Make Your Own 3D Printing Pen

You may have seen 3D Printing Pens (such as the 3doodler), and always wanted one. But those pens come with a hefty price tag. So, why not make ourselves one for cheap!

This project is very simple and all it requires are some household tools and items. It provides hours of entertainment, and produces amazing results!

If you liked this instructable, be sure to favourite, comment and vote for me in the 3D printing contest. It helps me out a lot :)

Step 1: Materials/Tools

You will need a couple of tools and materials, most of which you will already have, or you can get at any local shop.

Materials :

1) A hot glue gun (any size)

2) Hot glue sticks (preferably coloured)

3) A rubber band

4) Thumbtacks (not pictured)

Tools :

1) Pliers (I used kitchen tongs)

2) A screwdriver

3) A sharp blade/knife

4) A dremel or hacksaw (to cut the hard plastic)

Step 2: Preparing the Gun

Using your screwdriver, remove the screws on the glue gun and open it up. Inside, there will be a trigger mechanism and a heating component. Remove the trigger mechanism. All we need is the heating component.

Use a pair of pliers to narrow down the tip of the nozzle. What we're trying to do is make the hole small, so that the glue coming out is thin and dries quickly. (Remember, the narrower the nozzle, the better)

Step 3: Transforming the Gun to a Pen

In this step, we turn the gun case into a pen case. To do that, simply cut off the handle of the glue gun. Also, if there is a plastic piece on top of the feeding tube, cut that out.

Next, push 2 thumbtacks on either side of the gun, in front of the feeding tube as shown. Make sure that they are both aligned.

Step 4: Loading It Up

Take a hot glue stick and using a sharp knife (or blade), and cut a notch at one end. Put the stick in the pen and run a rubber band from one thumbtack, over the notch, down to the thumbtack on the other side. The rubber band will keep the glue flowing by pushing down on the stick.

Step 5: Create Your 3D Object!

Use your finger to control the speed of glue flow by pushing down on the stick (see the picture). Push down on the stick to slow/stop the flow of glue, and release to let it flow smoothly.

And your set! Plug the pen in and let the glue (and creativity) start flowing! It will take some time getting used to it, but it does work very well!

Here is my (not so great) creation. (Sorry if the picture is not very clear). It also helps to be in a airy area as the glue dries quickly. You can create anything you want with this. It works like the actual 3D printing pens sold in the market!

(Another tip is to attach a small fan to the pen, so that the glue dries quickly)

I've tried to make this instructable as clear as possible, but if you have any questions feel free to comment below!

I hope you found this instructable useful. Happy 3D Printing!

:D