Solve Your Beach Day Woes With These 3D Prints
Going to the beach this summer? These 3D printable designs will make your trip more comfortable and more fun. Read on to check them out!
I love the beach: the crystal clear sea, soft sand, and gentle wind. I plan a beach vacation pretty much every year and have discovered some 3D prints that make the experience even more enjoyable. From fun activities to solutions to minor annoyances, there are 3D models for just about every aspect of your beach experience.
In this article, I’ll introduce you to five prints I’m taking to the beach this summer. Along the way, I’ll also share some tips to make sure they’re sturdy enough to withstand the sand and sun. Let’s dive in!
Trouble With Your Umbrella?
Unless your a fan of sunburns, a beach umbrella is an absolute essential when going to the beach. I personally find it a bit difficult to plant my umbrella properly in the sand, especifically on windy days. At Printables, I found the perfect model: a beach umbrella drill tip. Thanks to the drill tip, the umbrella is more stably planted.
I printed this model last year and tested it on the beach. I followed the designer’s instructions and printed the model in PLA with 4 perimeters and 40% infill. It took just over two and a half hours on my Creality K1.
My umbrella was already missing its tip, so I simply hammered on the new drill tip. The fit was slightly tight, so the 3D printe part remained in place even without glue. Depending on the size of your umbrella, you might need to increase or decrease the model’s dimensions – which can easily be done in your favorite slicer.
The part got a lot of use (twice a day for my entire two-week vacation) and worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, I accidentally broke it on the last day of vacation. I suspect that the designer’s recommendations are better for sandy beaches; I was, however, on a beach with pebbles.
This year, I’m changing materials and beefing up the slicer settings. I’ve decided to print it in PETG, which is stronger than PLA, with 5 perimeters and 50% infill. This should give the piece plenty of strength to withstand even the toughest beaches.
Your Towel Keeps Flying?
Every time I lie on my towel, it moves and rolls up. Honestly, it’s pretty uncomfortable. Looking through various 3D model repositories, I found this beach towel clip design.
As UV light degrades PLA, I decided to print the clips in PETG. Also, I set the number of perimeters to 3 and the infill to 20%. We don’t need much strength for these pieces, so we can save material and time while also keeping the part functional. Given the design’s simplicity, I managed to print 12 clips in just a few hours – a set of four clips for me as well as two sets for my parents.
The clips work perfectly. I’ve used them not only for the beach but also for picnics on grass. No more towels full of sand or flying away during a windy day! Even my parents loved them.
Where to Put Your Stuff?
I always bring a book to read on the beach along with a few other necessities, all of which I usually carry in a small bag. The problem is, I have nowhere to put it. The bag usually lies on the ground, and by the end of the day, it’s full of sand just like my clothes.
This beach gear organizer design is a great solution. It fits around the umbrella’s pole and is tightened into place with a 3D printed screw. The design features hooks for you to hang stuff and also a handy tray where small items can be placed. The models are available in four sizes, allowing the design to be used for a wider range of umbrellas.
As with the previous models, I’ll definitely go with PETG since these parts will be exposed to the sun. You can also opt for a more technical material if you prefer, such as ASA or nylon. Additionally, to make it stronger, I’ll print the parts with 4 perimeters and 30% infill.
Need a Game to Play?
Now that we have all the functional parts we need, let’s find a fun model. I don’t know about you, but I get bored at times on the beach. Even though I swim and read a lot while I’m there, it’s fun to break up marathon beach days with other activities.
This beach-themed Tic Tac Toe game is perfect: It’s portable, simple to print, and cute – what more can I ask for?
The design consists of a tray, which serves as the grid of the Tic Tac Toe board, and the tokens, which are shells and starfishes. You can have a lot of fun playing with colors here.
The designer suggests printing the models in PETG given the material’s heat resistance. While I’ll definitely print the board with PETG, I’ll have some fun with some novelty PLAs to print the tokens. Even though PLA isn’t the best for sunlight, I mostly like to play the game under an umbrella, so it’ll be protected from direct sunlight.
When it comes to the print settings, I’ll use my standard ones: 0.2-mm layer height, 3 perimeters, and 15% infill. With these settings, my Anycubic Kobra S1 will have the game fully printed in just over five hours.
Miss Your 3D Printer?
I personally have a hard time being far away from my beloved 3D printers, so I couldn’t resist when I saw this sand 3D printer. It’s simply two pieces: a funnel and a strainer. Fill the funnel with sand, pour water into the strainer, then the sand will be extruded from the funnel allowing you to “3D print” the coolest castles on the beach.
Although the funnel is pretty big, it can be printed on a Bambu Lab A1 Mini or machines with similar dimensions. You’ll need a printer with a build volume of at least 150 mm³. You can even scale up, then print the funnel if you want to increase the flow.
The designer has shared a couple of print profiles: one for a 0.4-mm nozzle and the other, 0.6-mm nozzle. I’ll definitely go with the 0.6-mm option, as that will make the print job much quicker.
The overhangs on the funnel’s handle may print a little rough without supports – which I don’t mind – but if you prefer a smooth print surface, you should definitely enable supports. Tree supports are my go-to.
License: The text of "Solve Your Beach Day Woes With These 3D Prints" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.