Being the state-of-the-art technology, 3D printing has something for everyone. From home users to industries, everyone is excited to include 3D printers for some of the other operations.
While we celebrate the success of the technology, the kids just fascinate about creating unique toys with these amazing machines. So, why not let our kids witness the best side of additive manufacturing by designing 3D printed mechanical toys.
Wait! Are you not sure how to design one for yourself? That is not tricky at all. All you need to do is find the design on online repositories and print the one you like.
To make the task easier, we have come up with some of the most popular 3D printed mechanical toy designs that your younger ones would love to play with.
15 Best 3D Printed Mechanical Toys
If you are someone who has little knowledge about 3D printing, you probably know about 3D printing repositories. One of the most popular 3D printing repositories is Thingiverse.
These websites host a huge collection of 3D printable files which can download either by paying for it or simply for free. So that, without worrying about designing the files, you can right away start printing without any hassle.
Whirligig
Sometimes the best toys are not those that have just been invented, but those that have been around for thousands of years. And this one is something of that nature!
This one of the many 3D printed mechanical toys on our list; a whirligig will keep your kids entertained when they try to spin it faster and faster just like kids did back in ancient times while playing it. It’s a toy that isn’t hard to print since its design is simplistic and requires no supports while 3D printing it.
Above all, you can tell your children that variations of this toy have even been used to separate blood using centrifugal motion, so it’s informative. What more do you need in a toy? It gives you entertainment with information!
This toy has been printed more than hundreds of times hence you can rely on it. It’s made by an experienced 3D designer and can be printed on almost any 3D printer.
Predator Grabber
This one of the many 3D printed mechanical toys is one of those items which are looked upon by many to 3D print. Its first look itself is so attractive that you cannot resist 3D printing it! Especially if you have some of the other interest in gears and how they transmit motion mechanically!
One this is for sure, if you want your kid to learn about the mechanism, there is hardly another toy that you’ll find online which can make be a learning tool like this one.
Not only can you tinker Predator Grabber first, but also make some of the supports more robust so as to safeguard yourself while 3D printing it! Otherwise, it appears that the parts supporting the gears are just too flimsy to really provide any significant rigidity to the pliers.
Bearing Press
If there is one toy that gives you a surety of keeping your kids busy, it’s the bunch of fidget spinners. There are countless versions of 3D printable fidget spinners that are available online from which you can choose.
Some of the most attractive ones include the classic triplex, Batman, and Tie Fighter. Conveniently, the Bearing Press 3D printing model allows you to insert 608 bearings into 3D printed fidget spinners with a lot fewer complications.
It even comes with a printable bolt for scenarios where you don’t have one for inserting the bearings.
This bearing press can be printed using PLA filaments without supports, making it a simple and useful tool for creating 3D printed fidget spinners even if you are new to 3D printing.
Trammel of Archimedies
You can print this 3D printed mechanical toy in parts as well as a whole. If you choose the former way, you will have to assemble it with screws.
And you can use all sorts of creativity while doing so in terms of using some great contrasting colors! It will function well and everyone will like this intriguing little fidget gadget!
You can also tinker with the settings that are mentioned by a 3D designer to make it even more substantial and probably make the 3 shuttles a little longer.
Trammel of Archimedes is one of those 3D printed mechanical toys that have very intricate maze-like designs that kids are usually fond of seeing when they are growing. It will amaze them like no other.
Nesting Puzzle
When it comes to filling your child’s need of enjoying some attention from your end, why not give them a good puzzle to solve?
These Russian nesting puzzles are so not only fun but also labyrinth intricate that they’ll keep your children busy for hours.
You can also use this puzzle to store goodies and treats for your little ones so that they get the much-needed motivation to solve the puzzle!
If you want, you can even upgrade the difficulty of the puzzle you can even try printing one with the path on the inside of the cylinder. Doing so would not enable your children to see the maze they’re solving.
Also, the model is easily printable with standard materials such as PLA and none of the makes require supports.
Math Spinner
Ideal 3D printed mechanical toys are those that would keep the player engaged. And if you are purchasing these toys for your child, it means you want him to learn and play while you’re at work.
This math spinner toy is the perfect example that’ll enable you to do that: It’ll enrich your kid’s learning by teaching them addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication with ease for every number from 0 to 9.
It should be noted that printing this toy requires an existing pipe with an outer diameter of 32 mm to thread the spinners onto. However, if you can’t find one of those existing pipes, you could always print it.
For printing these models, you can use standard filaments like PLA and ABS. Math Spinner is not only entertaining but also knowledge imparting toy, which is very rare to have.
Vehicles
They have a record of keeping kids of varied ages busy like no other. As kids, it is fun to see anything run on wheels and so is what these toy vehicles do.
Vehicles amaze your kid by running on circular-shaped wheels and the best part about them is your kid can control them.
This is something obvious that we know as adults, but it is very intriguing to not know as kids and just enjoy driving these vehicles through house-made bumps and on steps of our home and a lot other. We are sure you’ve enjoyed playing them as kids as well, didn’t you?
These selected few vehicle-related toys keep your kids from feeling cooped up as they drive away with their imagination. These 3D models can be printed using a variety of filament types including PLA.
Considering that they may need to be washed between uses, to ease out the complete procedure a dishwashing stable filament may be helpful in this case.
Rubik’s Cube
Solving a Rubik’s cube is hard for most people, but it is believed that a 3D printed Rubik’s cube might bring you better luck. And regardless of whether the belief is true or not, your kids will love spending hours trying to solve it.
So much so that you might also want to give it a try as well! This iteration of Rubik’s cube has tiny dots on each cube piece which are meant for giving you an extra grip for easier rotation.
For all of you who can’t stand Rubik’s cubes and for the same reason have never been able to solve them, don’t worry! You have methods available online to help you along.
You can even print this Rubik’s cube with standard PLA and a few supports, it’s easy. Although some assembly is required and you’ll have several parts that you’ll need to put together for example a) 1 cube core, b) 6 cube spinner arms, c) 8 corners, and d) 12 middle pieces, it can be printed using a single or dual extruder 3D printer.
Optimus Prime
If your kid is made familiar with transformers, he or she is bound to be already in love with the popular characters in it, especially Optimus Prime.
Here’s an Optimus Prime that one of those many 3D printed mechanical toys which will keep your kids busy in trying to defend Cybertron against the evil Deception.
Even more amazing fact about the toy is that it is transformable from Optimus’s classic truck to form a fully functional standing robot even though it’s only printed in one piece! This toy can be printed without supports in PLA.
And if you too feel like we do that what will Optimus Prime do without an enemy to fight? Also, consider printing DaBombDiggity’s Megatron, Decepticon’s evil, to have a proper battle.
Minifig Couch
This model was originally designed to answer the question of where your child’s already standing Lego people supposed to sit down after a tiring day of play. That led to the 3D designer coming up with this Lego couch.
It’s beneficial for you too as you will be able to know where your kid’s Legos are hanging out so you don’t have to step on them anymore.
Toy Soldiers
Playing with green army soldiers is such a nice idea. Your kid will learn to entertain itself as well as grow up with a feeling of nationalism from the very start.
Well speaking about these toys soldiers, they can be green if you print them with green filament! It’s a set of four soldiers and is a good start for going on an imaginary mission, but just for your information, you can always print multiple sets for a larger battalion. And it’s recommended that you print them with supports and PLA as a filament choice is fine.
Time Travelling Delorean
Let’s go back in time for playing with everyone’s favorite time-traveling vehicle from the famous Back to the Future, the Delorean. Obviously, you won’t be able to print Time Travelling Delorean to scale, but you can definitely paint it and even make it electronic.
Although it’ll transport you and your kids back in time, it’ll surely provide them with ample entertainment while you’re working. User 3DRacers has also created other similar famous vehicles such as the car from Mad Max and even a miniature tank, which you can also think of 3D printing.
Crocheted Skeleton Doll
If you’re looking to make something a little that represents handmade and not completely fabricated things and yet you wish to use your 3D printer to add functionality, go for this dynamic skeleton that’s used as a base for a soft doll. Your girl-child will go crazy over its cuteness.
2D Avengers Figurines
There is something so inherently entertaining and joyous about the completely transforming idea behind Avengers that makes them very ideal for 3D printed mechanical toys and Figurines are no different. The set features Spiderman, Caption America, the Iron Man, and the Hulk.
Space Blaster
If your children are love hearing stories about space, you can hand over them with this amazing piece of space-age weaponry. This full-size space blaster will allow their imaginations to burgeon like no other.
The Conclusion
Toys have been always kids’ best friends. However, you can increase your young ones’ excitement by making one yourself. And, what could be more fascinating than the 3D printed mechanical toys.
The designs are easy to create using your 3D printer by just downloading their 3D printable files. Not only these options are innovative and best in class but extremely creative.
The recommended choices above will give your kid new ideas and develop their imaginations. And above all, will help you find some time for yourself while they get busy exploring the new present.
