Your car is the perfect place to put your 3D printer to work. From utility items like sunglasses clips and phone holders, to fun things like take-out sauce cup holders, here are five fun projects to 3D print for your car.
Sun visor sunglasses clip
It’s the perfect place to store your sunglasses
Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
I wanted to start off this list with a fun, but useful 3D print for your car. We all have sunglasses, and sometimes they’re stored in not the best location. My wife, for example, keeps her sunglasses in the center console of the van.
While you could technically go to Amazon and buy a sunglasses holder for your sun visor, you can also print one in about 30 minutes. There are quite a few models out there for attaching your sunglasses to your sun visor, and they will probably all work quite well.
The one thing I do want to mention here is you’re going to want to use something more than just PLA for this. PLA starts to deform at around 50C, or 122F. While that sounds really hot, it’s actually not hard for a car’s interior to hit that temperature in the summer here in the US.
So, use something that’s a bit more heat resistant for this, like PETG, ASA, ABS, PET, or any other filament that can withstand heat better than traditional PLA. You can print it in PLA, but just be prepared for it to deform or soften in the summer.
Grit guard for washing the car
Stop scratching your paint when washing the car
Credit: BlueBotBuilt | MakerWorld
Now onto something a bit more practical, but still fun if you’re a car person—a grit guard. If you’ve never heard of a grit guard, it’s something that goes in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket to keep your wash mitt or washcloth from touching the bottom of the bucket.
Why is it important to keep the wash mitt or washcloth from touching the bottom of the bucket? Well, as you’re washing the car, you’re likely picking up dirt, grime, or other grit that sinks to the bottom of the bucket.
If your mitt or cloth is touching the bottom of the bucket, then it’s likely holding onto the grime it’s picking, and rubbing it all over your car’s paint job, resulting in micro scratches all over.
However, with a grit guard in the bottom of the bucket, that grit stays below the guard, allowing you to wash your vehicle without worry. It’s the perfect solution for the car enthusiast that loves washing their car but hates damaging their paint job.
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Fry and sauce holders
Never spill a sauce in the car again
If you’ve ever tried to eat (or dip) fries while driving, then you’ve likely thought, “There has to be a better way!” Well, there is. That way is to 3D print both a vent-mounted sauce holder and a cupholder fry holder.
The vent-mounted sauce holder does exactly what it says. You simply attach it to your car’s air vent, and it has a spot perfect for holding your dipping sauce right within reach. The sauce sits in all the way to its rim, meaning there’s little chance of it spilling while you’re driving.
The fry holder is my favorite one, though. French fries never come in a size that fits in a cupholder, and sometimes, if they’re fresh, they are just way too hot to hold between your legs. If you’re driving alone, there’s no other option though.
However, with the cupholder fry holder, you have the perfect place for your fries to live. It’s a pretty simple and straightforward print that does exactly what it says. You push the holder into a cupholder in your vehicle, and then there’s a fry-shaped holder on top to make sure your fries stay where you want them.
Air vent phone mount
Why go to Amazon when you can just print your own?
Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
Phone mounts are a dime a dozen on Amazon, but sometimes you don’t want to spend $10 or wait a few days to get a phone mount. Maybe you’re going on vacation tomorrow and need something right now, and Best Buy is just too expensive for same-day pickup.
There are a ton of phone mounts that you can easily 3D print, but my favorites are air vent mounts. Why an air vent mount? Because it can be made entirely on your 3D printer with no additional accessories, like suction cups or screws, required.
All it takes is an hour or two and you’ll have one of these phone mounts ready to go. A bonus to mounting your phone to an air vent is in the summer it’ll stay cool while running navigation on your road trip.
There are even MagSafe-based mounts that you can print that work in the same way. Just 3D print the mount itself, slip a MagSafe charger into it, and you have a magnetic phone mount ready for wherever your summer travels take you.
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Darth Vader tow hitch cover
Let the Force drive you
Credit: vajcnerd | MakerWorld
You don’t have to cover your tow hitch’s ball, but leaving it open is just boring, especially when you have a 3D printer. There are quite a few 3D prints out there to cover a tow hitch, but my favorite has to be this Darth Vader model.
The designer did a great job on this 3D model, and it’s built to fit over a two-inch ball. Simply print it (with supports) and then it’s ready to friction-fit around your tow hitch.
While something like this won’t keep you from knocking your shin against the hitch, it’ll add some extra flair to your ride, so why not print it before you head out on trips this summer?
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Build Volume
256x256x256mm
Printing Speed
600mm/s
Brand
Bambu Lab
Max Hot End Temp
300C
Max Bed Temp
110C
Nozzle
Hardened 0.4mm
The Bambu Labs P2S 3D printer is ready to go out of the box and can have you printing within 15 minutes. It features up to 20-color printing with the AMS unit, has an upgraded built-in camera for remote monitoring and time lapses, and has an enclosed body for printing even high-temperature filament.
-
Build Volume
256 × 256 × 256 mm
Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Heated Build Plate
Yes
Top Print Speed
≤500 mm/s
Max Plate Temperature
110°C
Max Print Temperature
350°C
The ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 2 builds on the solid foundation of its predecessor and adds an affordable, effective multicolor system to the mix.
If you’re not 3D printing car accessories, you’re not using your 3D printer to its fullest
3D printers are capable of so many things that it’s hard to even fathom everything they can be used for. However, your car is definitely somewhere to leverage your 3D printer.
Being able to 3D print items that you would normally buy, like a phone mount or hitch cover, not only saves you money, but also a ton of time. So, if you’ve not leveraged your 3D printer for printing car accessories, this summer is the perfect time to start.