3D Printing Merch That’s Actually Worth Buying (No T-Shirts)
Treating yourself? Treating someone you forgot at Christmas? Whatever the reason, these articles of 3D printing-aligned merch are all at least one of useful, cool, stylish or tasty.
Usually, when we talk about buying things in this hobby, it’s strictly functional: filaments, hotends, build plates and replacement parts. But a handful of brands have done a great job creating gear that celebrates the craft itself or their own personal interests, and you can share in them too.
Prusa Heatbed Mousepad
One of the cleverest bits of functional desk decor in the hobby, this 1:1 scale mouse pad replica ($16.99) of Prusa’s MK52 magnetic heatbed includes the grid markings and warning labels of the real thing. It adds a nice bit of context to your workstation and works perfectly as a mousepad. Unlike the real heatbed, it won’t turn your wrist toasty if you lean on it, but it is nice and squishy.
Wham Bam Systems Mini Slap Mat
While the full-size Slap Mats are designed to save benchtops from resin spills, a set of four Mini Slap Mats ($8) version finds a home on almost any desk. As well as being a genuinely helpful place to place bits while tinkering – keeping screws, nozzles, and the like together – it’s also a fabulous coaster, giving you a grippy, non-slip place to park your tea or coffee while you work.
Protopasta "Don’t Eat the Pasta" Mug
Protopasta has always leaned into the culinary confusion of their name with a good sense of humor. This mug ($12) serves as a friendly, persistent reminder: “Don’t Eat the Pasta.” At 11 oz, it’s a good size for a morning brew and brings a bit of color to your workshop, even if it eventually just becomes a holder for your flush cutters, scrapers, and hex keys.
Slice Engineering Orange Creamsicle Lollipops
Originally just a packing bonus included with hotend orders, these gourmet lollipops (99c) have taken on a life of their own. Now sold separately by Slice Engineering at 99 cents a pop, they’re a delicious way to tip your basket value over the $100 threshold for free shipping.
Prusa Research Hexagon Snapback Cap
Prusa’s black and orange branding speaks for itself, and the Hexagon Snapback ($32.99) is one of the cleaner ways to wear it. It features a subtle hexagon branding that nods to one of the company’s signature emblems without being too loud about it. It’s a well-made, comfortable cap (it’s a snapback, after all) that fits right in at a meet-up or just out in the world.
West3D Caramel Apple n' Jalapeño Hot Sauce
Most 3D printing shops with merch focus on the basics like t-shirts and stickers; the folks at West3D like hot sauce though, and so, instead, lean into their personal interests and teamed up with local hot sauce maker PexPeppers to make small custom batches of sauce. The West3D Caramel Apple n’ Jalapeño sauce ($9.99) combines sweet and spicy, and is a lot more interesting than a branded t-shirt.
JoelBot D7 Shoes
The high-end entry on this list for wearing your 3D printing fandom. Designed by David Tobin, executive producer behind the 3DPrintingNerd YouTube channel, and printed by Zellerfeld, the JoelBot D7 fully 3D printed shoes ($209) have the silhouette of a solid pair of skating sneakers but are fashioned from a single, breathable printed piece. Custom-fitted via a digital scan using your phone, the shoes are a pricey flex, but wearable proof that the technology is already for so much more than prototypes.
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