Quick Draw – Housekeeping
Having a 3D printer is not always fun and games. Sometimes you’ve got to take care of odds and ends around the house, and it becomes the go-to tool when a problem arises.
…Who am I kidding? Problem solving is a blast!
And as a bonus, when the house runs smoothly due to a 3D printer, everyone is happier with its presence (and accompanying noise).
Light Cover
Early this year, there was a mishap involving a mylar balloon getting tangled up in one of our ceiling fans so badly that it somehow damaged the mounting bracket and pulled the fan away from the ceiling, leaving it within an inch of dangling by its wires. During the repairs, one of the light covers came loose and shattered on the floor because of course it did. This left us with an asymmetric lighting style for a bit of time.
No one really seemed to mind all that much, but it bugged me enough to jump on Fusion 360, and quickly whip up a model for replacement. While my wife was out of town visiting family in Ohio, I secretly printed one out and installed it (along with replacing all the bulbs with LEDs. This is an important note. Incandescent bulbs may leave things a bit… melty.)
She didn’t notice the new light cover, which I count as a major success, so I replaced the rest of them on the fixture for the heck of it.
In the off-chance that you’re interested in printing these out for your own light fixtures (again, swap out the bulbs for LEDs!), the file is on MyMiniFactory. Mine were printed in PLA at 20% infill, a brim, and have been going strong since like, May.
March 2020 UPDATE: Files can be downloaded directly from this site at the bottom of the page. They are also available on Prusa Printers!
TP Holder Shim
Full disclaimer: this is a lot more specific to my own home needs, and will likely not pertain to 99% of the population, but since I’m already here writing, I’m throwing this in as well.
We remodeled our (very small) master bathroom about a year and a half ago, and to save on space, got a smaller vanity/sink from IKEA that more than suits our needs, as well as some fancy I-can’t-remember-the-description-of-it toilet paper holder from maybe Target or somewhere.
The TP holder does the job it’s supposed to, but it’s a really loose fit, causing the entire thing to slide all over the place, usually into the least convenient locations possible. We made it work until it drove me absolutely bananas and started leaving rust marks on the porcelain of the sink.
I quickly measured the width of the lip of the sink, the inside dimensions of the hook on the TP holder, went to Fusion 360 again with a quick idea in my head, and printed out a solution: A simple SemiFlex shim.
It fits snugly between the sink and TP holder, and keeps everything in place now.
I’m sure I used the 3D printer for other odd jobs this past year, but I’m drawing a blank otherwise. There may have been a car key-fob repair that was functional and robust, but so grotesque in execution that I refuse to share photos.
Anyway, If you’re liking what you see here, say hello in the comments below, follow me on Twitter @DragonMtnDesign for teasers/updates/other junk, or say hello on Reddit (u/DragonMountainDesign) if/when you see me around there.
Hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season! Looking forward to whatever projects come about in 2019!
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March 2020 UPDATE: Files are available here! Click the Download button below for a zip file.
Files are available under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.