Top 10 things to 3D Print: Upcycling Edition

Welcome to Alt Innovate, each month we bring  you Top 10 things you can 3D print or get 3D printed for yourself. The “Top 10 things series” is focused on showing different aspects of 3D printing such as Usefulness, Effectiveness, use of 3D printing in Education, day-to-day life, arts and crafts and more. 

Theme:

For the month of July 2022, our posts revolved around the theme of “Upcycling”. We focused on how you can upcycle old items, scrapped products lying around your home and give it a new life. Have that plastic bag or a soda bottle lying around your house which you don’t have any use for and don’t want to scrap either. We might have just the perfect solution for you. 

 

Let’s Explore Upcycling

 

Firstly, what is Upcycling and why should you practise in your daily life? Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials or products of better quality. Upcycling is fun and at the same time it also helps solve plastic pollution by enabling re-use of a lot of plastic products. It also saves money as you’re reusing what you already have. And lastly, it’s so much fun!
(*the above paragraph was created using Ai)

 

Checkout our list of cool upcycled products below, some of the products are designed by other creators and we have correctly attributed and shared their link if you want to check it out.

1. Plant Shower: Most of us have a regular intake of plastic bottles in the form of soda bottles or packaged drinking water. You can use any regular soda / water bottle and convert them into usable plant watering bottles. The plant shower is designed by: Vijit

 

2. Spice Dispenser: For the energy drink fans out there, you can upcycle used old soda cans or other similar objects and use them as spice dispensers. The spice dispenser is designed by: Mathis

 

3. Table Top Trash Can: Another one for upcycling cans. Use any regular soda cans and convert them into usable Table Top Trash cans to tidy up your workspace. Quick Tip: You can also use your Starbucks Cups. The trash can is designed by: AthenaBen

 

4. Bird Feeder: This one apart from saving plastic bottles from ending up in trash, also provide some help to our little winged friends. Upcycle your old soda bottles or other similar objects and use them as Feeder for birds. Warning: Your space will be filled with cute birds. The bird feeder is designed by: Gazorpa

 

5. Amplifier: This is a really cool one. You can convert your used tissue roll cardboard tubes into a stunning sound system, with 3 quick 3D printed parts creating your own sound amplifier. Now Amplify your music without using electricity. The Amplifier is designed by: Daniel Abrantes

 

6. Cardboard Tube Storage Box: You can convert your completed packing tape cardboard tubes into small storage containers. Use it to store anything from Jewellery to a makeshift piggy bank. The storage box idea is inspired from Dominik Císař design found on myminifactory. We have remixed the design to match our preferences. Design can be found here: Dominik Císař

 

7. Pencil Shaving Bottle Bin: Still some soda bottles left? Upcycle your old soda bottles or other similar objects and use them as a bin for your pencil shavings. No more dirty desks. The design for the Pencil is inspired from: TOPE designs. And remixed by us to match our preferences. Tope designs can be found here: TOPE Designs

 

8. Spool Drawer: This one is focused on 3D printer users, now convert your completed spool holders and convert them into storage units to hold spare parts for your 3D Printer. The spool drawer is designed by: That_Jamie_S_Guy

 

9. Can Lamp: You can also convert some of the bigger cans into creating your very own desk lamps. These tiny desk lamps are perfect for regular use from reading, writing to lighting up the corners of the room. The tiny Can lamp is designed by: z-upcycling

 

10. Side Table: you can upcycle unused plastic bottles to create your own little side table. The side table can easily take weight of upto 1kgs and other light objects. The side table is designed by: Richard

 

*Check out these products in action on our Instagram account.

This concludes our Top 10 things to 3D print for the month of July, we hope you enjoy 3D printing these products as much as we did. 

 

P.s. Our followers loved the Bag Spout and many reached out to us for 3D printing the same. Artists loved the Pencil shaving bottle bin and side table is every bachelors dream on a budget. Let us know what’s your favourite product, have any suggestions for us or themes in mind you would want to see, reach out to us with the link below and our team will get back to you!