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Handier than I thought, this printer

I have a 3D printer but I am not one of those evangalist-types that bores all around them to tears with tales of what it can do.

Okay, I'll make an exception, just for today.

Actually, I've been rather surprised just how much use this thing continues to be on an almost daily basis.

Having tired of printing the little tug-boat "benchie" within hours of turning this machine on for the first time, I have to say that I spend far more time using OnShape to design things than it takes to actually print them. Learning the CAD side of things has been quite fun actually.

Yesterday I made a very low-tech solution to a hi-tech problem, using my printer and some time in CAD.

My Spanish cellphone (el-cheapo) is absolutely awful but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It cost a grand total of $39 from The Warehouse.

It is not a smartphone. I think they're called "bar phones" for some reason, perhaps because they look like a bar of soap and they have a keypad with real buttons under a small LCD screen.

No wifi, no web browser, no apps. Just talk and SMS.

Just the way I like it.

One of the big problems with a bar phone layout is that when you throw these things in your pocket, along with keys, wallet and other stuff, the buttons tend to get randomly pushed as you walk about.

For this reason, bar phones have a keypad "lock" function that effectively disconnects the keys until a special sequence is used to "unlock" the device. This avoids bum-dialing every person on the planet and racking up a huge bill in the process.

My phone has a "lock" function but it doesn't lock the '1' key (by design) or the "call" button.

I think we can all see where this is headed, right?

Apparently the '1' and "call" buttons are left unlocked so you can make emergency calls more quickly -- without the neeed to "unlock" the phone first.

Who designed such an insanely stupid thing?

After a series of bum-dials to the emergency service I reached my limit the other night when, while eating my dinner, I thought "I can hear voices". Was it time for a sanity-check?

No, I was connected to the 111 switchboard yet again despite having my phone in "locked" status.

There is *no* way to configure the phone any differently than it currently is so I decided to do some lateral thinking about this and...

Today I designed and 3D printed a lovely little sleeve that slides over this phone so that none of the keys can be accidentally pressed.

Bloody marvelous! No more bum-dials to 111.

Even better, I don't have to lock/unlock through a series of awkward key sequences every time I want to use the phone.

Perfect!

This is just the latest use I've put this 3D printer to. Prior to this I've printed countless bespoke brackets, fittings clips and holders for use around the house, all for just a few cents in PLA or PET plastic filament.

My pull-up/dip bars now have custom soft squidgy handles that I printed in TPU so that my hands aren't sore when I'm exercising with an additional 25Kg in my backpack to make things harder.

The garden has all manner of plant protectors and training rails I've printed, some of which have been in the ground for a year or more and show no sign of deterioration.

And then there are the countless battery holders, camera mounts and other bits and pieces I've made for my drones and other toys.

With all this in mind, and given the ever-lower price of these things, I think no household or man-cave should be without one. Even if you have no interest in printing stuff as a hobby unto itself, it will make life so much easier in many other ways.

Carpe Diem folks!

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