18 Fun Things To 3D Print With Your Kids And Where To Find Them

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Things To 3D Print

If 3D printing becomes half as big as the hype suggests, then getting your children interested in this new technology could be a worthwhile endeavour.

Fortunately, there are thousands of fun things to 3D print with your kids out there.

Desktop 3D printing’s aptitudes lie very much in the toys arena, and therefore numerous 3D printing models of this type have been developed.

However, the problem we are all facing, is that for every 10 brilliant things to 3D print, there are probably 1,000 “not so brilliant” things to 3D print.

Fear not though, I have taken the time to locate 18 fun things to 3D print with your kids, that fall into the brilliant category.

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The 3D Printed Car Has Arrived. Which One Would You Drive?

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3D Printed Car, 3D Printable Car

The 3D printed car; now there’s a very interesting concept.

If the developing world chooses to adopt car ownership, at the same levels as the developed world has, then some major innovations are going to be needed.

Quite frankly, I don’t think there are enough natural resources (especially oil), to fuel that sort of growth.

Of course the clever engineers of the world, will come up with alternative solutions, and there are a number of exciting developments occurring already.

First of all, the electric car will wean the world off its insatiable appetite, for a rapidly declining natural resource – oil.

Secondly, the autonomous car will enable the world’s population to be transported around, using far fewer vehicles.

But how will the automobile of the future be manufactured?

Enter the 3D printable car.

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Make A 3D Printed Drone At Home For Less Than $50

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3D Printed Drone, 3D Printed Quadcopter

I absolutely love the idea of a 3D printed drone, or perhaps what’s more commonly known as a 3D printed quadcopter.

It brings together so many of the cool elements of making something.

You get to fabricate most of the parts yourself at home.

You get to setup electronics and program transmitters and receivers.

And then best of all, you get to fly the 3D printed drone you have just created.

I used to dream about this stuff as a kid, when astronomical costs made buying a RC helicopter impossible.

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The World’s Best 3D Modelling Software For Desktop 3D Printing

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3D Modelling Software, 3D Modelling Programs

The quantity and quality of 3D modelling software available today, is actually quite staggering.

Once more, you might be surprised at the number of powerful 3D modelling programs, that are absolutely free.

You also get a sense that some companies, such as AutoDesk, are creating 3D modelling software, purely for the desktop 3D printing market.

Take AutoDesk 123D for example.

Given such incredible variety, I thought it might be nice to produce a list of the best 3D modelling software packages, for creating 3D printing models.

Most of them fall into the category of free 3D modelling software.

And at least half of them, you can use without any prior design experience whatsoever.

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3D Printing Companies: Spot The Next Billion Dollar Business

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3D Printing Companies, 3D Printing Technology

Over the last five years, the number of 3D printing companies has grown enormously.

These 3D printing companies have created a range of products, including: desktop 3D printers; 3D printer slicers; 3D printer networks; 3D printing models; 3D printing software; and 3D printer filament.

Some of them have contributed a huge amount to this new 3D printing technology.

A few have raised millions of dollars in finance, and I know at least one was sold for hundreds of millions.

The future of 3D printing is going to be an exciting one, and it is my belief that it will fundamentally change the world we live in.

So who are these 3D printing companies, and should you be investing in any of them?

Take a look at my list of favourites, and see if you can pick out the next billion dollar business.

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Best 3D Printer 2016: Chosen By 5,350 Verified 3D Printer Owners

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Best 3D Printer, 3D Printer Prices

Which is the best 3D printer 2016?

This is a difficult question to answer.

Even if I could test all of the 3D printers myself, my results would be largely subjective.

If only we could ask actual 3D printer owners, which they thought was the best 3D printer 2016.

Well 3D Hubs has done exactly that.

In a comprehensive report, using data from over 32,000 3D printers, 3D Hubs has compiled a list of the 20 best 3D printers in the world today.

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40 STL File Websites With The Best 3D Printing Models

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STL Files, 3D Printing Models

For those of you lucky enough to own a desktop 3D printer, there is no shortage of websites to download STL files from.

Most of us probably get our 3D printing models from the market leaders, such as Thingiverse or YouMagine.

There are however a large number of small STL file websites, with some very high quality 3D printing models.

The problem is, these niche players can be difficult to find.

Well I have compiled a comprehensive list of STL file websites, to try and put some of these lesser known places on the map.

Take a quick look, I guarantee you’ll find some hidden gems.

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The World’s Best 3D Printing Ideas And Where To Download Them

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3D Printing Ideas, 3D Printer Projects

With over one million 3D printing models on Thingiverse alone, the choice of 3D printing ideas has never been so large.

Unfortunately many of the STL files available are low quality, and would never make your 3D printer project list.

So how do you find the hidden gems?

Well I have spent hours searching for you, to discover the best 3D printing ideas in the world today.

So switch on your desktop 3D printer, and prepare to impress your family and friends with my top twenty 3D printer projects.

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3D Printing Software: How To Slice Like Jack The Ripper!

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3D Printing Software, 3D Printer Slicer

You may not realise that the 3D printing software that came with your desktop 3D printer, is not the only 3D printer slicer that you can use.

More importantly than that, the 3D printing software that came with your desktop 3D printer may not be anywhere near as good as other third party 3D printer slicer’s.

I spent my first year of printing using Makerbot’s Makerware, until I became aware of the numerous other 3D printer slicer’s available.

Without question, some of them are much nicer to use, provide much more flexibility and produce much better printing results. Most of them are also free.

Perhaps it is time you take your desktop 3D printing to the next level and upgrade to superior 3D printing software.

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9 Essential 3D Printing Tools And How To Use Them

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3D Printing Tools, 3D Printing Accessories

If you are just unboxing your new desktop 3D printer, you are probably about to go through an enjoyable but steep learning curve.

You will undoubtedly have a number of questions and some head scratching moments, as you get to grips with your new toy.

In order to make your journey more fun, I am going to recommend nine essential 3D printing tools, and show you how they will make your first few months of printing simpler.

I use each one of these 3D printing tools myself, having discovered them all through lots of trial and error.

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