10 Fun Things to 3D Print

So you have yourself a 3D-Printer, so what do you print with it? I’ve compiled a list of 10 prints you can print purely for fun. Take a look and have some fun with that 3D-Printer!

RC Quadcopter

Whether it’s a small micro quad or full size racing quad these are great fun to build and fly. Quadcopters are RC UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) which use 4 spinning propellers:  2 spinning clockwise and 2 anti-clockwise. This makes for a very stable and sometimes fast aircraft. With these kits you print the frames which can be expensive and are a large point of breakage.

Micro Quad

Racing Quad

VR Headset

VR is the next big thing in entertainment, headsets range from PC powered ones like the HTC Vive to ones which use your smartphone as a screen and player. You can already buy many of these, including the Google Cardboard. But why not make a plastic one with out 3D-Printer, with a strap and a pair of cheap lenses you can get VR experience for cheap.

VR Headset

Mouse Trap Powered Car

Another fun item to make a mouse trap powered car. These are fun to make and to run, they can get some good speed.

Coffee Art Stencils

Coffee art is great fun and adds a bit more flavour to your hot drink. There are many designs on thingiverse or you can make your own: I’ve made a tutorial before that shows you how you can simply draw a design and turn it into a 3D design. This is fun, easy and also adds a personal touch to your 3D designs.

Coffee Art Stencil

Flying Toy

A simple toy that many will remember from their childhood. You give it a good spin and it will fly upwards. This is a bit of a novelty but nevertheless is still fun.

 Flying Toy

USB Drive Cryptex

A model which is more practical is a USB drive housing. However a unique feature of this USB stick housing is that it is a fully working cryptex lock: You print rings of your choice to make your own combination that will only allow the USB stick to work if you enter the code correctly.

USB Drive Cryptex

USB Drive Cryptex

Pop Pop Boat

Pop Pop boat have been made for a long time now usually using a cardboard carton as a hull and a can from a drink as a engine. You place a candle under the engine which causes water to be pushed out the back of the boat via straws. Now we can 3D print these boats-simply print the hull and engine then using strong, water tight glue glue straws and some tin foil to the engine. Slot the engine in, place a candle in and watch it go. A great feature about this design that I really like is how the engine can be swapped very easily as it is not held in by anything. This means you can make many of these engines and play around with different thickness of tin foil while not having to reprint the whole thing.

3D Printed Pop Pop Boat

Samurai Sword Pen Holder

This is a very neat addition to your desk: it keep your best and favourite pens well displayed and close to hand. A fairly easy model to print, after that I like to stick it down with some bluetack. After all they do say the pen is mightier than the sword:

Samurai Pen Holder

RC Car

The OpenR/C projects are a true representation of what 3D printing is capable of. This is just one of many OpenR/C projects which you can build and then use. The great part is that if one part breaks you just need to print another one!

OpenR/C F1 Car

GeoCache

Some of you may know or not know what GeoCaching is, in a nutshell it is an outdoor activity in which you use your phone’s GPS and clues to find a container (Or other things). In essence it is a world wide treasure hunt suitable for all ages. You can also make and hide geocaches, there is a great design for a micro cache on thingiverse which you can print and hide for others to find. You would be surprised to how many visitors you will get:

GeoCache

I hope this list has given you some things to print with your 3D Printer, if you have any other suggestions perhaps I will make a Pt.2. If you enjoyed this article let us know in the comments below and follow us on our social media.