While I had access to plenty of great 3D printers in college, I generally preferred to machine parts. If you have time to spend in a well equipped machine shop, simple parts can often be machined in less time than it takes to print them. Once I graduated and was demoted to hobby machines, I quickly realized I had more projects than I had time for. After using a few Prusa i3s at Fermilab I was shocked at the quality of the parts, and decided to buy a Prusa i3 MK3S for myself.
After a couple years of printing, I’ve had more fun than I could have imagined designing and printing plastic parts. The 3D printer now gets a lot more use than my hobby metalworking machines! I love using the mill and lathe, but it’s great to have a project printing while I’m away at work, or working on another project.
1/5 Scale Surface Gage and Plate
A roughly 1/5 scale Murkens surface gauge and Starrett step-side granite plate. The surface gauge functions just like the real deal with wave springs, threaded inserts, and a 3D printed flexure. The base is filled with steel ball bearings to provide enough weight so it slides around the plate nicely. The plate reads “Grade: FF” with a calibration date about 20 years in the future. I haven’t made a small enough indicator to fit the setup yet, but that’s a project for another time.
The Skelefin Drone Turtle Fin
Click here to get the .STL file from Thingiverse!
When a racing drone crashes upside down in the grass two of the motors can reverse direction momentarily to flip the drone right side up for a quick takeoff. A fin helps keep the props clear of the grass to allow the motors to spool up quickly.
I designed this fin to be lightweight, but stiff enough not to bend over under the weight of the drone. It can be easily 3D printed from flexible TPU plastic and has more character than a plain shark fin. This fin was favored by multi-time drone racing World Champion Evan Turner during the 2021 MultiGP World Cup and used in Five33 Promotional material.
Drone Racing Timer Base Station
A 3D printed enclosure that puts a LapRF drone racing timing puck, Raspberry Pi, and Power Over Ethernet (POE) adapter into one convenient package. The enclosure puts the timer at the ideal angle for best performance, and has plenty of venting to allow air flow to cool the Raspberry Pi and POE adapter.
The timer outputs data over USB to the Pi, which then converts the data and sends it out the Pi ethernet port. The POE adapter provides an easy way to power the Pi, and the Pi provides power to the timing puck over USB.
5V Regulator and Low Voltage Cutoff Box
Click here for more info and the .STL file on Thingiverse!
An easy to 3D print box with a 4S-6S LiPo input low voltage cutoff connected to a 5V USB output. Great for powering drone racing timers, lights, or just charging your phone when camping from beat up old LiPo batteries!
3D Printed Tool Organizers
Possibly one of my favorite uses for a 3D printer, custom tool organizers make it a lot easier to cram more tools into whatever space you have. The mill tool organizer shown on the right not only looks great, but makes it easy to keep track of the tools I need any time I use the mill.
Anyone who has ever bought cheap machining tools knows how poorly designed and cheap the inserts that hold the tools in the box can be. A 3D printed custom insert for the parallels shown on the left was a big upgrade from the two crummy pieces of pre-torn-in-half foam the box came with.
Mad Max Nux Bobble Head
Click here for the model by Saltmarsh on Thingiverse
A 3D printed and painted bobblehead I made as a Christmas gift for a friend. The silver parts were spray painted with a silver-hammered finish, then dry brushed black for added texture. The skull was painted with ivory spray paint, then a black wash was applied. I used a heat gun to evaporate some areas of the black wash faster to add some extra texture. I stripped the galvanized coating off the spring using Ospho (phosphoric acid), then left it in a salt water bath for a few days to add some extra patina.
