Small items with a mechanism: twist, push, roll and more. 30 items
A perpetual calendar for people who want to set the date by hand each day on their desk. Turning the three rings (month, tens digit and ones digit of the day) stops them with a click at the detent. It is printed in one go with the rings already on the axle, so no assembly is needed.
A hexagonal small box that opens by twisting rather than lifting the lid. The pin on the lid follows the helical groove on the neck; a 60-degree twist raises it about 8mm, and it then lifts off. The lid is printed in one piece, already placed over the body.
For people who want to take cotton swabs out one at a time from a bathroom shelf. The grooves of a rotating disc carry the swabs stacked in the tube to the exit window one at a time and drop them. You assemble four parts for use: base, disc, tube and cap.
A moving desk ornament: turning the central pen cup makes the three small-item cups around it turn the opposite way through gears. The simple trapezoidal teeth mesh together, and you assemble five parts: base, central cup and three small cups.
A desk item that holds pens while letting you watch a marble roll. A marble dropped from the top into the spiral track wound around the outside of the pen cup is designed to turn its way down to the tray below. The spiral track is printed with its underside at 45 degrees.
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A small item for taking coins out one at a time beside a register or on a desk. A claw on the slider pushes out only the bottom coin of the stack in the tube, and you pick up the coin from the top of the slider. You assemble the lower base, the tube block and the slider.
A puzzle box that you play with by working out how to open it. The pin on the inside of the lid follows the maze groove carved on the outside of the body, and it is designed to open when you move it in order: lift, turn right, lift, return. Interference has been checked for each path of the maze.
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A stand for people who want a different phone angle for watching videos and for typing. The print-in-place hinge has a detent tongue, and the legs click at 45, 60, 75 and 90 degrees. Opened to 180 degrees, it folds flat.
A small-item holder that is flat when carried and a tube when used. Pulling the nested rings upward makes the catches engage and extend them in turn, and pushing collapses them flat. It is designed to extend about 18mm per stage, and is printed in one piece.
A small-item box that opens like a camera aperture. Turning the ring on the top makes six blades move around their own pins, opening and closing the central hole. You assemble the blades with pins and stack them on the box and ring.
A keychain you can attach to your keys and spin in your hand for fun. The middle ring turns on the X-axis pins of the outer ring, and the inner ring turns on the Y-axis pins of the middle ring, so the three rings move in different directions. It is printed in one piece with the rings already on the axes.
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A pen holder with a round bottom, for use on a desk. The bottom is spherical, and a steel washer placed as a weight in the hole in the bottom and closed with a plug lowers the center of gravity, so it is designed to right itself when pushed. Glue the plug in place. How it returns changes with the number of pens.
A hand-cranked turntable for people who want to photograph small items while rotating them. Turning the handle slows the motion through a 4-to-1 gear, and the top plate turns slowly. It uses no electric power. You assemble it by fitting the arm on the shaft and fixing it with glue or small screws.
A mini case for accessories or coins whose lid pops open. A spring plate integrated with the body pushes the lid up, and pressing the latch tongue releases it so it springs open. You assemble the lid by opening the walls slightly and fitting the pins.
A coin bank with a mechanism that makes inserting coins fun. Put a coin on the platform and press the lever; the platform tilts and the coin slides forward into the box. To reset, lift the lever by hand. The bottom plate slides in and also serves as the removal opening.
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For people who want to keep keys from scattering in a pocket or bag. Clamp the keys between two plates and fasten them with a bolt and knob; you can then swivel out the key you need in a fan shape. Prepare the bolt and nut as commercial parts; the threads are not printed.
A two-digit scoreboard that shows game or sports scores by flipping number cards. One set of cards 0 to 9 for each of the tens and ones places is threaded on an axle, and flipping a card sideways shows the next number. Flipped cards are held standing on the shelf of the base.
A case for people who want to take business cards out one at a time. Sliding the lid makes a push claw push the top layer of the stack of cards forward. The lid doubles as the slider, so there are few parts; just note that the claw does not reach when the stack is low.
A dial that gives a click as you turn it. The projection on the spring arm of the dial enters 12 grooves in the outer wall in turn and stops. It is printed in one piece with clearance from the bottom plate and the central axle. The feel is adjusted by the arm thickness and the projection height.
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A small pinball game to play on a desk. Pull back the plunger with a rubber band on it and release, and the ball is launched into the lane, rolls between the posts and drops into a scoring hollow. Rest the back of the board on two legs to tilt it for use.
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A 4x4 sliding puzzle where you slide number tiles into the empty space to arrange them. The heads of the tile feet sit in the T-shaped grooves of the base and do not come off, and the 15 tiles are printed in one piece. The numbers are recesses that can be changed for each tile.
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A ball maze keychain you attach to a bag and tilt to play while waiting. Under a lattice lid is a 5x5 maze, and you roll the trapped ball from the entrance at the lower left to the exit at the upper right. The lower half of the ball is conical, and it is printed in one piece.
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A card-sized folding phone stand to carry in your wallet. Raising the plate on the print-in-place hinge makes it stop at about 110 degrees at the projection and serve as a backrest for the phone. Folded, it is the same size as a card.
A toy that walks down a gentle slope by itself while swaying. A figure of abstract shape has pendulum-like legs attached so they swing back and forth, and it is designed to advance down the slope board swaying from side to side. Pass the axle through, place the legs and press in the cap.
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A balancing toy to balance on a fingertip. Putting coins in the holes at the ends of both arms brings the center of gravity below the pivot, and with the hollow at the top resting on a finger, it returns to its original posture even when it sways. Adjust the balance with the number of coins.
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A bead counter for people who want to count times or points by flicking beads with a finger. It has three rows of ten beads threaded on axles, and you count by pushing beads to one side. The beads are printed in one piece on the axle with clearance so they do not touch the frame.
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A wall hook that folds against the wall when not in use. Raising the hook arm 90 degrees makes the claw at the tip point up and stop, and a detent works with a click at both the folded and raised positions. Fix the mounting plate to the wall with screws.
A catapult for flicking erasers across a desk. An arm pulled by a rubber band swings to the stop bar at the front and pushes out the eraser placed on the tray at its tip. The rubber band hooks on the post and the hole in the arm, so prepare a commercial rubber band.
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Modules for people who want to arrange desk items together in changing layouts. Four types (pen cup, tray, phone stand and calendar stand) have dovetail grooves on the sides, and they connect sideways by sliding in from above. The order of connection can be swapped.
A small-item box that opens when you set a 3-digit number. Setting the three dials to the number lets the central key pass through the three key grooves, and the lid pulls straight up. You choose the number yourself when assembling, and set it again to close.
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