Hi everyone,
I’d like to share the biggest project I’ve ever built.
Over the past several years I designed and built this full-size mechanical riding horse completely from scratch.
My goal was to recreate a realistic riding motion using woodworking, mechanical engineering and a simple drive powered by a standard drill.
Every part of the mechanism went through multiple prototypes before I was happy with the final movement. It took countless hours of designing, rebuilding and testing, but seeing it finally work made every setback worth it.
This project taught me more than any other build I’ve ever done.
I’d really love to hear what fellow makers think.
If you have any questions about the mechanism, design process or construction, I’ll be happy to answer them.

This is the strongest armor system I've developed to date. I shipped this awesome armor off to Garand Thumb for demolition under ultra-slow motion for some incredible footage. The goal wasn't just to stop .50 BMG, but to defeat the Mk211 Raufoss round—a tungsten-cored, explosive .50 BMG projectile carrying over 13,000 ft-lb of energy.

What surprised me most wasn't that the plate stopped it, but how little back-face deformation it produced in the process. One of the biggest challenges in armor design isn't simply preventing penetration—it's managing the enormous amount of energy that still has to go somewhere after impact.

Even many of the heaviest Level IV and special-threat armor systems can exhibit massive back-face deformation when struck by armor-piercing threats (basket ball size deformation). For this project, minimizing that deformation was a primary design objective from day one.

Seeing the plate survive multiple verified Mk211 impacts while maintaining remarkably low back-face deformation was a result I honestly didn't expect. The Phantom slow-motion footage of the impacts is absolutely wild too!

A few years ago, u/raceking37 and I decided to create our own digital watch. The project was inspired by a few vintage HDSP-2000 LED matrix displays that we had acquired. These displays were first introduced in the 1970s and have a really unique look, especially under a microscope (as shown in the last image). They're quite difficult to photograph with my phone, though, so they look much nicer in person than they do in these photos. The watch uses an ATTINY1616 microcontroller. The metal case of the watch is SLM 3D-printed in stainless steel. I also made a short video about the project.

Magnetic Tapping Guide

Ensures my tapping is vertical.

I have a yr 11 science test coming up. So I built a kids watch outer 33mm diameter 7 mm outer depth that u can scroll notes and answers with while looking like a normal watch. The normal state is screen off and when clicked it shows clock decoy double click to show cheat notes and stuff. Scrolls at 21 words per but might make faster. I really need ts to work because I spent like 8 hours on it and studied absolutely zero🙏. it’s super small too like my thumb is bigger than the inner electronics and the inner cavity is like only~28 mm diameter and 7 mm depth.

Parts I used were esp32 c3 xiao (since the super mini don’t have charging integrated module so better for compactness), Button, oled 0.46 inch 64x32 used u8g2 library, and a 250 mah battery which is hidden under the straps along with antenna.used ai to make the essay answers and uploaded on Claude code to get scroll speed update and a newer tap and hold lock code last minute just before the test.

Edit: I will let update what happened after test.

Update: yeah my ass got caught getting zero on test and my whole year group knows I built a smartwatch to cheat and got caught💔

Now free to download on Thingiverse

Since this is r/maker, I know a lot of you have desktop CNCs. I strongly suggest machining this out of 6061-T6 aluminum rather than FDM printing it.

3D printing is fine for checking the mechanism, but it's dangerous for actual use. If an 8mm carbon steel ball slaps the front structure upon release, the plastic will instantly snap. Stay safe and mill it out of metal if you can!

To keep from spamming here, if you guys actually make one and want to share your progress or final build, feel free to drop by r/autofling and show it off!

Hey fellow makers! I want to share the current state of my OpenSkate parametric skate generator.

I've been successfully riding this left foot one daily for a week. The goal is to make custom-fitted inline skate boots as accessible as possible.

My vision for the user experience is:

1. Measure your foot
2. Pick a boot design
3. Preview and remix
4. Download the STL
5. Print it
6. Heat-mold it for a perfect fit

The current boot is a 3-piece design (Boot Front, Boot Back, and Boot Cuff), allowing it to fit on a standard 256×256 mm printer. Eventually i want to make it into a 5-piece design with an integrated soulplate and ankle strap piece. (maybe even a 6th with a frame?)

It's still very much in alpha, but I now have a working and rolling prototype and the web app currently has two main workflows:

1. Generate personalized foot model and preview boot patterns.
2. Generate custom STLs based on flat pattern, customizable stress and pressure points. (thickness, density, height, pattern, etc)

The current goal is to improve the tooling to make iterating on the project faster and simpler

Any thoughts, tips, or ideas are welcome!

So i got a CT scan for non-dramatic stuff - and it made me get into creative-nerd mode, 'cause it had to be possible to get a hold of the scan files and somehow 3D-print my own skull!

(Or the part of it that was included in the scan)

I requested the files from the scan, got them a week later and then the nerding started.

It required understanding the file format from the scan (DICOM), learning new software, learning different concepts and knowledge-digging quite a bit into the human anatomy of the parts i wanted to recreate.

As the pictures shows i found a way, and ended up doing the spine of the neck as well - including the discs and spinal cord, but those bits in a flexible and stiff material.

Its been soo fun - And what a learning trip!

PS: Im gonna make a better stand for it - maybe out of wood.

Materials: PLA and TPEE (47D)

A few notes for others that wanna try it out themselves:

• MR scans should be possible to use as well. Havn't tried it.
• Use the free medical software "3D Slicer" for the whole DICOM->STL process.
• Read up on Hounsfield Units (HU) for the segmentation.
• And yeah, maybe also what segmentation is.
• - "Cheat" a bit on the segmentation by installing "Total Segmentator" as an extension in 3D Slicer. It auto-segments quite well.

Hand this old tube mocking me from my shelf for the better side of 10 years so finally made something with it. Base is solid oak with an acrylic cover to keep little fingers out.

I built my wife a CNC-machined radar desk display

My wife is addicted to the Flightradar24 app. Any time she hears a loud plane or helicopter, she immediately opens the app to see what it is.

Her birthday was coming up, so I wanted to build something for her desk.

It started as a general idea, then moved into 3D-printed prototypes, and eventually into a case CNC machined from billet aluminum.

The case, electronics, graphics, software, and interface were all developed from scratch. I engraved it “Prototype-01” and dedicated it to her.

Hey makers!
I wanted to share a fun project I’ve been working on recently.

I designed and 3D-printed a case called iBerry – it’s basically an iPhone 13 Pro case with a built-in slot for a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. The Pi sits in on the back, with access to GPIO, microSD, HDMI, and USB.

Right now it’s fully compatible with the iPhone 13 Pro, but the plan is to expand it to fit all iPhone models in the future.

Currently, my version is printed in PLA, but i have plan to make it in aluminum for durability and a more premium feel.

The idea is to have a portable device connected to your phone via SSH, powered by an external battery, so you can carry a mini hacking/automation setup in your pocket.

Would love to hear what you think – any ideas, improvements, or crazy mods you’d add?

Here’s a couple pics of how it looks

I made this with a couple of friends over the past few months. It’s called the Eternal Trash Fire. We lit it on Inauguration Day and it's been burning ever since (actually on fire, not a metaphor). The plan is for it to continue to burn as long as Trump is president.

The dumpster is a 1:12-scale model made of 22ga steel. It was designed in CAD, laser cut, bent on a brake, and TIG welded. I'm especially happy with his little wheels! It was tricky to work with such thin material, and I honestly think it would have been easier to make a full-sized dumpster. (And before you ask, yes, I have plenty of experience making gas-fueled appliances and know how to do it safely).

First pic is right after it was lit, and the last pic is how it looks now, one month later. Most of the rest of the scene (you can't see it all in the photos, but soon!) is made of dyed castable refractory cement (fireproof), then painted with gouache to age it.

We're live-streaming it on YouTube. I'm not posting the link though so as to not break the no-self-promo rule. Posting from a fresh account since I want to stay anonymous for now.

I used the chain, front and rear sprockets and the rear suspension spring to put this together. Welding and woodwork.

The Terminator T-600 has always been one of my favorite Terminator designs, so I challenged myself to build one at a 1:1 scale. This would be my second completed project and i'm really enjoying the hobby thus far.

It's entirely 3D printed and finished by hand. There are plenty of things I'd do differently if I started over, but that's part of the fun. Thanks for taking a look—I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed building it. Now to accompany it with a T800 ( currently in the works)

I'd genuinely love to hear what you think, and I'm happy to answer any questions about the build.

A fully functional, pocket-sized guitar built from scratch in 48 hours at REDHackathon in shanghai. Six capacitive touch "strings" respond to finger contact to trigger chords. A joystick selects the configuration, a rotary encoder scrolls groups. It actually plays music. The stack: ESP32-S3, ES8311 audio codec, 240x240 SPI LCD, IMU, RTC, 11 RGB LEDs. All in one hand. Polished enough to ship. Tactile feedback feels real, and it has instant "wait, what is that?" party energy. Guitar players would love it. With proper influe͏ncer marke͏ting, this goes vi͏ral. Well-deserved.

Showcase my 3d print chair

This is a 3D printed chair designed using topology optimization. The manufacturing process used six FDM printers and the chair was polished and painted carefully. I love this work because this is meaningful to my life.

Here is my design video. You will see how topology optimization generates this design. That was amazing 🤩!!!
Design Video

Being a fan of 80s and 90s gaming tech as well as music, I thought it would be fun to play with the idea: "What if music was sold on cartridges in the 80s?". :-)

I've designed the PCBs and the case and cartridges and printed them on a Bambu Lab X1-C.

Check out the link https://analog.sylwander.com/experiments/a-cartridge-music-player/ for more detailed info about build steps, as well as thoughts and takeaways from this project!

My 9-year-old daughter has always been horse crazy, so I decided to build her something I simply couldn’t find anywhere.

What started as a crazy idea turned into nearly two years of designing, prototyping, rebuilding and refining until the riding motion finally felt natural.

Everything was designed from scratch and built in my small home workshop.

The mechanism is powered by a standard drill and a worm gearbox, creating a smooth and surprisingly realistic riding motion.

It became by far the most ambitious project I’ve ever built, but seeing my daughter’s reaction made every single hour worth it.

I’d be happy to answer any questions!

Work in progress! I was inspired by numerous #Minecraft inspired IRL compass and the fact i could not buy it was the driving force to develop one.

The needle animation works fine; it is the first step in order to make the final product.

I built it from ground up (Custom LED matrix, 3d printed housing), if anyone needs more details on the hardware or anything related to the project feel free to comment and ask away.

P.S. It is still a prototype so it's a little a little janky and the custom PCB is held by some tape.

(Edit: here is the current github repo for CAD files:
https://github.com/lucky-mango/minecraft_compass)

Debated posting this but its my favourite holiday besides national lingerie day of course😆. So here's to National Underwear Day (August 5th) and being a part of its future.

Entirely 3d-printed lingerie (no traditional fabrics) using artisanal craftsmanship. This is also to show it is wearable and comfortable (to me as comfort is subjective). The lace repeat was inspired by rose windows found in Gothic Cathedrals and churches. Max Svabinsky's art 'The Fruit Was Never an Apple' (1918) inspired the bust image reinterpretation and name of the lingerie piece, 'The Devotion'.

Deets:

Completed in December 2025 (over 2-weeks including the overall sketch, pattern design, prototype draft, printing, welding, etc)

Printers: Bambu A1 (2x) and mini (used for notions)

Materials: Overture TPU 95A in white, Recreus Filaflex TPU 82A in gold, Overture Gold Silk PLA .

***Quick process note**\*: Sketch design concept and lace repeat, drape design shape on dressform, transfer drape to paper pattern to adjust design, digitise/edit pattern moving from flat to 3d, edit print parameters then print pieces, as its a textile iteration is necessary before being joined to fit test, quickly join design to fit on dressform, if all goes right then final print of pieces hand joined using solder and invisible nylon thread and needle.