What should you give as a Christmas present to a person that has everything? If you own a 3D-printer the answer is simple: give them something that doesn’t physically exist yet. In other words, leverage the freedom and flexibility of a filament-based 3D printer to give them an object that you created on your own. It’s certainly original and even cheaper than comparable gifts (just don’t factor in the costs of owning a 3D-printer in the first place). Here’s 7 free projects we found on the Web, to give you some ideas and get you started and ready for Merry 3D-printed Christmas.
7 Christmas gifts you can 3D-print at home
Last Christmas you gave them your heart? This year save yourself from tears by giving them free 3D-printed presents instead.
View Article details
- Andrea Nepori
- 11 December 2019
Help your frequent traveler friends take care of their apartment plants with this 3D-printed planter that is capable of self-watering the plant it hosts. Designed by Parallel Goods, the free project is printed in two parts, which can be customised by using a different filament color for each one of them.
New York-based design studio CW&T has made available a hundred lamp designs that anyone can download and 3D-print at home (or just buy pre-printed from their store).
Need an institutional, granpa-safe present? Go for the classic: a money clip! Forget silver and gold, and go for a bright plastic filament.
If a money clip isn’t enough, then go for a full 3D-printed smart wallet like this one. It sports a compartment for 5 cards and has room for coins, paper money, or other small flat items (like SD cards), along with a simple self-locking mechanism.
The dot is a coat hanger that doubles as keys holder. It can be printed in various sizes and colors, so that you can actually come up with a proper composition that will fit perfectly on your hipster friends’ walls.
Another classic gift that any aunt or grandma will certainly cherish: a big, nice, hand-painted Christmas ball or another Christmas Tree decoration! Print it with your 3D-printer and then decorate it with the colors the person receiving the gift might like the most.
A bit more expensive than the other items on this list, a 3D-printed 3D-printer is the perfect self-replicating gift that keeps on giving. There’s a few option around, but the best and probably most famous one is RepRap. You can download the schematics (and a list of the non-printable parts you’ll have to buy separately) on the project’s website.