7 Functional 3D Prints That Will Organize Your Workspace

Whether you’re an emerging hobbyist or an experienced maker, you may find that your workspace often descends into chaos. 3D printing is a hobby that requires a lot of extra tools, materials, and hardware, and it can be hard to find the appropriate storage solutions. In this case, the solution can be found in the problem itself — you can 3D print your own storage! There’s an endless world of functional 3D prints for you to explore.

Here are seven of the best items you can 3D print to solve your makerspace storage woes.

Gridfinity

Gridfinity is an open source organization system created by Zack Freedman. Rather than being a simple storage system for small parts, Gridfinity aims to allow you to keep things where you can see and easily access them. This isn’t a system that hides your clutter away in a drawer somewhere. Gridfinity allows you to keep everything out and about, but in an organized manner.

Gridfinity is not a single one-and-done print. Rather, Gridfinity is a set of standardized rules that allow anyone to create customized pieces that fit into its system. If you’re a whiz at 3D modeling, you can make your own Gridfinity parts. If not, the 3D printing community has already created hundreds of Gridfinity components, so you’ll likely find something that suits your needs.

Containers

If Gridfinity isn’t your style, there’s still a never ending amount of 3D printable storage containers out there for you to try. Instead of a grid, try stacking your storage to the high heavens. Be environmentally conscious and repurpose your old filament spools into a nifty storage container. Use this Rolling Storage Box to keep all your nuts and bolts in one place.

If you can’t find an existing print that works for you, you can try learning how to model your own storage items. Maybe you’ll create the next big workshop storage system!

USB & SD Card Storage

If you’ve got a bunch of tiny storage devices floating around, you know it can be a pain to shuffle through all of them looking for the right one. Now, you can print a home for those devices that will help you find the files you need on the fly.

This design by Thingiverse user Lalo_Solo features slots for 8 USBs, 8 SD cards and 15 MicroSD cards. If that’s not enough space, you can always print more or try modifying the base design to expand it.

Wall Mounts

If it exists, you can probably mount it on your wall. A quick glance at the “wall mount” tag on Thingiverse shows that there are upwards of 9,000 3D printable items for you to choose from. For workspace storage, you can print out things like:

• Pegboard mounts for tools
• Spool holders for filament
• Shelf brackets
• Entire shelving systems

If you want it off the ground, you can surely print something to mount it on the wall!

Cable Management

In this day and age, everyone with an office or workspace has a mess of cables running to and fro behind their desk. Cable management is the key to taming those wires, and you can print off a lot of the necessary components to do so yourself.

You can easily 3D print cable chains, zip ties, reels, clips, runners and more. Instead of treating cable management like a chore, turn it into your next maker project and fully optimize your wires with the perfect 3D printed solutions.

Pen and Pencil Holders

Everyone’s got pens and pencils lying around, but they’re never within reach when you need them. Gather up those pesky writing utensils and put them into a creatively designed, 3D printed desktop organizer.

The makers of the world have truly gone wild with designs for pens and pencil holders. You can find useful designs like the Little Box Pen Holder by Monkey3D that includes more added storage for USBs and SD cards. For those who prefer form over function, try printing off this cleverly designed Julius Caesar holder. Your options are only limited by your imagination (and your design sensibilities).

Battery Holders and Dispensers

Everything needs power to function, and a lot of that power comes from batteries. You likely use some battery-powered tools in your tinkering endeavors, and nothing is worse than scrambling to find the right type of battery when you need it.

3D printing has you covered — you can print off storage for batteries of all kinds. KLXL’s Stackable Battery Holders are a great place to start, as they both hold and dispense batteries for easy access.

Create Whatever You Need

There are tons of creative ways to use functional 3D prints to optimize your storage space. Maybe you’re ready to organize your workspace with Gridfinity, or perhaps you’ve been inspired to design your own super specific storage solution. Whether you’re just getting started with 3D printing or you’ve been doing it for years, there will always be new and innovative prints that can become functional parts of your makerspace.