It's easy to design objects that are fully 3D printed, but I've found that my most useful creations work with existing devices.Often, old gadgets just need to be reconfigured a bit to be repurposed.I've used my 3D printer numerous times to breathe new life into phones, smartwatches, and smart home products.
Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover Car mount for using an old tablet as an Android Auto display Old tablet and old car make a good team We're not all lucky enough to be driving vehicles that are new enough to have built-in Android Auto displays.That's the case with my 2009 Chevy Silverado.For a while, I was using a cheap, portable Android Auto display, but it started having connection problems.
I didn't want to buy another cheap one or spend more money on a nicer version.Instead, I've been experimenting with various ways to use old devices and my daily phone as the car display.When I had a long road trip over the summer, I used an old Amazon Fire Tablet for this, and it worked great.
I needed a way to hold the tablet on my dashboard.The mount for my original portable Android Auto display was already attached to my dashboard.It's an adjustable arm with a bracket on the end that slots into the display.
I took careful measurements of this attachment system and built it into a simple grip for the tablet.So, I actually repurposed two things: the tablet and the display mount.Related How I gave my old Android tablet a second life as an Android Auto display My old Amazon Fire tablet is a car display.
Posts 9 By Joe Fedewa Turning a neglected phone into a nostalgic gaming handheld A keyboard phone that I actually want to use Close I have a Unihertz Titan 2 Elite, and while I absolutely love the design of it, I just can't bring myself to use a physical keyboard.Sadly, it's been sitting on my desk collecting dust for several months.Then, I stumbled upon an awesome 3D printing project specific for the Titan 2 Elite.
The project is called "Titan Boy," and it's essentially a Game Boy-inspired gamepad cover.It fits on the Titan 2 Elite with or without a case, and the controller buttons perfectly match the angled shape of the keyboard keys.You get the same tactile feel of a real controller without attaching a full-fledged wireless or wired controller.
You can print the Titan Boy with a two-button or four-button layout.I slightly customized the model to my liking, but the base files are excellent.It even comes with config files for RetroArch.
I've been having a lot of fun playing some of my favorite old games.The phone is actually useful to me now.Related I turned my physical keyboard phone into a Game Boy, and now I actually like it A 3D-printed cover turned my dusty keyboard phone into a handheld.
Posts By Joe Fedewa A smart watch can be a dumb phone You just have to change the form factor Close Minimalist phones are super trendy right now, but one alternative that some people have been turning to is LTE-enabled smartwatches.It's honestly a pretty nice solution.All the important stuff that hits your phone, like calls and messages, is perfectly accessible from a smartwatch.
No SIM swapping required.To take this idea even further, products such as the RePod, Miniphone Ultra, and TinyPod convert the watch into a less watch-like form factor.I've always thought this was a nifty idea, so I decided to try my hand at it with a Pixel Watch.
Matching the perfectly round and smooth shape of the Pixel Watch was simple enough, but then I needed to interface with the physical buttons somehow.After several attempts, I was able to get a functional scroll wheel and two buttons.Holding the watch with this case genuinely changes the feel of it in a fundamental way.
It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.Related This simple 3D print transformed my Pixel Watch into a minimalist "dumb" phone [Version 2.0] Smart watch = dumb phone Posts 3 By Joe Fedewa Combining an old phone and an old smart speaker The smart display that Google won't make Close For a long time, I had a Google Nest Hub in my kitchen.I used it nearly every day to listen to music and podcasts, and add items to my grocery list with the voice assistant.
However, I was never super happy with the experience.Starting music with your voice is limited to a handful of apps, and I was getting sick of casting from my phone (which often takes a while to connect).What I really wanted was just Android on the display itself, so I could interact with it directly.
My solution was a vintage-inspired "radio" with a phone as the display, and an old Google Home Mini as the smart speaker.The smart speaker is still perfectly functional (even the touch buttons) for voice commands.Thanks to an automation, the phone connects to the speaker over Bluetooth automatically every time I open an audio app.
The setup has been serving me well for over seven months now.Related I 3D printed my own smart display because Google's wasn't good enough When the product you want doesn't exist, make it yourself.Posts 1 By Joe Fedewa
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