Day by day, 3d printing technology is becoming more and more available to consumers. Sure a lower end printer still costs a thousand dollars or so, but that price is consistently falling. Of course that’s only for a smaller one, with large ones costing tens of thousands or more. However, size isn’t everything – you can do some pretty amazing things with any size 3d printer, professional and consumer grade alike. Here’s a list of the top 3 coolest projects I’ve come across so far.
Pokemon Gym Badges
This is possibly the coolest gift a child could have received, a hand designed set of Pokemon badges. The shapes were scanned, cut out, and put into a 3d model. Using Sketchup, he exported the 3d file in a version in which is printer could read.
48 wheel rover
The only words to describe this project are simply awesome. This rover has four “main wheels” each containing 12 smaller wheels. You’re probably wondering what the point of all that is. Well it enables the robot to move in all sorts of unique directions that a typical four wheel robot would not be able to travel, including diagonally. It also allows for some cool steering and maneuvering compared to its four wheeled counterparts.
Real gun
Yes, it’s actually possible to make a real gun that fires actual bullets. However, don’t get your hopes up just yet. Despite what the media says about this being the next big terrorism threat, it’s simply not the case. Since it’s made out of 3d printer filaments, it’s very fragile. In fact, even if you’re lucky enough to get off a bullet you certainly won’t be getting off much more than that. Makers of the first rifle experienced cracking after firing just 14. However, other printers say their gun has fired that – and can even withstand somewhere around 500.