Whats the most useful thing you've 3d printed?

eric

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Sep 2, 2021
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scsi.blue
For me it was a custom little "shield" for my garage door sensor - it was originally installed on the wrong side so the sun blinds it for a few hours a day a few months out of the year. Instead of standing and holding my hand up to block the sun or moving it and re-aligning it - I just made a little cap brim that shields it.
 
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Nov 4, 2021
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Tucson, AZ
I recreated the plastic brackets that hold the retaining bars that keeps things from falling out of the door shelves on my fridge.
That was maybe like 20g of plastic that went to something useful out of the 5+ kilos of junk I've printed.
 

KennyPowers

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Jun 27, 2022
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Most useful? I guess the print that I "use" the most is the little hook for my headphones that clips onto the edge of my desk.
 
Nov 4, 2021
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Tucson, AZ
Oh, I also printed a "hook" to hang he dog's leash that is shaped like the back end of a dog. The leash hangs from it's tail.
 

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max1zzz

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Sep 23, 2021
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I managed to make some NuBus brackets, Getting the correct balance of getting them thick enough to survive printing while being thin enough to actually fit between the card and case was a pain but I was pretty happy with how they came out in the end

Also found while doing this that although the manafacturer of the PETG I was using said it should be printed at some quite low temps the layer adhesion sucked, increasing the temp about 20C above the recommended print them made them stick so much better
 
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wottle

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Oct 30, 2021
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Fort Mill, SC
For me it was a custom little "shield" for my garage door sensor - it was originally installed on the wrong side so the sun blinds it for a few hours a day a few months out of the year. Instead of standing and holding my hand up to block the sun or moving it and re-aligning it - I just made a little cap brim that shields it.
Ha, my sister had the same issue. I tried creating a tube, but at sunset at a certain time of the year there was no stopping it. Unfortunately, the wires were run behind the drywall, so I had to cut the wires, and swap the emitter and receivers. Curious how your shield was designed, though.

As for my most useful print(s). First, I bought my daughter an inflatable gymnastics mat, and it arrived a few days before Christmas, only for me to realize it uses a special pump to inflate (I learned it is a Halkey-Roberts valve typically used in stand up paddle boards). No place that sold pumps could get it to me in time, and I really wanted to have it inflated for Christmas morning, so I found a Halkey-Robers valve adapter on Thingiverse, and then found a replacement valve adapter for the Coleman air pump I had, did some slicing and mashing together in MeshMixer, and got to printing. The first one didn't work, but after a bit of adjustment, the second print worked and I was able to inflate her mat so she could use it.

On the vintage Mac side, I'd say my most useful ones were the feet for my Quadra 700, the BlueSCSI mounts for my SE and SE/30, and my external BlueSCSI cases.
 

eric

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Sep 2, 2021
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scsi.blue
Ha, my sister had the same issue. I tried creating a tube, but at sunset at a certain time of the year there was no stopping it. Unfortunately, the wires were run behind the drywall, so I had to cut the wires, and swap the emitter and receivers. Curious how your shield was designed, though.
I just accidentally hit this with my foot after years of it working and it broke! It was just designed to be a little hat that had some supports that held it in place around the emitter.
 

wottle

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Oct 30, 2021
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Fort Mill, SC
I just accidentally hit this with my foot after years of it working and it broke! It was just designed to be a little hat that had some supports that held it in place around the emitter.
Ah, so the sun was coming it at a higher angle, and a cover that served as a hat brim over the receiver was enough to shield it. My sister's problem was more due to the light coming at sunset low enough that it would have to be a long tube extending a decent amount to try to filter out the sunlight while still allowing enough of the IR signal to make its way to the sensor.
 

phunguss

Tinkerer
Dec 24, 2023
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Stillwater, MN
Most useful: Knobs for 4-20 hex bolts to use on my telescopes.
Knobs.jpg


Most frustrating/fun: Mini Macs powered by Hackintosh'd NUCs.

Mini MacPro trashcan
35_hoodup.jpg


iMac G3 mini
Final_compare-danger.jpg


iMac G4 lamp
900_mini-wide.jpg


G3 Bondi Blue PowerMac in progress
LW9-backside2.jpg
 
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phunguss

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Dec 24, 2023
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Stillwater, MN
Does anyone have a photo of the bottom of a PowerMac G3 Blue and White? My 3D model is based on a graphite/sawtooth, so I have no idea what the bottom really looks like.
IMG_2925-sm.jpg


If I can make a computer this small, why can't Apple (M4 MacPro, come on!)? Even enough room for a spare 2.5 drive.
IMG_2923-sm.jpg


IMG_2920-sm.jpg

I might need Denise from SNL to open the door on this one.