Your 3D printer is essentially a fancy CNC machine, with a few heated elements (and maybe a fan or two). While filament extrusion may be the main reason you bought it, there are some less conventional things you can use your 3D printer for.
Dry the filament
No dryer, no problem
The 3D printer filament must be dried before use as it humidity can ruin your prints. This is what makes a filament dryer An essential tool for any FDM printer ownerbut if your printer has a heated bed then there is another way. You can use the heat from your print bed and a cover, like the box the filament came in, to dry it.
For precise instructions, consult your printer manufacturer. For example, Bambu Lab has a full support article about filament drying, which includes instructions for using the heat bed, as well as a cover model that you can download and print. You will have to flip the filament halfway.
Loosen the glue on smartphones and tablets
60 seconds at 70ºC should be enough.
Smartphone and tablet repair requires skill, patience, and specialized tools. One such tool is a heating pad, which is used to heat the back or front of the device to loosen the glue that is 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 temperature of the bed to around 70ºC and wait about a minute for the glue to loosen, after which you should be able to enter.
Just remember that the device can get very hot while you’re doing this, so use a towel or gloves to avoid burning yourself (and don’t leave it on the plate for too long).
Making bread or pizza dough rise
Soft warmth when kneaded.
If you’ve ever tried to make dough rise in a cold environment, you know how disappointing the end result can be. You can spend a few hours kneading, waiting and whipping the dough, but if the room temperature is not on your side, you are fighting a losing battle.
So why not use your 3D printer? It works especially well if you have a closed model, as you can preheat the bed to around 30ºC to warm the entire enclosure before placing the dough inside. I would use the plastic wrap method to seal the container (rather than the wet towel method) to prevent excessive moisture in the machine, and perhaps place a dry cloth to protect the print bed.
Just make sure your container is clean before bringing it near your printer. Oil is one of the biggest problems for prints sticking to the bed, which is why washing your print bed is very important.
fermented yogurt
Your printer can do this too
Yogurt is made through the fermentation process using a specific culture of bacteria. Bacteria eat the sugars, which produce lactic acid, which then modifies the protein. You can make yogurt at home by purchasing kits from the supermarket, and many even go so far as to purchase specialized yogurt-making equipment.
The bacteria responsible for this fermentation process require a temperature between 30ºC and 45ºC, with many recommending between 41ºC and 43ºC as the “sweet spot” for rapid fermentations. You can reach this temperature on a print bed relatively easily, meaning you can have yogurt in 4 to 12 hours.
One Instruction User documents the process and mentions the use of a 3D printed cover to retain hot air. If you have a closed printer, this may not be necessary, but if your printer is open, you can use a box or print something custom beforehand.
Draw and write with a pen.
Your 3D printer can be an artist
Pen plotters are expensive machines that draw and write on paper with absolute precision. They are typically used to apply signatures, create “handwritten” documents, create unique items such as invitations and thank you notes, or trace artwork before finishing it by hand. These machines can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
By printing a specialized pen holder and connecting it to your printer, you can also use your printer as a pen plotter. You’ll find templates for pencil holders in 3D printing repositories, but if you’re serious about this it might be worth looking at a g-code generator like 3D tracer (€30).
There is a surprisingly detailed article from Instructables about using this tool from start to finish to produce documents, which walks through the entire process.
cut vinyl
if you are brave
By attaching a drag blade to your 3D printer, you can effectively turn it into a vinyl cutter. There are many warnings about this. You’ll need to 3D print a mount and connect it to your printer, you’ll need to secure your print platform, 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 sadly it hasn’t been updated in a while). Alternatively, there is a free app for Windows called Policut which promises to simplify the process.
Repair warped vinyl records
Making things clear
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 his success. Still, I recommend caution if you’re thinking about doing this. Discs that are only slightly warped should work fine (I should know, I have a lot), so maybe consider this as a last resort.
This particular method involves placing the disc (with sleeve) under the glass plate of a print bed heated to 50ºC, applying pressure with clips and leaving it for 30 minutes. The poster commented that the record survived the intervention to the point that it can now be played (which was not the case before), but remained slightly deformed.
Just keep in mind that heating a record could also warp the beats, making it useless. Approach this solution with caution and use it only if truly necessary.
Looking for more uses for your 3D printer? Check out these easy and inexpensive home repairs.
