3D printers have come a long way over the years. You can now create amazing gadgets, robots, and sculptures with them. Here are 40 3D printed gadgets, robots, and DIY projects you don’t want to miss:
Pi Tree: a 3D printed kinetic sculpture that changes shape and puts on a mesmerizing show when twisted from one side to another.
Youbionic Double Hand: a wearable robot hand that you can wear on both arms to get more done. It is printed in plastic and has a lightweight design.
Pleurobot: has 3D printed bones and motorized joints. This salamander inspired robot can walk, crawl, and swim under water.
Poppy: an open source humanoid robot that stands 84cm tall. It has 25 smart actuators, 2 wide-angle camera, and a LCD screen. It is powered by PyPot.
Open Bionics 3D Printed Prosthetic Limbs: these can be controlled through sensors placed on your muscles. The fingers can be moved independently and allow for different gripping modes.
MX-Phoenix from Zenta: this giant 3D printed hexapod robot can negotiate uneven terrain. It has 6x MX-64T and 12x MX-106T servos and runs C++ code on a Teensy 3.6.
Terminator T800 Robot: an awesome robot for the fans of the Terminator franchise. This 3D printed bot responds to simple voice commands.
Third Thumb: a 3D printed motorized extra finger that can be controlled by your feet. It consists of a flexible thumb, two servos, batteries, and Bluetooth foot controllers.
Steampunk Robotic Watch: a steampunk robot that stays on your wrist and automatically writes and erases the time.
LUNAR Model with Augmented Reality: a beautiful 3D printed model that teaches you a thing or two about our moon. This was made with error precision of 0.025 millimeters.
3D Printed Levitating Death Star: based on the Levitron Ion Revolution Platform, this project is all about levitating your own 3D printed Death Star with magnets.
Death Star Ring Box: the perfect ring box for proposal to a geek. It is 3D printed in metal or plastic.
Star Wars DeadTrooper: another interesting 3D printing project for Star Wars fans.
3D Printed Scorpion Tank: ready for IR battles, this tank has a Clark TK22 board compatible with Tamiya and Heng Long IR battle systems.
Clockwerk: a 3D printed, 3-axis tourbillon with 99 parts, 34 of which are printed.
Doorman: a 3D printed animatronic sculpture with Arduino that opens its eyes and looks around when motion is detected.
86Humanoid Rider: a 3D printed biped robot based on 86Duino. It can get up and perform various simple moves.
Star Wars R2-D2 Echo Stand: this was 3D printed in PLA. Works with the 1st and 2nd generation Echo.
3D Printed Death Star Google Home Mini Holder: a beautiful holder for your Google Home Mini that keeps your device safe and doesn’t interfere with its features.
Dish Washing Robot: tired of washing the dishes on your own? This 3D printed robot can do the job for you.
Thor Hammer Table: a cool table with a 3D printed translucent hammer. It comes with a custom programmed microprocessor.
Water Droplet Kinetic Sculpture: a 3D printed desk toy that creates a wave-like pattern that happens when a droplet lands on water. You just have to crank the handle to get this working.
NimbRo-OP2: a 3D printed research robot with open design that works with ROS. It plays soccer and can do a whole lot more.
Vorpal: a 3D printed combat hexapod that can be programmed with Scratch. It is made with Arduino hardware.
3D Printed OpenRC Formula 1 Car: a RC car you can print in PLA with NinjaFlex tires. You are going to need brushless motors, battery, and a transmitter/receiver set.
Humble Velocipede: this 3D printed desktop walking machine was inspired by Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest creatures. It can move on coffee tables and other flat surfaces.
3D Printed LEGO Electric Skateboard: made with an electric motor (1.5kW) and giant 3D printed bricks.
3D Printed Pokemon Chess Pieces: a fun gift idea for Pokemon fans. It has 32 3D printed chess pieces that portray Pokemon characters.
3D Printed Soft 4-Legged Robot: this can climb over obstacles and walk on rough terrain like sand and pebbles. The X shape layout of the legs enable the robot to adapt to different surfaces.
3D Printed Off Road Robot: this was 3D printed with Polymaker PC-Max, a polycarbonate based filament. It is heat resistant and robust.
Spiderbot V2: an Arduino robot with a 3D printed transforming body. It can be controlled with an Android phone.
Legend of Zelda Guardian Sword: 3D printed in several pieces and connected together using screws. It is designed in Autodesk Fusion 360.
3D Printed Flexible LEGO Tape: flexible LEGO strips you can stick to windows and other surfaces. Made from NinjaFlex.
Avengers Ultron 3D Printed Head: the robot head can react to simple hand commands. Yet another awesome project by James Bruton.
Motorized Dalek with Arduino: you are going to need an Arduino UNO, 2 DC motors, sensor, and other simple parts to complete this.
3D Printed Pangolin: a beautiful creature that was 3D printed to raise awareness about pangolins going extinct.
3D Printed Chevy Camaro V8 LS3 Engine: a beautiful engine that took 200+ hours to print. 2kg of filament was used to complete it.
3D Printed Magic Gears Grid: a triangular grid of 19 gears with a crank. Just work the crank to see the mesmerizing effect.
3D Printed Steampunk Guitar: a fully functional guitar with moving gears. It is printed in one piece using nylon.
3D Printed 22×22 Rubik’s Cube: a beautiful puzzle made using a consumer-grade 3D Printer. It has 4.3 x 10 ^ 1095 possible scrambles.
Which one of these are you impressed with the most?
