7 weird things you can do with a 3D printer that aren’t printing
Your 3D printer is essentially a fancy CNC machine, with a few heating elements (and maybe a fan or two). While filament extrusion might be the main reason you bought it, there are other unconventional things you can use your 3D printer for.
Filament drying
No dryer, no problem
3D printer filament should be dried before use as moisture can ruin your prints. This is what makes a filament dryer an essential tool for any FDM printer owner, but if your printer has a heated bed, there is another way. You can use the heat of your print bed and a lid, like the box your filament came in, to dry your filament.
For specific instructions, refer to your printer manufacturer. For example, Bambu Lab has a comprehensive support article on filament drying, which includes instructions for using the heated bed as well as a cover template that you can download and print. You will need to flip the filament halfway through.
Remove glue from smartphones and tablets
60 seconds at 70ºC should be enough
Repairing smartphones and tablets requires know-how, patience and specialized tools. One of these tools is a heating pad, which is used to heat the back or front of the device to loosen the glue used to hold everything together.
If you find yourself in this position, you can use the heated print bed of a 3D printer to loosen the adhesive. This technique is well documented online; iFixit even has a guest tutorial that covers it. You will need to set the bed temperature to around 70°C and wait about a minute for the glue to loosen, after which you should be able to enter.
Remember that the appliance can get very hot when you do this, so use a towel or gloves to avoid burning yourself (and don’t leave it on the hob for too long).
Proofing bread or pizza dough
Gentle heat when kneaded
If you’ve ever tried to proof dough in a cold environment, you’ll know how disappointing the end result can be. You can spend a few hours kneading, waiting, and beating the dough, but if the room temperature isn’t on your side, you’re fighting a losing battle.
So why not use your 3D printer? This works particularly well if you have a closed model, since you can preheat the bed to around 30°C to warm the entire enclosure before placing the dough inside. I would use the cling film method to seal the bowl (rather than the wet towel method) to avoid excess moisture in your machine, and perhaps put a dry cloth down to protect the print bed.
Just make sure your bowl is clean before placing it near your printer. Oil is one of the biggest problems in adhering prints to the bed, which is why it’s so important to wash your print bed.
Fermenting yogurt
Your printer can do this too
Yogurt is made through a fermentation process using a specific culture of bacteria. The bacteria eat the sugars, which produce lactic acid, which then changes the proteins. You can make yogurt at home by purchasing kits from the supermarket, and many go so far as to purchase specialized yogurt-making equipment.
The bacteria responsible for this fermentation process require a temperature between 30°C and 45°C, with many recommending between 41°C and 43°C as the “sweet spot” for rapid fermentations. You can reach this temperature on a print bed relatively easily, which means you can make yogurt in 4-12 hours.
An Instructables user documents the process and mentions using a 3D printed lid to trap hot air. If you have an enclosed printer this may not be necessary, but if your printer is open you can use a box or print something custom beforehand.
Drawing and writing with a pen
Your 3D printer can be a real artist
Pen plotters are expensive machines that draw and write on paper with absolute precision. They are typically used to add signatures, draft “handwritten” documents, create unique items like invitations and thank you notes, or trace illustrations before they are finished by hand. These machines can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
By printing a specialized pen holder and attaching it to your printer, you can also use your printer as a pen plotter. You’ll find pen holder designs on 3D printing repositories, but if you’re serious it might be worth looking into a g-code generator like 3D Plotter (€30).
There is a surprisingly detailed Instructables article on using this tool from start to finish to produce documents, which covers the entire process.
Vinyl cutting
If you are brave
By attaching a slip cutter to your 3D printer, you can effectively turn it into a vinyl cutter. There are a lot of caveats to this. You’ll need to 3D print a mount and attach it to your printer, you’ll need to protect your print bed, and you’ll need to generate the g-code needed to make your cuts.
You can use Inkscape to generate g-code directly, or you can use a project like GCodePlot (although unfortunately it hasn’t been updated in a while). Alternatively, there is a free Windows application called Polycut that promises to simplify the process.
Repairing warped vinyl records
Setting the record straight
Of all the ideas on this list, this is the one I was most skeptical about. I wouldn’t mention it here if a Reddit user hadn’t enthusiastically posted about their success. However, I urge you to exercise caution if you are considering doing this. Discs that are only slightly warped should still work fine (I should know, I own a lot of them), so maybe consider this a last resort.
This particular method involves placing the (sleeved) disc under the glass plate of a print bed heated to 50°C, applying pressure with clips and leaving it for 30 minutes. The poster noted that the record had survived the procedure to the point where it was now playable (which was not the case before), but that it remained slightly distorted.
Just be aware that heating a record could also distort the grooves, rendering it useless. Approach this fix with caution and only use it if you really have to.
Looking for other uses for your 3D printer? Check out these easy and cheap household repairs.
