Andy “akdrama” shared a guide for how to create $1 reusable print beds using vinyl place mats. Interesting example of yet another of the wide range of options explored for sticking down those tricky prints! (We also offer PRINTinZ Flexible Printer Plates that cost more than $1…but oh, so nice! More stock in soon…)

Put away your masking tape, hair spray, or whatever, because here is an easy way to make your own reusable print bed for your 3D printer!

Please note that this is intended for use with PLA on a non-heated bed. I print at a relatively low temperature of 190-195° C and I always have my extruder fan running, even during warm up. Do not use this mat with a heated bed. If you proceed please do so with caution and at your own risk!

Step 1: Get Your Material

The print bed is made out of a vinyl place mat that I got from Walmart for under $3. Wait a minute, you said $1 beds! That’s right, out of one vinyl place mat I was able to yield four beds to use on my Simple Metal. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Now specifically the mat we want is by Mainstays and has UPC 0-28332-52351-6. At my local store they offered two colors, red and beige. There’s two sides to this mat, the glossy finish that is the top and underneath a matte, burlap texture. We want to print on the matte side, the glossy side will melt!

We will also need a glue stick. You know, a popular snack in kindergarten classes. Don’t eat it all, we’ll need some later….

Read More.

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!