The classic BMW E9 car ceased production in 1975 and whilst you can still get most parts from BMW and 3rd party suppliers, there are some of those must-have small trim parts that are just not available anymore.

That’s where desk-top 3D printing comes onto the scene. 3D model from an old broken part and reproduced in small quantity runs.

A shameless copy of an existing game I've seen on the web, but due to the Covid lockdown my kids were bouncing off the walls, this should amuse them for a minute or two!

I’ve been the owner of my classic BMW 2002 Baur for 38 years and whilst 99% of parts for the car are still available, they can be expensive, especially those small trim parts. That’s where the wonders of desktop 3D printing can really come into its own!

Apart from expense, some parts are NLA and trying to locate decent second-hand versions on the internet can be time consuming.

But if a part is available to model from, then a new version can be created in no time at all. Even photographs can be used as reference or a lefthand part can be 3D modelled, mirrored in software and printed.

Progress of a 1/16th scale model of my 1973 BMW 2002 Baur classic car.

I've owned this car for 38 years but due to various issues its been off the road for 33 years of that time undergoing a very slow restoration.

However, i'm hoping finally have it back on the road in Spring of 2018!

In the meantime, i'm going to 3D print a 1/16th scale version of it. 

I created a 3D model of the car many years ago, but now i have 3D printing technology on my desktop, a 3D printed version will make a great project - hopefully won't take 30 years to finish!

Inspired by an existing design - my 3d printable version of a folding travel coat hanger.

Just what you need when travelling. Light enough to pack in your case. Particularly useful if you want to rinse out clothes when you are away or just hang stuff up.

2 configuration options for children or adult clothes.
Also includes a belt, tie, dress, light weight trousers hanging ability.

And the design just keeps giving – i recently created a version based on the VW Polo Harlequin!

See it in action here: https://youtu.be/OOydxydYYmg

Enjoy!

I recently bought a great design peg coat hook bar, but found my various key rings didn't fit over the pegs. Inspired by the design, I modelled and 3d printed this add-on.
Now my keys have a designer home!

I'm late to the party but my children have just been bitten by the 'fidget spinner' bug!
I've been printing some great 3D printable spinners and Ebay'ing 608 bearings but then thought, why not print the bearing as well?
So a quick model and print produced this item - and it does spin!
https://youtu.be/SXjxay6XPz4

Just add a spinner of choice and thumb caps.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1936727

Please don't expect 'real' bearing performance but if you have your printer nicely tuned (not over-extruding) then this can be used in spinners.

Enjoy!

Another perfect application for desktop 3d printing!

A friend of mine has an ML270 and he mentioned the wind deflector in the sunroof was broken. The reason was two little plastic clips in which the supports for the wind deflector brackets had broken. He said these were not available individually from Mercedes, instead, you have to purchase a whole new wind deflector frame at a cost of £130.00.

Modeled from his broken piece and a quick print later the first test clip was put in place. This first draft was printed in the standard 3D print material PLA. Unfortunately, this plastic has a very low glass transition point. Basically, if it gets hot the material will soften and inside a car, especially around the sunroof area, cars can get very hot!

However, the clip fitted perfectly, so v2 was printed in ABS, the standard plastic used in most vehicles. This material should withstand the usual internal car temperatures and if it ever breaks again - it's just a quick print to replace!

My son is studying the Stone Age period at school and asked me if i could create an axe for him. Based on a actual artefact, i modelled a simple 3 part axe.

Print parts in appropriate materials - wood effect handle. stone head and material of colour choice for strapping. Just some glue needed to complete.

Please note: not to be used for hunting or gathering.

Enjoy!

Easter is fast approaching and my children love painting eggs.
I couldn't find any painting stations I'd liked to have bought so i designed and printed my own version.

And here it is...

Maybe slightly over designed and engineered, but hopefully it'll make the process of painting those eggs even more fun! 

Just add paint colours of choice into the 'yolk pots', grab a brush and away you go!

This version should fit UK egg sizes Med/Large.
If your eggs are other sizes, you may have to lengthen the springs 'in slicer' to accommodate those?

Enjoy

The company i work for has 2 large wide format HP printers.

The paper these printers use is delivered in card board boxes and these boxes are then often used to transport our printed projects around the world. Taken by colleagues on planes, trains and cars but the boxes are difficult to carry and especially heavy if they contain large rolled up printouts. 

So, i came up with desktop 3D printable carry system: 2 collars, a strap adjuster add some webbing and now we have a way to not only carry our projects in comfort but just as importantly also a way to repurpose these HP boxes and save the company some money.

So good, they named it twice!
A pencil case that looks like a pencil - seems obvious to me!

Designed this for my new school starting children.
Originally printed with flex filament for the 'rubber' end and 'wood' filament for the wooden tip, but this version is designed as an all plastic construction. 

Print in coloured filament as shown. Glue all pieces together.
'Rubber' end has a twist fitting into the silver collar.

Enjoy!

Artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen developed Little Sun Original to bring clean, affordable light to the 1.1 billion people worldwide living without electricity in ‘off-grid’ areas.

I have two of these lamps that my children often use at night to read with. Unfortunately, after a slightly too enthusiastic game, one of the lamps cases got damaged.

The great design of these lamps means its very easy to take apart and looking at the structure, I decided to utilise my 3D modelling skills and recreate the design suitable for 3D printing. I did email Little Sun marketing dept with the hope of getting the digital 3D files, but a very nice response declined my request.

A couple of iterations later and the first fully functional version came off my printer. I reused the electronics, lens and on/off cover. Fitted all to my 3D printable version and now my daughter has a very fetching green Little Sun!  

A vase design inspired by the Italian designer Gaetano Pesce.

Created for a friend who saw the vase in a design article. She fell in love with it but the original was slightly out of her price range. So she asked me if i would design and 3d print her a version.

A nice project to create in my 3D software using the sculpting tools available. I believe the actual vase is produced in rubber but this version is printed in PLA - came out okay. The next version will be in a flexible material.

I’m only a leisure weekend cyclist but a hardcore cycling colleague of mine mentioned she took bananas on her long rides but it was always a pain to carry them. Taped to the frame was a bugger to undo ‘on the go’ and stuffed into back pouches meant they often got squashed during the ride – apparently.

So, in my product designing spare time, I came up with this crazy thing.

Water and Banana only a fingertip away!

Designed for small bananas only (need to keep ride weight down)

DISCLAIMER: This is the first prototype and hasn't been extensively road-tested. 
PLEASE DO NOT use in ride situations where unrestrained bananas may cause injury!

Visit my Etsy store to purchase the design.

Enjoy!

Band saw boxes are boxes made out of wood using only a bandsaw for cutting them out. The wood may be a solid block, a laminated block or a log from the woodpile. Whereas most boxes have straight sides and square corners, band saw boxes have virtually no restrictions as to shape.

I've just discovered this style of box and thought it would be great to create a 3D printable version - so here it is.

Band saw boxes are normally cut from laminated blocks, so my filament interpretation uses black PLA and ColorFabb Woodfill http://colorfabb.com/woodfill-fine. I also had to change black filament spools mid print, hence the gloss and matt 'blacks'.

I've included two sets of drawers: with supports and without. Use whichever works for you.

Enjoy!

I was recently invited by Mightycast.inc to submit a 3D printable modular lens design for their new hackable smart band bracelet being launched on the market - Nex Smart band. 

No brief exactly, but just to interpret what would be appropriate for a smart wearable that could be customised to personal tastes. I created three themes of lenses; abstract shapes, name personalised and aspirational. 

The abstract shapes caught the eye of the competition panel and i was awarded the winning design followed by an interview! 

Hopefully, we may be seeing these lenses on the actual finished band?

This was an experiment in achieving a 'real' wood effect using ColorFabb Woodfill filament.
ColorFabb filament is great stuff, but it didn't give me the 'real' wood surface finish i was looking for. 

So i designed and modelled this simple little chest, spending a lot of time creating the wood grain texture onto all surfaces and faux Dovetail joints. And to complete, i just had to add some hinges and a latch.

Printed in ColourFabb Woodfill http://colorfabb.com/woodfill-fine
and
Faberdashery Robot Siver PLA http://www.faberdashery.co.uk/products-page/print-materials/robot-silver/

The file sizes are quite large - sorry about that, but the wood texture surface effect needed a high model poly-count to achieve the detail. I may see if can optimise those.

Enjoy!

Inspired by the Dr. Seuss stories and characters, here's my 3d printable version of the classic wonky chest of drawers. As soon as this design was off my printer, my youngest daughter grabbed it and it now contains her jewellery and 'girl' stuff - so i reckon that's as good a use as any!

Enjoy!

Printed in Ultimaker Blue
https://ultimaker.com/en/products/materials
and
Faberdashery Punk Star Pink
http://www.faberdashery.co.uk/products-page/print-materials/punk-star-pink/

If you hate soggy soap bars, then this little design will make that problem a thing of the past!
Cradles the soap bar and allows the water to drain away.
I came across this clever design recently and really wanted to create a 3D printable version - so here it is. 

Simple, but so effective!

Enjoy!

My latest interactive puzzle poster design is another challenging 3D printing project but with the added bonus of being connected to a very worthwhile charitable cause! http://nifty50.sociodesign.co.uk

It would make a great hanging artwork or even a puzzle with a contemporary theme for bigger kids!

A collaboration with a designer friend of mine.
50 Designers x50 Posters. A poster project that challenges participants to creatively interpret the word 'Money' in aid of @CMHCharity organised by @SocioDesign
http://nifty50.sociodesign.co.uk/bidding/57/wolff-olins/the-goods-life

I'm hoping it'll attract lots of interest and help raise loads of money for the receiving charity
http://cmhcharity.org.uk

The auction has only a few days left, so if you would like to bid for this or any of the great designs, then please go ahead and support a great cause!

However, if you fancy a 3D printing challenge, then here it is for free

I'm sure someone will buy the original!

Enjoy!

The first in a line of Pinksie the Whale men's and women's jewellery.

These have already generated a lot of interest from friends and i think they're going to be a winner!

Printed on my Ultimaker 2 at the highest resolution - 0.6mm in Faberdashery Punk Star Pink PLA. These little characters were remodelled from the original Pinksie and the Cufflink part was a easy purchase from CKB Ltd, some glue and they came out great!

Next a ladies brooch and maybe a necklace piece?

Watch this space...

First real test with ColourFab's metallic 3D printing filament - Copperfill.

And what better subjects but 3d scanned busts of myself and my lovely wife! Also a first, testing the Structure sensor 3d scanner attached to my iPad.

Both came out really well! The Structure Sensor scanner is a breeze to use and whilst the scans aren't ultra high resolution the detail is great for these type of applications.

The CooperFill was also easy to print with and after some experimenting with post-polishing, the metal effect is really convincing!

Gonna be doing a lot more projects with ColourFab.

These mounts can be expensive and they seem to get lost very easily, so… another request from my IT dept to design a 3D printable version. Lots on Thingiverse, but i like a challenge!
Fits into a standard Flash Shoe mount, with Ninjaflex clamp ring mount and collar to isolate the mic from any vibration (tan coloured parts). All part are either thread or slot together - no glue should be needed. 
All parts print without supports at 0.2mm (or higher for threaded parts).
Print the Flash shoe mount with 100% infill for strength.
The mic clamp is joined at the hinge by a metal 'pin' (see parts photo) i discovered a cut down large paper clip worked great (1.75mm dia).

Print in a strong filament of your choice.
I used Faberdashery Classic Black and Tan Ninjaflex.

NOTE:
This mount hasn't been fully tested, i will post updates if parts design evolve.

Enjoy!

When you are in an awkward position trying to attach a nut to a bolt, a finger wrench may be just what you need. Tight corners especially, and anywhere that requires reaching into the unknown: dropping a spanner down the back of a radiator is all too easy, dropping your finger is not.

I recently discovered this great little gadget on a DIY blog but unfortunately the company that originally supplied it is no longer making the product (why??) and i can't find anywhere to purchase existing stock.

I had to have one, so I modelled and 3D printed this little beauty and it works a treat!

Easy to use:
There is a gap all down the back side, thereby allowing one size to fit a wide range of fingers. Slip a nut or bolt into the wrench as shown in the two images. Finger pressure keeps the nut or bolt in place. The tapered slot inside the wrench prevents the nut or bolt from turning.

Suitable for 1/2inch nut/bolt and smaller.

Print PLA (Faberdashery Mellow Yellow) or ABS 0.2mm 100% infill for strength.

Enjoy!

There isn't a single area that 3D printing is or will have a major impact on our everyday lives, and the dental industry is no exception.

Interestingly, i'm going through my own experience with the latest innovations in dentistry - recently my front tooth fell out (an accident as a child - long story), but fortunately, i have a friend who has his own dental practice and they are looking after the replacement of my front tooth.

I also discovered that they have one of a handful in the UK orthodontic 3d scanners on site and knowing i was a keen 3d printing enthusiast they kindly scanned my teeth and sent me the digitised files to test.

Orange teeth may not be the way to go but they do make a great funky paper weight!

But it won't be long before all dentists will have access to 3d scanning/printing and the long wait for the lab to return moulds will be a thing of the past...

My daughter's class end of year gift for their teacher. Mr Murphy.

She helped with design and mentioned his favourite colour is purple. The final award also had a 3d printed gold base and all the class signed on the bottom.
Mr Murphy is a fab teacher!

My company held a summer two team table tennis tournament.

Once again the flexibility of Desktop 3D printing was utilised. A quick model download and tweak from Thingiverse and in the space of an over night 3D print and a few hours to create and laser printed labels, we had 12 winners medals ready and waiting for their recipients - i didn't win one!

My Philippe Starck inspired sandal design was only going to be viable if printed in a flexible material - I chose Ninjaflex. 

Ninjaflex can be tricky to print with (flexible filaments often just get jammed in the extruder mechanism) but so far printing slow and hot seems to work pretty well.

This 3rd iteration of the design took 20 hours to print in total and needed a slight amount of cleanup but they came out great!

Now to test on the beach....

The idea for the recycle sculptures came from a request from the facilities manager of the company I work for www.wolffolins.com.

Wolff Olins is a very environmentally aware company and has a lot of initiatives in place to recycle and lower our carbon footprint. One of those initiatives are recycling bins, however unless you opt for the garish, brightly coloured bins (not attractive) the only other options are a very uninspiring white, so the challenge was how to make these bins more engaging and to get people to actually use them?

The design for the sculptures was inspired by some recycle bins i had seen years ago on my travels in Italy - Italian's are very recycling savvy! I couldn't find those particular bins on the web, so the idea to model and 3d print was born.

Design and modelling was fairly easy. Create a profile of the soda can, bottle and cup. Lathe nurbs in Cinema C4D, a bit of additional modelling and internal support structure for the 'open can' detail, cut the bottoms off at an interesting angle and they were good to go. I will have to design a 'cardboard' sculpture too.

Export as a .stl and sliced via Makerware. I wanted the items to be 'cut through' and at an angle to grab attention and i knew i had succeeded when i noticed lots of my colleague commenting and taking pictures of them whilst they were still on the MakerBot being printed! 

Printed on my office MB Rep 2, standard settings, 0.2mm, Faberdashery white PLA. A few hours each to print, some good strong glue to connect them to the bin lids – they were meant to be positioned in the centre of the lid, but because they are placed at the front, people use them as handles to open the lids - i might need stronger glue!

The company i work for has a 'sit where you want' hot-desk policy but how do you show people which desks are available? Easy, just download and printout these cute low poly trees, glue together and pop them on the desks - job done!

You can also choose the 'blank' based versions and just print them as sweet little window trees

They could also make great 'build' toys for children.

4 trees designs - each tree is split into 4 parts:
Pot (with additional 'Hot desk' or blank base)
Soil
Trunk
Tree
Optional 'fruit' to add a touch of colour

Print them at low res, low-ish infill, no supports needed.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER:
If using as a toy, Please, please keep small parts away from young children. They could be a chocking hazard.

The project was purely an exercise in my 3D modelling and the capabilities of my home-use desktop 3D printer (Ultimaker 2). 

This project made a global web impact when it was first uploaded in Jan 2015 - just Google '3d printed Rolex' and you'll see the amount of coverage it recieved.

The original article: http://www.ablogtowatch.com/guy-3d-prints-excellent-massive-rolex-submariner-watch-true-desk-diver/

The latest mention is on Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2015/04/23/this-designer-3d-printed-a-rolex-watch-and-the-results-could-impact-how-we-personalize-wearables/

I'm lucky enough to have owned a Rolex Submariner for over 10 years, and always admired its quality and style, and so, using my watch as reference, I had previously completed a project to model and 3D print a real size version of the watch.  It was one of my first models uploaded to the 3D print model site: Thingiverse.com.

However, on purchasing the Ultimaker 2 3D printer, i thought it would be interesting to try and create a more detailed version of the watch. I had achieved as much detail as I could at real size with the previous project, so the option of up-scaling for this new project was chosen.

From there, it was (just) a case of taking detailed measurements from my watch and scaling 300%. (the face diameter is a convenient 100mm). The 3D modelling was a challenge, and i had to resolve how the model would piece together. Lots of iterations to test-fit pieces. The face dial with the lettering was the biggest challenge. I could have made it easy for myself and just found a picture of the dial, laser printed it and stuck it on a blank disc, but this project was to produce the model via 3D printing, so another way had to be found, and I have to say, I'm really happy with my solution!

It involved printing the face with de-bossed lettering at a very high (3D print) resolution, then flooding the de-bossed areas with white paint, letting that dry, and then surface-sanding the whole face back to reveal the lettering. (I have subsequently improved the results with further refinements to the technique).

Not a serious offering for a new royal birth souvenir, but a quick technical challenge to 3d print an Lithophane image via desk top 3D printing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZRzFZ9A7YI

Interestingly, this technique of creating an image by varying the thickness of material so when backlit produces a photographic representation was popular when the new princesses, great, great, great grandmother was on the throne. Now created using a modern day technology. Came out pretty well!

And interest on the internet as well...

http://3dprint.com/63528/royal-baby-princess-charlotte/

A 3D printable version of a little story book character my wife and a group of her friends have created. Check out: http://www.pinksie.org/en/#start

I've included 2 versions of the model: hollow and solid. 
Print hollow and it could make a great kids bedside lamp. 
Use a cool LED bulb please if used as a lamp.
Print without supports - the underside may print slightly rough depending on how well your printer handles overhangs.

Who is Pinksie?
Pinksie is a thought provoking project which began in London in 2012 with the purpose to teach children to celebrate diversity, be imaginative and assist and care for others.

Pinksie was born from the friendship between six women who believe that individuality and creativity should be nurtured in every child’s learning.

Pinksie's activities are inspired by the “Pinksie the Whale” books about a pink whale who through her adventures overcomes her fear of being different.

Each year the Pinksie team works with schools, artists, galleries and museums, running creative workshops, exhibitions and readings with the added benefit that proceeds from fundraising events go to help chosen children’s charities and to keep funding workshop for free in the school.

3D printed Bee House

Originally designed for an internal initiative from the company I work for:http://archive.wolffolins.com/work/honey-club?ghost=1

In addition to Hives, Bees also like to ‘rest’ in Bee houses. Normally, small holes in walls, wood, stone - solitary Bees just ‘chilling out’.

The shape of this Bee house was inspired by the sound wave generated by a Bee in flight, Bee coloured, a planter at the top to plant a Bee attracting plant, small various sized holes around the shape and a nail hole to fix it to a wall or tree.

3D Printed in Biodegradable PLA filament - separate coloured layers and glued together using a Bee friendly glue. Research suggests that Bees are beginning to utilise plastics found in their local environment for nest making – potentially, a viable way to produce Bee homes by anyone with a home 3D printer!

FACT: Teenagers are unable to hang towels up in the bathroom.

SOLUTION: 3D print yourself this handy simple towel clip, insert a 20mm diameter ball, the clip has enough 'give' to allow the ball to push in from the side - but it wont fall out. (the ball can be bought or 3D printed as well).

Slip the towel up behind the floating ball - ball drops down locking the towel firmly in place. A quick pull on the towel to release it.

Fix to the bathroom door or wall and never again deal with a towel covered bathroom floor!

Print at 0.2mm, high% infill - no support or raft needed for clip.
Ball may require some support if you wish.
Print ball at 100% infill to give it some 'weight' or purchase a 20mm steel ball or marble from any good toy/hardware store.

Scale the Towel clip up or down for other sizes of ball insert.

Never again hear...'Dad, can you untangle my headphones please?' 
This handy cable tidy prints in 2 parts, 
glue together with a 'super' glue and its ready to use.

Print at 0.2 resolution.

No supports or raft needed.

Scale up or down to fit various size cables.
Enjoy!

An exercise in design and printing.

Cute little stand for photos, phone stand or displaying really small paintings!

Prints in one piece.
Break off built in supports.

No software slicer rafts or supports needed.

Print at 0.3mm resolution

I was asked by the kitchen at my company to create a new table sign for our restaurant - the old one's were made from paper and beginning to look a bit 'dog-eared'.

So i designed and printed these.
The area under 'Reserved' has our company name embossed into the model, but if you haven't access to 3d software then just write onto the panel to customise the signs.

Printed face down as the .stl is set up

No raft or supports needed.

An elegant candle stand, the design inspired by the form of a curving wave.
Print a pair in silver or gold for a wonderful festive display!

Print as tall as your printer will allow - only scale on the z axis if possible.

Prints well at 0.3mm resolution, but higher res will give you a smoother surface finish. The interior is hollow to allow faster print times, but if you like a 'weighty' feel to your candle holders, fill the interior with sand and 'blank off' the base.

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Please don't let small children play with this lit item or put it in a location where it could be easily knocked over.

Loosely inspired by Philipe Starck Tong footware- 
'Low poly' form version of the sandal printed in Ninjaflex.
Left and right feet models included.

Ninjaflex can be tricky to print but these came out great after a 
15 hour per foot print time. Printed on my UM 2 (standard feeder).
0.2mm, 235C @ 20mm/s.

I didn't print with supports and those overhangs are a bit lumpy, but if you can use supports that work then that would help. I would suggest a 20% infill - version shown has a 30% and are a tad stiff!

Enjoy!

Designed with the latest Triumph motorcycle brand logo.
Print with dual extruder printer or as i did on my Rep 2, printed in 3 parts: base, lid and white inserts.
Print inserts and lid face down.
Glue lettering and flag bars into lid.
Somewhere to keep your motorcycle key handy.

Another variation in my trinket box series.
Prints in 4 parts - colours as shown.
Fit tolerances are optimised for 0.1mm resolution printing.
No supports or rafts needed.

This is an update to my previous model.
Hopefully, easier to assemble and more durable.
Printed on MB Rep 2 with standard 
Makerware settings.
7 parts - optimised to print at 0.2mm PLA.
2 colour face (filament change mid print).
No supports needed.
Full pdf printing and assembly instructions included.

As the title says...

Made bespokely for a musician friend - but hopefully the egg compartments are a universal fit?

Slot compartment should be filled with foam to slot plectrums into.

Printed at 0.2mm PLA 1.75mm
No supports or rafts needed.

Glue 'latch' and 'hinges' into slots in the 'EggboxTOP'
Slide a length of filament through hinges - glue to secure.