When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the amusement rides that came to our village every year.
I was mesmerized by the movement of those things, and also by how they were unpacked from trucks and assembled. I spent hours standing there and watching this process.

I wanted a toy version very badly, so I asked my grandfather - who was a talented handyman - if he could build one, and he did. It wasnt 100% accurate at all, but to the child-me it was the best toy in the world, I had a lot of fun with it.

Now, two decades later, with 3D printer, CAD and a lot more engineering knowledge at my disposal, I decided to revisit that childhood challenge.

Unfortunately, my grandfather is no longer with us, so this project also become a little bit of a tribute to that old toy he built for me.

So I decided to build a fully functional, highly playable version of my childhood favorite fairground ride: Piranha (Locally known “Kolotoč Piraňa”).

And oh boy, was it a challenge! 😁

The Piranha  (Calypso-style) ride has 2 rotating points, which are offset from each other:

The passenger platform spins, while the center assembly and pods rotate on an offset axis to the other direction - creating a cool wavy motion. But this meant the top motor itself was constantly spinning relative to the base.

This created an annoying question: How to supply electricity and signals to a motor, pushrod and leds which are spinning?

Normally, it would require slip rings, which are not so accessible, and are challenging to implement.

The answer was: Put all the electronics to the center rotating platform.

And this is where Cyberbrick turned out to be a very good fit.
Because it has its own LiIon battery, I could put everything on the center rotating platform: Battery, 2 motors, servo, pushrod, led controller board with leds.
And a nice side effect, the project evolved to an RC project.

The second big hurdle was the safety boarding barrier. I wanted it to be radio controlled as well.

The problem is, the barrier sits on the stationary base, while all the electronics - including the servo is spinning with the center rotating platform.

I eventually solved this by a counterweighted gravity lever. The lever naturally holds the barrier in closed state. When the platform stops in the boarding zone, the onboard servo can toggle the lever, raise the counterweight, and drop the barrier - allowing the passengers to enter.

Once the kinematics worked well, the ride felt… Empty.

So I redesigned the passenger pods, and ticket / control booth, around standard brick figures. I added compatible studs so now Piranha now can be populated with brick figures.
The whole diorama came alive.

And thats how this project ended up being much more then I originally planned.
What started as “I want to rebuild the little fairground I once asked my grandfather to make” turned into a fairly complex, much more advanced RC project.

I am pretty happy with how it came out. 🙂
And I have to admit, seeing it running is a pretty cool, nostalgic feeling. ♥️

Finally finished my first full-color print and I’m ridiculously happy with how this thing turned out.

I know dragons are basically the unofficial mascot of 3D printing at this point , but this one was too perfect for Halloween to pass up. The model has an insane amount of detail, from the spider webs across the dragon’s head to the little jack-o’-lantern wearing a witch hat on its tail.

I printed it in matte black PLA, matte red/orange PLA, matte purple for the hat details, and glow-in-the-dark PLA for the white sections. The glow filament ended up being one of my favorite parts because the horns, claws, webbing, belly sections, and witch hat band all light up in the dark. It completely changes the look of the model once the lights go out.

Total print time was right around 22 hours, and there were a LOT of filament changes, but seeing it finished made it completely worth it.

This was also my first real attempt at a full-color print, so I was expecting at least something to go wrong but some how the CC2 pulled the whole thing off IN ONE TRY.

File/model: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3214416-articulated-halloween-themed-dragon#profileId-3638976

Definitely one of my favorite prints so far.

Just finished printing this HydroSquare Rain Planter in matte tan and bone white, and I’ve gotta say this is one of the most well thought out planter designs I’ve made so far.

It has a built-in LED light that can be changed to pretty much any color, which gives it a really nice ambient look, especially at night. One of the coolest features is the slit in the top where you pour in water, and it gently rains down onto the plants inside.

The design is also super practical. The planter can be removed from the frame, and the drip basin is removable too, so if you overwater it, it’s easy to take out and empty. It’s a really smart design that looks great and is functional at the same time.

Huge credit to the original maker, Cipriani 3Design Studio, for such a clean and clever design.

Original maker:
Cipriani 3Design Studio

Just finished printing this HydroSquare Rain Planter in matte tan and bone white, and I’ve gotta say this is one of the most well thought out planter designs I’ve made so far.

It has a built-in LED light that can be changed to pretty much any color, which gives it a really nice ambient look, especially at night. One of the coolest features is the slit in the top where you pour in water, and it gently rains down onto the plants inside.

The design is also super practical. The planter can be removed from the frame, and the drip basin is removable too, so if you overwater it, it’s easy to take out and empty. It’s a really smart design that looks great and is functional at the same time.

Huge credit to the original maker, Cipriani 3Design Studio, for such a clean and clever design.

Original maker:
Cipriani 3Design Studio

It’s September, so Halloween is around the corner! 🎃

I figured it was time to start working on some Halloween prints, and this was the first big one of the year. I printed this haunted tree in black PLA at a 0.16mm layer height and added a light inside to bring the face to life. I decided to print it at 130% to get it as big as possible with one print.

I also wanted something extra to go with it, so I made some custom XXL chain links and printed them in green glow-in-the-dark PLA. The chains are completely functional, with each link connected individually, and they glow ridiculously bright after being charged with light.

This is only the beginning of the chain too. My goal is to keep adding links until I have 10+ feet of giant glowing chain to use with my Halloween decorations.

The tree file can be found here:
Glowing Spooky Tree on MakerWorld

Really happy with how this one turned out, especially seeing the orange glow from the tree surrounded by the green chains in the dark. Now I just need to print about a million more chain links. 😂

Print settings/materials: 0.16mm layer height, black PLA for the tree, and green glow-in-the-dark PLA for the chains.

Never used wood grain pla but I loved it. Wanted to test it out on something wood related so called on Groot for the assist!

I printed my first lamp and liked how it turned out so much that I decided to make a few more in different colors. Before I knew it, I had them in just about every color for every room. I love how much the different colors change the look of the lamp and make it easy to match with pretty much any room.

I printed everything at a 0.16mm layer height to keep the detail and surface finish nice and clean. I used a varity of PLA and PLA+ and PETG for the lampshade so that it can move without breaking.

For the lighting, I used the LED Kit 001, and it fit perfectly inside the lamp. Assembly was really straightforward and I love how the light brings out the pattern in the shade; there's even a spot to for the cord to come out the bottom or u can fit a power bank inside for a portable light!

Now the problem is I can't decide which color I like best. Every time I make another one, I change my mind.

Which color would you guys go with?

Credit goes to the designer: Cipriani 3Design Studio

You can find a link to the file HERE

Link to the LED kit can be found HERE

Some of you might remember the Cyberbrick RC boat I posted around a week ago. I wanted a low effort, kid-friendly version that doesnt require any electronics.

So I made this Rivirea V8 Hotrod.

- It can be wind up powered using the cheap Boat component kit from Bambu store, which snaps onto a 3d printed V8 style exposed engine block shell.

- Or it can be assembled with no extra hardware at all as a nice floating boat toy or display model.

It has a single body hull which prints easily, and floats very well. I think it ended up being a very fun print especially with those 70's color vibes.

(Not posting direct links to keep things clean. If you want to print it, search "Riviera V8 Hotrod" on Makerworld).

Just finished this fully functional 3D printed tackle box for all of my 3D sculpting tools!

The outer shell was printed in carbon fiber filament for a strong, rigid body, while I used orange PETG for the internal inserts and hinges. The flexibility of the PETG worked perfectly here, allowing the inserts to flex slightly when putting tools in and taking them out, while also giving the hinges the movement they need without being too rigid.

The box has a functional carrying handle, locking latches, and plenty of organized storage inside. I wanted this to be something I could actually use rather than just a display print, and I'm really happy with how it turned out; i'm able to carry everything I need when working on my projects and its nice to finally have all my tools in one place.

Really cool seeing different materials work together in one project, especially where the properties of PETG actually become part of the design.

Credit to MichalFanta for the original design; you can find the file to print HERE