I recently solved an issue that bothered me for years on my Dual Boiler. I fill the tank through the top port every other time. But that top basin never completely drains, so water just sits in those awkward crevices.
My solution is a very simple 3D printed funnel. It took me months to start but only 30 minutes to finish (+ printing).
When my new GPU didn't fit in my old Meshify C, I picked up an Epoch case as a replacement. Overall, great value for money, but imho it lacks a dust filter for the front panel. I couldn't find any commercially available options, so I bought some 3 mm open-cell foam meant for dust filtering and designed a printable clamping frame. Magnets would work just as well, but it'd be a waste to have a 3D printer and not put it to use.
I've published the printable files as well as the cutting pattern for the foam here: https://www.printables.com/model/1798194
This is my print of the month: identifier tags for bike chains. I run waxed chains on my road bike. The wax requires regular reapplication. If you run a chain for too long without proper lubrication, it runs noisy and wears out quickly. To not be inclined to run a chain for longer than is reasonable, I always want to have a spare one ready — but as reapplying the wax takes some time for cleaning and heating the wax to a certain temperature, and waiting for it to cool down to a certain temperature before removing the chain. Having a third chain extends the period in which I need to execute that process. And to not confuse which chain is next in order to even out the wear, I designed these tags in Autodesk Fusion and printed them on my Core ONE; as I'm waiting for my INDX to arrive, I had to print these using the Single-Extruder-Multi-Color approach, documented here.
My Print of the month is cycling related and a project under active development as well as some side projects that I came across along the way. For long rides on my road bike I like to have at least 3 litres of water with me. My road bike has mounting points for two bottle cages. A common additional attachment point is the saddle, there are commercial product available but I didn't like any of those. After a few sketches I settle relatively quickly on a design where the two mounting screws for a bottle cage are used to also connect my adapter to bike. The upper screw is secured in a backplate that goes under the saddle and clamps on it's railing. The lower mounting screw just screws into the adapter. My first actual test piece was done in Prusament PETG CF with Ruthex heat set inserts and worked relatively good, apart from not being constrained enough at the bottom which makes a full bottle rock a lot on "rough" terrain. I have a few ideas on how to fix this, but my main concern is configurability as I'd like to publish this when I trust it. The saddle angle and offset affect the mounting options at the lower end which makes it hard to come up with a one size fits all solution, but I have a few ideas that I"ll try over the next weeks.
The side projects are accent rings for my bottles in colors matching the bike itself. Apart from looking nice this is helpful to identify bottles filled with carbs, elektrolytes or just pure water. And than there is a double-c-style mounting clamp for a small bike pump. Printed in PETG CF as well, which is a bad idea as it's very abrasive and messes up the bike pump and seatpost–This will need another iteration as well.
Also on my project list is a tool bottle and a replacement for the original Garmin Varia RTL515 mount that uses a fiddly O-Ring where I'd prefer a more durable solution.
When I'm done with any of these I"ll publish them as free and open source, so if you're interested – https://www.printables.com/@bequ3/models
This is a byproduct of a design feature I'm working on for my FlexBox2 design: a flat-bottom inlay. FlexBox2 is specifically optimized for rigidity at minimal weight while maintaining feature flexibility. For bins larger than 1×1, this results in non-planar bottoms. I've added inlays before, but wasn't satisfied with their usefulness. This is my second attempt.
The bottomless modification only saves 1.25g per grid cell, so it's not really worth it—though since my new inlay made this possible, I had to test it anyway.
FlexBox2 has several extension points that allow for adding features: vertical rails (e.g., for dividers), locking nibs at the bottom (for inlays), and a horizontal recess near the top (e.g., for labels). This flat-bottom add-on interfaces with the locking nibs at the bottom.
I'm still working on compatbility with the dividers, but I've uploaded the files (only the inlays, not the boxes) marked as "experimental" to the Printables page (FlexBox2) if you're interested in testing these.
A very niche application and far too much effort for something I only rarely use, but a nice learning opportunity nonetheless. The Elgato Prompter has an adapter plate in the back that accepts rings to adapt to various DSLR/DSLM lenses. The original packaging is a bulky cardboard pouch — too big for my camera equipment drawer, so I kept it somewhere else and had to search for it whenever I needed it. I solved this by designing a minimal storage container that actually fits in the drawer. On the off chance someone finds it useful, here's the link. The Fusion file is pure chaos, but the locking mechanism might be worth a look.
This is a pipe bender for CuNiFe brake lines.
When my car failed inspection due to corroded brake lines, I had to figure out how to fix them. Feeling a bit fancy, I went with CuNiFe (copper-nickel-iron alloy) since it's supposed to be more resistant to oxidation than standard steel lines.
What I didn't anticipate was that CuNiFe lines require larger bending radii than their steel equivalents — meaning the cheap bending pliers I picked up were completely useless. I couldn't find any existing model to download, so I spent a few hours designing my own.
Since I was short on time, I kept it focused on the most essential features:
Unfortunately, I didn't take proper photos while working on the car, so there are no glamour shots of the shiny new brake line — all I can show you is the culprit.
I haven't published the design files yet. It's a pretty niche tool and not as refined as I'd like it to be — I'd want to do a few more iterations and add some additional features for reading angles and distances before putting it out there.