Do you want to start a 3d printing business but you lack ideas? If YES, here are 50 best 3D printed items and products ideas you can sell and make money.
3D printing is a way of creating three dimensional (3D) solid objects. 3D printing is done by building up the object layer by layer using acceptable materials; this is why this method of printing is also called additive manufacturing.
Regular printers are done in 2D (printed a sheet of paper) which does not show depth or dimension but 3D printing can. Usually, 3D printers use plastic, because it is easier to use, cheaper to obtain and more malleable.
The process of 3D printing is also more energy-efficient, with the lower energy use of up to 50 percent compared to traditional manufacturing processes.
3D printers are useful today because they can make new objects very fast, and are good at making them very detailed. This is why 3D printed products are now seen in retail stores now. Any smart entrepreneur can make some good business out of 3D printed products if he or she can print the product himself.
The fact here is that a 3D printer can make just about anything as long as you can program it into the system. Today, there are various household and even personal items you can print on 3D and make good profit from. Some of these items include but are not limited to…
50 Best 3D Printed Items and Product ideas You Can Sell
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Headphone stand
People are always at a quagmire on where to drop their headphones. Why not put them out of their troubles by selling 3D printed headphone stands. This product is a great example of a product that solves a problem that you did not even realize you had.
While most of us use headphones, nobody really gives a thought about where to properly put them when not in use. People just leave them lying around on desks and couches, which can be slightly disconcerting when you’re using high-end headphones.
With a headphone stand, your headphones are kept safely away from the table. This would make a great product for young people who have this need.
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Salt and Pepper Shakers
One useful household product you can print on your 3D printer are salt and pepper shakers. While people can easily get good salt and pepper shakers on the market, but you can have fun with your designs so people will be awed by it and would not mind the extra cost.
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3D Fake Nails
Fake nails are now getting printed on 3D, so what a way to have fun with your designs than creating fake nails that can’t easily be seen in the market. You can make easy peel and stick nails because they are reusable, disposable, and have a large fanbase which means your profit will be fairly stable.
3D printed fake nails are easy to use and cheap to produce if you can master the art form. You can paint any form of nail art you want without squinting your eye to paint the details 10 times. Just try and be unique with your designs all the time and you will be generally fine.
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Desktop organiser
3D printers have been used to come up with a lot of desktop organizers, so you can start printing and selling these. You can look out for, or print a desktop organizer that provides storage space not just for your standard office items (pencils, scissors, and the like) but also has a slot for your SD cards, microSD cards, and flash drives.
This is great for people who frequently lose these small storage devices because they don’t have a default storage area for them. The design is very simple and easy to print.
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Animal Skull Figures
You might be wondering why someone would want to print an animal skull figure, but in reality, these products have their uses. Skull figures of animals and even humans are used in a lot of industries such as animal science, medicine, education and even art.
They’re beautiful, symmetrical, uniform and edgy. 3D animal skull figures are customizable, lighter, durable end product with a wide range to express your creativity. You only need to find the right niche to market to.
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3D Printed Earrings
3D printed earrings are yet another product you can easily sell if you are looking towards the 3D market. This is perfect for women who want to wear custom-designed jewelry. Some 3D companies are already offering this kind of service in several materials – the versatility is unbound with 3d printing.
The demand is steadily growing for a good reason. These earrings don’t contain nickel, which typically causes allergies to some skin types. Additionally, filament materials are light and durable, yet recyclable and can be used again on other projects.
And since the 3D printer will do the majority of the work, the cost will be much cheaper and quicker to complete. 3D printed earrings are light, durable, customizable, and cheaper to produce with a huge upside for profit and market cap.
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Architectural Models
3D printing is a technology that can make the life of architects easier. With this new technology, architects are able to improve the efficiency of their workflow. Before, 3D architectural models were made by hand which was a long and tedious process. Architectural materials used before included cardboard, wood, and foam, and they were not that durable.
With 3D printing, architects are assured that they will get perfect models while working and spending their time on different tasks requiring their attention. The 3D models are more precise and more convenient, as well as cheaper and reusable (some models can be used in other similar projects).
This business concept can be done through either brick-and-mortar or an online, location independent business. By making it an order-based business, you could help diversify home and building designers create a perfect 3D image/illustration of their designs in real life. When working online, individuals who already have their own design can send it online. Your business will have to print and send it to the client and earn a profit.
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Non-climbing carabiner
A carabiner or karabiner is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notably in safety-critical systems. Carabiners can be an incredibly useful and versatile tool for lifting objects or for attaching things.
You can have one or two permanently attached to your backpack so you can attach small things such as an umbrella or another smaller bag. They can also be used if you’d like to carry all your groceries in one go. Just keep in mind that there is no way that a 3D printed carabiner can be used for any climbing activity because it is not that strong, it is just meant for the smaller items.
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Slippers & Flip-Flops
The concept of 3D printed flip flops is one of the most random concepts in the market, but you will be surprised by the number of people who are willing to pay money just to buy a customized, ultra-comfortable pair of flip flops to use in their daily lives.
It makes sense though, foot pain is one of those things that everyone deals with at one point or another. Flip flop manufacturers usually mass-produce their products in uniform. The lack of customization causes discomfort to wearers since we all have different sizes, shapes, and builds on our body. You can start printing 3D flipflops that take the various foot shapes and sizes into consideration. This can give you a very good market.
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Flower pots
Yet another beautiful and useful item you can print on 3D are flowerpots. There are hundreds of 3D printed flower pots to choose from online, but you can make your own to be quire unique so you can nudge out the competition.
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Outlet protectors
By law, all plug sockets must have safety shutters that prevent children accessing the live terminals. You can start making 3D printed outlet plugs that will help prevent children from inserting objects into electric outlets. Safety considerations aside, 3D printing your own lets you add some flair to an otherwise mundane item.
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Drink coasters
Counter top rings can be unsightly, but what is more unsightly is the mundane uninspiring coaster we get to see at some tables today. You can spice this up by printing and selling drink coasters that would make anyone want to get a pair. And the best part? They typically take just a few minutes to print.
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Wall mounts for your treasures
From guitars to skateboards to frames, there’s definitely no shortage of clever, creative, and customizable mounting solutions that you can print from your 3D printer. These are easy to print and if your marking skills are upbeat, they are also easy to sell.
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Windshield scrapers
If you live in a place that regularly freezes over, a decent (and easily replaceable) windshield scraper is a must. The beauty of rolling around with a 3D printed one is that, if you lose or break it, you can just print another one right away. And if the shape and design is unique, people can easily buy them from you.
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Measuring cups
Measuring cups are crucial for the exact science of baking, but they always seem to go missing after a few years (especially if you move around a lot or live with roommates). Luckily, there are hordes of them in different shapes and sizes that you can print. Since they are measuring cups, you typically know who you will be marketing to.
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Collapsible coat hanger
Traveling with a coat sometimes means having to bring your own coat hanger. Nobody likes doing this, as the coat hanger as we’ve come to know it is large and hard to pack inside your luggage. You can 3D print a collapsible coat hanger attempts to solve this problem. These hangers come in three separate pieces that can be assembled to form a full-sized coat hanger.
Assembling the parts can be challenging at first as their slots are designed very tight. However, this should get easier with frequent use. These are much easier to pack and to travel with. You can even bring along several sets without having to worry about needing more space in your luggage. Trust me, there are loads of people who need this product.
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Custom six-pack carrier
When you are set to go a friend’s for a game and you need to bring along some bottles, the question of how to carry the bottles usually presents some problems. This is why a custom printed 3D six pack carrier would be needed by people can’t do without their beer.
You can print a carrier that fits any standard 330mL longneck beer bottle and comes with a screw-on handle. This is especially useful for people who are into homebrewing business and would like to give a few bottles as gifts. Just remember to make the print as strong as possible (maybe use 100% infill) as you would not want it to break and spill any of your precious beer.
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Soldering iron stand
If you’ve ever dabbled with electronics before, then you’re probably familiar with the problem of having nowhere to prop up your soldering iron while you’re not using it. With a simple soldering iron stand, you no longer need to use a makeshift stand for that smoldering hot soldering iron. Just make sure to rescale the model depending on the size of your soldering iron. Or you can make various sizes so people can pick what matches their soldering iron.
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Fully compliant pliers
Pliers may not sound like a very interesting object to create using your 3D printer, but there’s something you can add to it that regular pliers don’t have. Yes, you can print compliant pliers. Using compliant mechanism technology, these pliers almost completely translate your input force on the pinching end.
This is a fairly innovative product which will sell great on its novelty factor alone. Aside from being incredibly useful, it’s also relatively easy to print as it’s just a single piece. These pliers are best printed using a flexible filament, such as TPU.
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Most Common Metric Nut and Bolts
Yet another useful thing you can print on your 3D printer and make money selling are metric nuts and bolts. You can print a cluster of common nuts and bolts, from teeny tiny M2s all the way up to the chunky M20. Handy stand-ins for your next project if you’re in a pinch and need to hold something together.
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Fully 3D-Printable Photography Turntable
A photography turntable is a flat platform that has one job: spinning. In doing so, it provides a 360 degree view of whatever object happens to be stationed upon it at the time. This piece of equipment is oftentimes used for product photography, adding motion to video clips, as well as for capturing intricate details and propping up an object to improve lighting.
Turn things around this year by printing and selling a 3D printable turntable. It is usually suitable for pairing with a 3D scanner or camera for photogrammetry (that or getting clean gifs of your best prints).
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3D Nutcracker
People keep promising themselves to eat more nuts every year. You can help make that dream a reality by printing and selling 3D nutcrackers. If well printed the nutcrackers work tremendously without issues. Even though people usually buy pre-cracked nuts, but this little piece of equipment always comes in handy in the home.
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Candle Holder
Candle holders make easy printing on a 3d printer, and they can as well easily market themselves. With many candle holders in the market, know that you need to put a twist to your own to get people looking at them twice.
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Bottle Opener and Cap Gun
Bottle opener and cap gun are other funky items that you can 3D print and make money from selling them. All you need is a few simple printed pieces and an elastic band (plus a few screws) for the fun to commence. Try to play around with your designs so as to get something unique.
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Mechanical Keyboard
You can also print a mechanical keyboard out of your 3D printer. You can create a design in which the colors, the compactness and mechanical switches, are satisfyingly simple but with beautiful printed parts that all add up to a cool looking peripheral you’d feel proud to use and to sell to other people. It will definitely be a little piece of indulgence for those with the wherewithal to give it a go.
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Money Clip
Flash your cash on the down-low with a quick and easy printable money clip. Print on its side and feel that knobbly texture under your thumb as you fling a few fifties toward the barkeep. It’ll be much fun for people who love to show off a bit.
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Wall outlet shelf
Have you ever had to charge your phone on a wall outlet without anything to rest your phone on? Worse, your charging cord may be too short to put your phone on the floor. Talk about awkward. You can print a wall outlet shelf that provides a handy platform for your phone while you’re charging it.
No more scooting over a chair or piling bags under the wall outlet while you charge your phone. The wall outlet mount is a simple and smart solution to an often-overlooked problem, and people would not hesitate to buy.
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Phone dock and sound amplifier
A phone is one of the easiest ways to access your favorite music using any of several streaming options. While pairing your phone to a Bluetooth speaker is a viable option, it does take a few minutes of setup every time, not to mention the fact that you need to make sure your speaker has been charged.
With a printable phone dock and sound amplifier, you can play your music straight from your phone and enhance the output from your phone’s tiny speakers. This is a great amplifier to have around the house for those spontaneous dance parties.
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Toilet paper phone holder
Nowadays, almost nobody goes to the toilet without their phone at hand, lest you get stuck reading and rereading the label on that shampoo bottle. The problem with this habit is that there’s almost always no place to put away your phone when you need your hands free to do your business.
You can print an incredibly simple toilet paper holder integrated with a platform for your phone. You can mount it on the wall of your restroom using double-sided adhesives or drill a few screw holes to hold it in place more permanently. This is as simple as it gets – easy to make, easy to mount, and keeps your phone clean.
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Flippy Desk Calendar
Though the days of flippy calendars are basically over for most of the young people, but nothing says that you cannot get a comfortable little niche you can sell this 3D printable throwback item to. This can also be a good gift for the fastidious folks in your life. You may have to make loads of them in the festive season because you will definitely find market for them one way or the other.
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Shoe Support
Keeping your kicks high and dry from the catastrophe of closet clutter, the Shoe Support is a simple solution to a simple problem. Wedge your shoe into the opening and let gravity do the rest. Anyone who has shoe issues would be interested in this one.
You only have to make sure that the product has not issues like potentially marking or damaging the shoes. You may have to use soft fabric to soften the rough edges. There are of course stores and individuals who would not hesitate to invest in this product.
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Reittec Polisher
A Reittec Polisher uses household items, easily sourceable electronics and a whole heap of silicon carbide sand to take the effort out of post-print processing. Once printed and assembled, all you need to do is throw your print in need of processing into the sand for a long tumble. Several subsequent tumbles in increasingly finer grades of sand later, and you have super smooth parts with not a lick of sandpaper or cans of elbow grease in sight.
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Smart Wallet
Smart in the sense that a suit can be smart, the Smart Wallet packs a nifty set of compartments for your daily carry essentials into a sleek, pocketable design. With room for a key, parking ticket, credit cards, and a few bills, it subtly fans out to eject the cards housed within. You can print and easily sell this wallet. You can add other great features to make sure you differentiate your designs from the others. It’s quite amazing.
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Hose Connector Customizer
Ideal for connecting small tubes to slightly smaller tubes, or even to bigger tubes. If you get the right connector, it will save you a wasteful trip to the DIY store. Infinitely configurable as a parametric open SCAD file, you can tailor the design to your specific need. Anything that can help make things easier around the house can get people to buy it.
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USB Cable Organizer
Do you have USB cables? Are they a mess? Is your life falling apart? If you answered yes to the first two questions, a handy printable organizer can help you out. A lot of people deal with cables and wires on a daily basis, so this product would be of much help if it is able to solve the problem effectively. It’s also portable, if necessary.
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Bag Clip with Screw Cap
Your typical print-in-place bag clip gains a new ability — namely, a quick access screw cap. It’s one of those prints that’s so simple and effective. It can easily catch attention people would love to pay for it.
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PiggyBank
We all need piggy banks even when we think we have learned how to manage our money. How about a funky looking hog designed piggy bank to scoop up your spare change. You may have to print this in parts and assemble you can do it any way you choose. Those kids around you would love their first printed 3D piggy bank.
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Sound Amplifier
Yet another useful something that can come out of your 3D printer is a sound amplifier. You can make a passive amplifier for your smartphone which adds a little extra “oomph” to those tinny speakers when blasting out your tunes. You can create different designs so you don’t get stuck with one pattern.
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Toothpaste Tube Squeezer
Dental hygiene is nothing to laugh at, and neither are micro-ounces of wasted toothpaste. The good news, however, is that finding the right tool to help you squeeze every last drop from the tube should be a breeze.
Squeeze every last drop of toothpaste from the tube with a 3D printed toothpaste tube squeezer. You can print it in three separate parts, and make it wide enough to accommodate most tubes in the market. Not only a cool thing to 3D print, but also something to keep your breath minty fresh.
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Stackable Hex Drawers
Phone charger cables, USB cables, HDMI cables, Thunderbolt cables, DisplayPort cables… Your office space is covered in a spaghetti of cables, are we right? Banish the mess with a set of 3D printed hex drawers. The design is stackable too, so you can extend the hive as the need arises.
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Citrus juicers
If you are one with your fruit juice, then you would agree that a citrus juicer is a must have in a home. Since most people still do not have this equipment, then save them the embarrassment and print them some good citrus juicers they can keep handy in the home.
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Candle holders
If you are, and you’re running out of clever ways to house and display your flickering flames, check out the numerous candle holder designs available online.
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Doorstops
So you finally managed to lose that wedge of wood you’ve been using to hold the door open for 25 years? Why not replace it with something more thoughtful, functional, or quirky? There are zillions of great doorstop designs on the web that you can print and sell for a good profit.
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Zipper pull replacements
The feeling of losing a zipper pull handle is a truly hopeless one, but not if you can print! With various styles and methods of installation, you’ll be sure to find your preferred zipper miracle with no fuss. You can equally print this item for sale.
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Phone cases
Tired of getting a new phone case every time you get a new phone? Well, if you pick up a 3D printer, you’ll be able to fabricate a brand-new, fully-customized smartphone case whenever you need one. You would not just have to print one for yourself, you can get to sell them.
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Visor clip for sunglasses
This one’s a classic – an S-shaped that will allow you to clip your sunglasses to your car’s sun visor. That’s about all there is to it. With this clip in your car, you no longer need to rummage around your glove compartment for your sunglasses or leave them on the dashboard where they could easily slide around and fall. Just keep in mind that the interior of your car can get really hot when left out in the sun, so make sure to print using a high-temperature filament such as ABS or Nylon.
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Labyrinth Gift Box
When it comes to giving gifts, cash is not the most imaginative of presents. Wrap up your notes in a more exciting package with a Labyrinth Gift Box. There’s only one correct path, so the lucky recipient will have to work at it a fair bit to unlock the prize tucked inside. Anyone desiring to gift someone would certainly look out for this.
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Pop Up Picnic Basket
Pimp your picnics with a 3D picnic collapsible basket. Portioned off into five cascading sections that hold their shape when extended, it had a marvelous design that prints in few parts and assembles with a dab of glue. This would also make an easy sell.
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Space-themed cookie cutters
Little boys are crazy about anything space-related, so printing space-themed cookie cutters are sure to be a hit with them. You can take inspiration from the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, and include designs that resemble the Saturn V launch vehicle, the Lunar Module, and the Command Service Module.
The designs are quite intricate, which should result in some interesting-looking cookies. In any case, this should get you a few additional brownie points form the kids.
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Drain covers/ hair traps
Whether it’s hair in your shower or noodles in your sink, a clogged drain is never fun. Keep gunk out with a drain cover of your choice — be it for sink, shower, or tub. This would make for an easy print and it can easily sell.