Engineer 3D Prints A Colorful, Functional Toilet

Because great ideas come in all shapes and sizes (and colors), Youtuber Emily The Engineer decided to take it upon herself to see if she could 3D print a functional toilet. Could she? SPOILER: Yes– yes, she could. And I hope that this colorful commode serves as a reminder to us all that if you try hard and believe in yourself, anything is possible. Or you can at least 3D print yourself a toilet.

Due to the size of the toilet, the unit had to be split into numerous blocks for individual printing, and Emily took that opportunity to print the blocks in various fun colors. The result is what appears to be a LEGO toilet, or a Mondrian painting. My bathroom demands it!

Emily attached all the parts to one another using 3D plastic glue and a soldering iron to fuse where necessary. Even the tank float, flapper, and flushing mechanism are 3D printed, although a handful of metal nuts and bolts were required to connect everything.

Unfortunately, after testing, it appeared her design wasn’t strong enough to be attached to a traditional indoor plumbing system. So what did she do? What anybody would — attached wheels, armrests, smartphone charger, cup holders, and added a bidet. Boom — mobile toilet! Goodbye porta-potty, hello sporta-potty!

[via TechEBlog]

Eye of Sauron Christmas Tree Topper: You Cannot Hide. It Sees You.

The brainchild of Redditor ancienteuphoria, this Eye of Sauron Christmas tree topper is the perfect decoration for terrifying your children into being good for the remainder of the year. Remember, kids, Sauron is always watching! Be good, or he’ll feed you to his orcs.

The topper features an illuminated Eye of Sauron atop the pinnacle of Barad-dûr Tower, which projects a moving, fiery sky onto the ceiling above. Honestly, I feel like the color scheme really works for the Christmas season. It’s like a roaring fire but on your ceiling. Just be sure to close the curtains before turning it on or neighbors will call the fire department.

My Christmas tree topper? It’s a dog angel my wife bought from a rescue organization to remember one of our dogs who passed. She was a good dog. The dogs we have now? Little monsters. They would totally fit right in with Sauron’s army, because there’s no question they would destroy the entirety of Middle Earth just for a treat.

[via Reddit]

Smart Workshop Organization System with Inventory Tracking

In an effort to better organize all his electronic bits, freelance prototyper, YouTuber, and cyborg Zack Freedman is building a smart organization system for his workshop that can track inventory, tell you where a certain piece is, and light up its bin with the help of over 8,500 LEDs. Hey, the more lights, the merrier, that’s what I always say.

Zack uses the modular Gridfinity system as the backbone of his project, which is a system of open-source, free-to-3D print organizer blocks that all slot into a 42mm grid. He then adds lights and sensors to each storage block he creates, adding its contents to a database so he can track inventory and search for which bin a particular part is in.

The video follows Zach constructing a single long smart bin, but he plans to build a bunch of them, then make a vertical carousel system to maximize storage space, allowing him to call upon the specific piece he needs, and the carousel presenting him with the correct bin and lighting up the compartment needed. The future of organization, everybody! Wait till The Container Store hears about this!

Star Wars Crochet Kit: Crafty Jedis

Because who hasn’t dreamed of crocheting their own little Jedi army to take on the Empire, AlwaysFits is selling this Star Wars Crochet Kit. The kit includes everything you need to make your own Yoda and R2-D2, along with instructions to make more characters; you’ll just need to buy the yarn and eyeballs. Oh – and learn how to crochet.

I’ve tried crocheting before, and I just don’t think I have the patience for it. Or the hand-eye coordination. I’ve got the feeling no matter what character I tried making, they would all just wind up looking like Jabba the Hutts. And not a realistic Jabba the Hutt either, the kind a kid might draw.

Those instructions look like some sort of secret coded message to decipher. What are you trying to tell me, crochet book? Is Obi-Wan our only hope?! Or that it’s better to just give up now before I disappoint myself again? Because I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.

PS5 Customized Into Miniature Dwarven Kingdom

The Playstation 5 console has a certain design aesthetic to it. One that doesn’t really match the rest of my interior design motif. Now, a dwarven kingdom-themed PS5? That will fit right into my rumpus room! Customized by Martina of YouTube channel Nerdforge, this PS5 console features a miniature diorama of a dwarven kingdom/forge, complete with lava and light effects. My own PS5 has never looked so lackluster.

If you look closely, you can see the Sony logo and lips of the PS5 at the top, with the lava flow passing between them. It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it? Martina says she had to experiment with making silicone molds for the lava flow, then making a resin cast of it, but she’s pleased with the result. Probably because it looks so good.

Will I be trying something similar? Of course not, I recognize the limit of my own capabilities, and they’re certainly far from being able to produce something of this caliber or anywhere close. No, the closest I’m going to come to customizing my PS5 is scratching the 5 into a 6, then trying to sell it on eBay for a million dollars.

[via TechEBlog]

Learn How to Solder With This Circuit Board Christmas Tree Kit

Do you know how to solder? I do, but only because I try to repair all my electronics after they break, then end up having to buy new ones anyways after I break them even more. But for those of you who still need some practice (myself included, apparently), there’s this 3D Christmas Tree Soldering Kit (affiliate link). It’s a circuit board Christmas tree you have to assemble and solder yourself, gaining some much-needed experience in the process. And, if you’re like me, set off the smoke alarm at least a half dozen times.

Available in 3- and 7-color models, the STEM kits include everything you need to construct your own 36-light tree, EXCEPT a soldering iron. You have to provide that on your own. And if you don’t have one, DO NOT try to use a lighter and the foil from gum wrappers; you’re not McGyver. Or at least I’m not.

I love fun little DIY projects like this. I feel so accomplished when I complete one, even if they were designed with kids in mind. I might not be a kid in mind, but I am a child at heart. And, okay, my wife says I do have the mind of a 4th grader sometimes. Most of the time, actually.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Crafting a Miniature Pac-Man Arcade Game Drink Coaster

Ever wanted to craft your own miniature Pac-Man level drink coaster? Who hasn’t? It’s a universal human dream. And to help us achieve that dream, YouTuber The Avid Creator avidly created this video detailing how he made one. Just follow along to make your own! Will yours turn out as well as his did? Yours might, but mine definitely won’t.

He constructed the base and walls of the level from finely-cut wood pieces, while the pellets, ghosts, and Pac-Man are made of polymer clay, with everything painted and then sealed with epoxy resin. Admittedly, that is a good-looking drink coaster. Way nicer than my coaster, which just looks like a water ring on the coffee table.

Does anybody want to make a bunch of these for me to give out as Christmas gifts this year? I can promise you’ll be handsomely rewarded. With praise, just to be clear – not with actual money. Come on, Santa doesn’t even pay his elves!

Man Creates Folding iPhone from an iPhone X and Motorola Razr

Because dream it and you can achieve it, Chinese YouTuber 科技美学 has created the iPhone V, a folding iPhone he built using parts from both an iPhone X and Motorola Razr. That’s cool; I’ve also bent an iPhone before. Granted, it wasn’t on purpose, and it cost me $900 to replace, but this time I got the insurance.

The video walks through the process in which the phone was Frankenstein’d together, which looks slightly above my expertise level. And by slightly, I mean vastly. I can barely put a protective case on my phone without breaking something.

There are rumors Apple is going to release its own folding version of the iPhone. Are they true? No clue; I don’t participate in gossip. But if other phone companies are making flip phones and they’re selling, I suspect Apple will as well, then claim they invented them in the first place. When are pagers going to make a comeback?

[via MacRumors]

Man Installs ‘Eject Passenger’ Button Garage Door Opener in Car

Because who hasn’t dreamed of having a James Bond-style ejector seat in their vehicle to quickly remove a passenger during an uncomfortable conversation, YouTuber Scott Prints installed a passenger ejector seat button in his vehicle. Of course, it’s not actually an ejector seat button; it’s a garage door opener. Despite that, I still want one.

The button fits in the loose change compartment of the car’s center console and features the guts of a garage door opener inside a 3D-printed case, with a milled aluminum top plate and red button. He should make an upgrade, so the button lights up and flashes when you reach a certain speed. Sorry, but it’s time for you to go!

Sure, it’s just a novelty garage door opener, but is that going to stop me from laughing maniacally and telling my passenger I’ve got them right where I want them before pointing at the red button? It is not. “Say hello to the sun for me!” I imagine joking before accidentally running over a parking curb because I thought the car was in reverse.

[via Hackaday]

Build Your Own Wooden Tilt-A-Whirl Moving Music Box

Because who didn’t get into puzzles or model building during the pandemic (I got into miniature ships myself), the $55 ROKR Tilt-A-Whirl is a DIY music box wooden puzzle kit from the company’s Magic Amusement Park series. It’s based on the classic spinning teacups amusement park ride and features the outer decorations of an old traveling circus. It will make the perfect addition to my mantle, provided I can build it right without smashing all the pieces to bits with my Hulk hands.

The 280-piece model measures approximately 7″ x 8″ x 9″, requires about 5.5 hours to construct, and even features working lights around the spinning ride. It plays ‘Wind and Moon’ when turned on, and the cups start spinning. Unfortunately for me, the model is rated 4 out of 4 stars for building difficulty, meaning its successful construction is unlikely in my case. I’m more of a 1-star model builder or, if I’m being completely honest, a buyer of pre-built models. “Best to leave it to the professionals,” my wife will tell me while watching me burn my latest failed build in our fire pit.