect print coming to life!
#67
This print was finally the print where my wife said "ok you're right the 3D printer is worth it" I don't know if she meant it or if she was just happy I didn't go to home Depot for 1 thing to come back with about 8 other things and not even get what I went there for.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 34 minutes ago
Home Depot sells a 10-pack of outlet plates for $6.50, so unless this cost less than 65 cents to print, or OP really does have zero willpower when it comes to shopping... XD
#69
Printed in 5 colors with stunning detail! The multi-color print really brings the majestic moose to life and highlights every part of the design beautifully.
Printed with the Bambu H2C.
Filament: Bambu
#82
LakotaWolf (she/her) 32 minutes ago
As the owner of a much-loved VW van (Eurovan, not a microbus, sadly) I strongly approve of these! XD
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