3D Printing & CAD Prototyping
An ongoing collection of my CAD designs, 3D printed projects, material experiments, and functional prototypes as I get deeper into designing and making physical things.
Printing a Batch of TPU Wrist Straps
A batch of TPU wrist straps printing on my Bambu Lab A1 Mini.
- Primary CAD software
- Autodesk Fusion
- Current printer
- Bambu Lab A1 Mini
- Printing process
- FDM
- Current materials
- PLA, PLA+, PETG, TPU
- Current build volume
- 180 × 180 × 180 mm
- Design focus
- Functional and product-focused parts
- Current workflow
- CAD → print → test → revise
- Prototype types
- Products, organizers, enclosures, fixtures
- Flexible material work
- TPU
- Current status
- Active Development
I originally got into 3D printing because I kept running into the same problem on other projects: I would need a specific bracket, mount, or enclosure, and nothing off-the-shelf fit the dimensions. I wanted to be able to make the parts I actually needed.
Pretty quickly, learning how to actually design those parts became a project of its own.
I use Autodesk Fusion and a Bambu Lab A1 Mini to learn the full process of taking something from an idea to a physical object: sketching it, figuring out how it can actually be printed, making a first version, finding what doesn’t work, changing the model, and trying again.
Areas of Active Focus
- Flexible TPU Wearables & Gear: Designing bracelets and wrist key straps using flexible Shore 95A TPU. This requires modeling steep overhang angles that TPU can resolve without curling, creating parametric models for different sizing, and getting clean layer bonding on a 180×180×180 mm build plate. A few of these turned into the items in my shop.
- Workshop Organization: Designing stackable drawer systems, tool organizers, and filament storage tailored to the tools, screws, and boards I have on my bench.
- Mechanical Enclosures & Hardware: Designing housings for the Wildlife Detection Platform, calculating gasket fit, lens openings, and mounting brackets for real hardware.
What I’ve Learned So Far
What interests me most isn’t downloading models and printing them. It’s getting better at designing my own from scratch.
That means learning parametric modeling, understanding dimensional tolerances, working with different materials like TPU and PETG, and designing around the limits of the machine.
Milestones
No published documents in this category.
Featured milestones
Designing a Stackable Workshop Drawer System
Developing a modular drawer system around printable size, stacking, storage density, and eventually real printed tolerances.
Designing a Modular Filament Spool Holder
Designing a functional filament holder that was larger than my printer could manufacture as one piece.
Why I Got Into 3D Printing & CAD
Why I started 3D printing, why learning CAD quickly became a project of its own, and what I’m trying to learn by designing and making my own parts.
Designing a Parametric TPU Bracelet System
How a simple flexible bracelet turned into an ongoing CAD exercise involving parameters, sizing, curved geometry, surface patterns, TPU, and batch printing.
Project Highlights Evidence set
Bracelet Prototypes
Prototype photographDifferent bracelet sizes, colors, text, and surface designs from several rounds of iteration.
Technical description
Physical TPU prototypes used to compare sizing, text treatments, surface geometry, and design variations.
Flexible Product Designs
Prototype photographSome of the bracelet and wrist strap designs after several rounds of CAD and printing.
Technical description
Later-stage collection showing multiple flexible product designs together with early display hardware.
Designing Around the Build Volume
Technical diagramBreaking a larger design into parts that could actually be manufactured on the A1 Mini.
Technical description
Build-plate layout showing the multipart strategy used to manufacture a structure larger than the printer's individual build volume.
Half Finished Spool Holder
Prototype photographThe modular spool holder assembled and supporting a full spool.
Technical description
Functional-use evidence showing the final spool position and support provided by the assembled printed structure.
Technical description
V1 CAD concept combining a printable outer frame, removable drawer, and geometry intended for modular stacking.
Engineering record timeline
Designing a Stackable Workshop Drawer System
Developing a modular drawer system around printable size, stacking, storage density, and eventually real printed tolerances.
Designing a Modular Filament Spool Holder
Designing a functional filament holder that was larger than my printer could manufacture as one piece.
Designing a TPU Wrist Key Strap
Taking what I learned from the bracelet designs and applying it to a flexible wrist strap built around a different use.
Designing a Parametric TPU Bracelet System
How a simple flexible bracelet turned into an ongoing CAD exercise involving parameters, sizing, curved geometry, surface patterns, TPU, and batch printing.
