I used to print quite a lot of toys for my kids, but I stopped doing that, since it feels mostly like a waste of plastic.

3D printed toys are rarely enjoyable. The toys are usually either not interesting enough (think static, non-movable, single-color figurines like the low-poly-pokemon series), or not durable enough or both at the same time.

My kids liked the printed toys when they got them, but they barely looked at them after like 10 minutes and then they ended up rolling around the house until they broke, usually very soon.

I love 3D printing, I use it a lot for all sorts of things, but toys are just not a very good application for 3D prints, in my opinion. It’s just not worth the plastic.

Edit: Just for context: I’ve been around the block with 3D printing. I started about 7 years ago and I’ve been the 3D printer repair guy for my circle of friends ever since, fixing up everyone else’s printers. I design most of the things I print myself. The reason I am posting this is because pretty much everyone I know who has a printer and kids prints toys all the time, and any time I’m at any event where someone can shoehorn a box of give-away low-poly-pokemon in, there is one there.

IMO, this is all plastic waste and nothing else.

  • HugeNerdEnglish
    68·
    4 days ago

    3D printing was always 99% garbage, sorry.

    • Evotech@lemmy.worldEnglish
      13·
      3 days ago

      Yeah, most of the time it’s not necessary. It’s just generating trash because they want to print stuff

      • HugeNerdEnglish
        12·
        3 days ago

        Is it fun? I guess. I never saw the appeal.

        “Wow, you mean I can spend more time and headaches to “create” my own parts instead of knowing a supplier’s offerings? And still end up with an inferior product that took all night to print? And it’s just simple CAD software like for the last 40 years but now it requires Windows 11 and 64G of RAM? Joy!”

        “Sure! Why do you want to limit yourself to gears and enclosures from professional companies that have been doing it for 50 years?”

        • HowdWeGetHereAnyways@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          3 days ago

          It really comes down to the user, as with any tech.

          I use mine to exclusively print functional parts to keep old things around the house functioning. But I also took mechanical drafting for 3 semesters and feel both comfort and enjoyment from drafting my own models. That’s not the case for everyone.

          My functional prints are almost all still in operation, some for years. Many of the parts literally do not have commercial replacements, or solve issues that exist in the commercial versions.

          I understand that I am an outlier though

          • HugeNerdEnglish
            1·
            3 days ago

            I’m curious about these old things around the house you keep functioning.

            I’ll give an example of an old thing I want to keep running: a 1980s cassette deck.

            Between the metalized plastic buttons, the belts, the wheels, the gears, the pressure rollers, there is nothing that can be 3D printed that even remotely approaches the finished look or function of the parts I’d need.

            • HowdWeGetHereAnyways@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              3 days ago

              That definitely sounds like an intensive project

              I have some simple buttons and knobs, drawer handles, drawer slides, dryer pest guards that no longer seem to be made, cabinet shelf supports for weird old peg sizes/shapes, plugs for holes to block sharp edges, etc

              Your example is going to be really tough in part because the tape itself is fragile. I would absolutely not print things that will touch the magnetic tape itself if you care about the tape. Most 3d printed plastics are not ESD, and I would not risk a magnetic tape. (Though polymaker does make some ESD filaments)

              But the buttons, and possibly even the gears can likely be functionally printed as long as the features arent too small. That’s the biggest issue your example has most likely: minimum feature size