What's the best 3D printed Valentine's day gift you've ever given?

The Shapeways team is starting to think about Valentine's day (it's only 4 weeks away!), and things we can do to show off some of your guys' awesome work.

So Bart and I got to wondering...

What's the best 3D printed Valentine's day gift you've ever made and given to a loved one?

Not specifically Valentines day, and they're pretty simple, but I made these Carcassonne game pieces with a little heart on each piece for my girlfriend.

Completing the set by fasaxc, on Flickr

Simple, but very sweet.

I'm guessing you guys spend a lot of time together playing that game?

Yep, it's a good game for two but none of the built-in pieces are purple (her favourite colour). First, I just set out to remedy that oversight but then decided to personalise them further with the little heart too.

Hi Ana!

I saw two of my object on the V-day page! Thank you for this!

Here you can see also the armband from my COUPE DE COEUR Collection, I designed this collection not thinking just at Valentine's Day but I think it is matching very good for that occasion!! The collection includes also earrings and necklace!





Cheers
Dario

Hi Lovers, here'e my contribution https://www.shapeways.com/model/85028/

Customize the heart with your cuties name X


Valentine Bunny 2 by Virtualv, on Flickr

Shapeways reviews

I just thought I'd bump this thread and drop a reminder, in case you haven't had enough of them, that time is nearly up for Valentines Day orders!

I also have a contribution to make that fits the theme of this thread. It's just a Christmas gift, not Valentines, but it does have some nice 3D printed goodness. I did not intend it for public consumption so I do not want to put it on my blog, but it is some nice, juicy content so I hope you all enjoy it and aren't irritated by its over-the-topness. =)

I have decided recently that my gifts to those in my life will lean toward things that are small and preferably useful, and otherwise things that provide an aesthetic experience that leaves nothing but the memory. For this design I focused on presentation as an experience, something that I have learned contributes a lot to the value and care expressed by a gift.

The contents of this package are fairly simple. A bottle of wine, spices, seeds, etc. When I could find no suitable packaging I created it from scratch, and this is truly the best I can muster with my limited time and resources.

Here is the original concept rendering:


...and the layout of the contents. There were many parts.


The box is fairly small, with an interior volume of less than 10" x 12" x 6". The thicker parts were cut by CNC machine. The plan was to make it out of oak, and I even bought the material, but after realizing it took nearly ten hours of machine time to cut the pine prototype and I'd have to slow the cutting speed for oak, the proto became the final. The smaller parts were printed on paper, glued to the wood and cut with a scroll-saw. I am not yet very good with those, so it took a lot of sanding.

I packed my little 3D printed trinkets into a small box (which I stained but did not make), resting in a printed holder. Making the sockets with slight clearance was fairly easy using the CAM software for the CNC machine, but instead of making a tool path I exported an STL and printed it on an Stratasys FDM printer.


Nestled in with the thimbles and stamp are seeds from my garden.



Everything fits very tightly with zero clearance. If you want your gift you have to fight for it.


Vanilla beans, Nutmeg... and a Diatomaceous Earth Dispenser that is definitely not made from a generic condiment container from WalMart.


Add a few spices (shown in an earlier test placement).


Capped with one last panel and a card...


I originally started to design 3D-printed metal hardware including hinges and a combination lock but came to my senses when the prototype design priced at around $300 and would almost certainly not work on the first try. After scaling it back to less biblical proportions, I broke down and picked up some regular brass hardware from the Home Depot, which actually fit very well.


The final package was shipped in a modified Dell PC shipping box and arrived on the 23rd with time to spare!

I am continuing to develop this gift box design for sale to anyone who might want one, so it is being redesigned to be cut with a 1/2" bit instead of 1/4", which should take a fraction of the time to make. In the refined design, a whole box can be cut from a single 8' hardwood board in less than two hours.

If anyone is interested in a fully customized hand-built gift box, I am trying to gauge interest in producing these for sale during the next holiday season. You can contact me here or at my website for my personally manufactured goods, 40WestFX.com. 40WestFX is the sister site of my industrial design service site, 40WestID.com

Feedback is welcome!

Hey Ana!

I got my girlfriend this ring (among other things), the first 3d-printed ring I ever ordered. Here's hoping it fits perfectly

Awesome work the rest of you guys posted above, by the way.

I'm expecting the ring to arrive just in time, so I'll have put up photos of it as soon as I get it....

Hope you're doing great!

-Saad
http://www.saga-3d.com/