Also good for composting and making room in your recycling bin
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I have used something like that. The blade dulls pretty quickly and it is a lot of work. I got 2 or 3 usable cat scratchers out of one blade.
Given that one cat scratcher cost something like 2,50€, it simply wasnt worth it for me.
I love this! Free cat scratchers might not seem like they have much value, but has anyone seen the price of those ready-made things?! They’re pushing $20 for a large-ish flat scratcher at lower volume places like TSC, but Target isn’t much better, still $10 for a 10" x 18" flat cheapy.
Down with bougie cat cardboard!!!
That looks a lot easier than gluing a stack of boxes together and cutting off slabs with a bandsaw like I was planning.
I guess this is my excuse to finally finish calibrating my new extruder setup.
STL files available on Thangs
This would work with regular shaped blades, right? Like this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GIZ9164/
FYI those are stupid expensive. Your can get 50-75 for that price at your local hardware store.
Yes any standard sized utility knife blades should fit. I tested a bunch of different brands from my local hardware store.
I found this one online from last year
https://www.printables.com/model/356486-cat-scratcher-cardboard-cutter-v2
deleted by creator
Looks like the specific design in this video is being sold here, but if you’d prefer something that isn’t behind a pay wall there’s a few options (like this one).
Side rant: I’m all for people getting compensation for creative work but I feel like it’s wrong to put the source file behind a waywall instead of simply selling the actual print directly to people that don’t have access to a printer, that seems much more fair imo
I tried to buy the model from an artist recently for personal use(friend wanted some Mickey ears of a specific style). Person told me no and quoted me $130 with a 3 week wait time for a physical product that was something I could print in about an hour myself. For a Disney product they were already infringing on themselves.
Went elsewhere and found someone selling the model for $7. Figured that was fair for the effort to transform it into a model file.
Turned out I was wrong - only took me 20 minutes to print.
Some of these artists are ridiculous…
Selling the actual print is more work than selling the STL.
Oh definitely, I just think it’s easier to justify paying for a physical product than it is paying for a single file if you still need to manufacture it yourself. Still a valid business practice, I’m just biased toward “information should be free” and all that.
It’s $3 which is well worth the time saved by not having to design it from scratch.
Someone had to use their skills to create it, do you think they should work for free?
I don’t disagree, never said people should work for free. I recognize there’s a disjoint in believing good information should be free[ly accessible] and also that people deserve compensation for work, though. It’s just one of those contradictions I haven’t solved as far as my own beliefs.
More than anything I was complaining, like I said it’s a totally valid business choice, I’m just a penny-pincher lol.
I mean, buying things like clothes patterns and carpentry plans is definitely a thing. An stl is really no different.
That’s a fair point, I guess I think of digital goods in a different context.
They definitely deserve compensation for their work, and how they chose to do it is absolutely valid. I think I’m biased toward open source hardware where the labor of creating their digital files is subsidized by selling the physical product instead. I realize that’s a risk and takes more effort though, so I totally understand why they didn’t do that.
But it’s not just information, someone sat in front of their computer and put the work in to design it, then print it and iterate.
You’re paying for that process, and for the time and effort the person took to acquire the necessary skills.
However, there should be a noticeable price difference due to the easy scaling / replicatibility when distributing digital goods.
I’m with you insofar as the final product feels like it should be 3 bucks, not the file.
I replied to another response similar to yours so I won’t bore you unless you want to read more, but I mostly agree with what you said and I totally agree that the work itself to create the file is worth compensation. I’m just a penny-pinching bastard who would rather find out if the print is actually good before paying lmao.
Pay-what-you-want, donations, and subsidizing with a higher price for the final product makes more sense to me in terms of these kinds of digital goods, but that’s besides the point, and I’m no expert on this kind of thing.
Honestly I’d be willing to pay 5-8 bucks for the final product since it looks more polished than any of the free designs I’ve seen. But yes, fair points.
Awesome! Is that a real device that’s available for sale? Those would be good school or scout projects to donate to animal shelters.
I have the STL files on Thangs for 3D printing.
I’ve been thinking about getting a 3D printer. Well, yesterday I decided I need a 3D printer. I know nothing at all. What should I get?
A lot of libraries offer 3D printing for about the cost of materials.
It’s worth trying out before dropping huge cash if it’s possible near you.
I own an Ender 3, 5, and a Prusa Mini. The mini is by far my most reliable printer, but both enders have had a lot of work done to them to get them where they are… and not quite click to print yet.
At one of my jobs I maintained some 35 Prusa Mk3s, about a dozen Elegoo’s, and witnessed their graveyard of Anycubics and some other brands. The Prusa’s generally only needed to be unclogged or have their nozzle changed less than once a month, with only a couple failures per week max, the room also was not temperature controlled and they had some… questionable engineering practices.
The elego’s were like pulling teeth, needing glue to keep it adhered, frequent clogs and skips, thermistors needing replacement after under 100 print hours, blobbing would get into the part coolig fans. Small leveling knobs. Prusa’s IMO were designed to be serviceable, but seem to need it way less.
Especially at a business, the premium on Prusa printers over say bambu labs is well worth their customer support. Ive never used a Bambu so I cant necessarily recommended or not, and I do wish I had an MMU on the cheap as you’d get with their mini, but Im most pleased with my Prusa mini
I looked at prusa and pretty quickly realized that I couldn’t afford them.
Check local sales, as much as I hate Facebook, marketplace around me sometimes has some nice steals, like my OG ender 5 for 100$, and that job was selling off their Prusa MK3s to afford MK4s about half off. You never know -_o_-
Bambu Labs A1 Mini
Cheap, high quality device, high quality prints, out of the box and printing in 25 minutes with no fiddling required.
Don’t get an ender unless you want your hobby to be working on the printer. That’s fine, but it’s not the same as having something ready to go when you unbox it.
Prusa printers are quality and open source; very much worth supporting if you have the money. Your hobby will be printing things for other things if you get one.
Bambu printers are cheap, but not open source. However, you will spend most of your time actually making stuff instead of fixing the printer.
Cheap, reliable, open source/modifiable. Pick two.
Personally I would get a Prusa. I want to own my stuff. I have an elegoo neptune which is also easy to repair and cheaper. Eventually, I hope to get a prusa.
I have a 3D printer buyer’s guide on my website that lists a few. I mostly use and would recommend any Bambu printer, there’s a few that can suit any price range. Elegoo also make good printers too which won’t break the bank
I don’t recommend bambu because they’re locked in and against right to repair. I have an Elegoo Neptune 4 pro that works great. If you have more money, Prusas are great too.
I have an AnkerMake M5 and it’s gloriously painless. There are intrinsic unavoidable challenges to 3D printing, but this thing has been incredible for casual creation.
Do I need the M5 or can I get away with the m5c? I really know nothing about it or how much material things need. I just want to make cool things. How much filament did your cardboard cutter require?
I’m not the OP but I went ahead and bought his file and sliced* it and with 20% infill, it will require about 77g of filament. So with one normal spool, you could print 12 of them.
I can only vouch directly for the M5, but looking into the differences, it looks like the M5C would be a solid option. I would miss the onboard camera and the ability to check my prints and get notifications of suspicious issues, but the printer itself is more or less the same otherwise.
Edit: and with the current sale, $200 is a STEAL
- Slicing is the process where a program takes the 3D model and turns it into layer by layer instructions for the printer and where you configure lots of settings such as infill, which is how much of the interior of the model is printed with a lattice for structural support. Prints are rarely 100% solid material but rather a hull with infill.
I ordered the m5c. I got the printer, 13 lb of material, and some accessories for $339. Can’t wait to make some Braille Play-Doh presses.
Nice! Congrats and I hope you enjoy it!
Ender 3 is pretty good introductory model and does nice prints with little effort.
If you’re a buy once, cry once sort of person, Prusa makes good stuff that has a lot of community support.
Is the hot glue pretty good for standing up to kitty abuse? I was thinking PVA glue, but a glue gun would make things quicker.
flour and water paste should work pretty well as long as there’s no wax or tape to block the paper bonding.
My two are pretty good with not eating things they shouldn’t so I just made sure stringy bits were cleaned up. Googling says PVA/wood glue is safer for cats but I would check brands if they are non-toxic
My cat will still go to the couch 🫠
Depending on what that couch has been through, it might be about marking/refreshing territory.
But also understand that there are different kinds of scratching materials and structure. My cat only likes the cardboard kind in a small A3-ish box and that is more because she likes to move it around. For actual scratching she very much prefers the ropier material in something sturdy at a 90 or 45 degree angle that she can really push against without it moving.
And I’ve NEVER seen a cat actually like one of those free standing scratching posts after the first time they push it over during a more energetic session.
My cat just likes to scratch and stretches wherever she sees something scratchable 😂
My two cats prefer them. Even the new one we got (and need to replace) that keeps falling on top of one of them.
This is cool but my cat won’t touch cardboard scratchers.
👍
Reminder to avoid using Amazon boxes for this: Their boxes contain a rodenticide to keep rats/mice away from their products.
Reminder to check snopes before believing random internet factoids:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/amazon-spray-boxes-chemicals/
Thank you, I’m educated and savvy and I almost fell for that. Why oh WHY are there sooooo many trolls about?
in your defense Amazon would spray their boxes with poison if it didn’t add any extra costs.
PSA: Companies couldn’t give a shit about you or your packages. the sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll realize how insignificant you are in the world.
This sounds like a Facebook fact.
Oh yep it is.
Is there a source on this? My initial fact check search suggests this was debunked.
You’ve designed a niche solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
Use a box knife. Or, for a more versatile tool, get a Morakniv Companion.
It’s essentially just a jig to use regular utility blades to quickly cut strips of equal width.
And, it sucks relative a box knife, straight edge, and stop block. The only decent use case I’ve seen presented is for the small minority of developmentally disabled individuals that require extreme safety measures.
Welcome to the world of 3d printing
If I don’t design and print something I could buy I might be tempted to do more mods for my printer.
Things like this give us… balance. Luckily I have a new project… building a Voron so it’s both something new AND printing printer parts.
Things like this give us… balance.
Otherwise known as, “Justification for ownership of printer.”
Look, I totally didn’t just buy this thing as a hobby to make more parts for itself! See, I actually do occasionally make useful things with it!!!
That’s what I tell myself, anyway…
Exactly… this printer is useful honey.
I can make parts for the printer, accessories for filament management for the printer.
Halloween decorations… once I get the printer back online when I have this mod finished.
Parts for another printer.
Mounts for the brooms… when more filament comes in since I used the last of it for the parts for the new printer.
Save 450 on a unique appliance part they’re not making anymore which now justifies the thousands I’ve spent on this thing.
Seriously though. It is a fun hobby and if you want to just print and make things and not tinker there are plenty of good options out there. Me? I like tinkering. It’s a blast.
Good luck getting consistent cuts while you’re freehanding. The idea is to make the nice flat cat scratching pad, and also being able to make the tool with the tool printer you have at home
I mean, you could make a jig to use a box cutter to make consistent width strips very easily with three pieces of scrap wood. But this commenter coming in here for the express purpose of trying to shit on 3D printer hobbyists was a stupid move on his part.
make a jig
You mean like the handheld jig seen in the demo?
I meant without printing anything, for anyone without access to a 3D printer. This was in response to the above comment about freehanding it.
To use an ordinary box cutter for this purpose all you need is something to use as an endstop and something to use as a fence, and they have to be parallel to each other.
Or a ruler. And make the strips the width of the ruler. The only “extra” needed is a cutting surface. This plastic gizmo simply eliminates the need for a work surface, nothing else.
Hard disagree.
- Waste packaging is a common problem.
- Lots of folks have cats
- You can already buy a commercially made strip and strap cutter. This is just fixed size version that uses a more common blade.
Honestly, my bigger gripe with the video is the little dots of hot glue. That feels like wouldn’t hold up (I’ve had cats disassemble store bought scratchers). I’d brush on flour paste or thinned down school glue for non-toxic full coverage. You could even mix in cat nip to encourage use.
My objection is that it’s needless consumption that sucks relative alternatives such as learning to use a box knife and starting a compost bin.
I mean that’s kinda the whole deal with 3d printing, it’s useful for really niche applications where you can just add a small amount of convenience to your life.
Someone else commented about this being good for school kids so they can safely make cat scratchers to donate to animal shelters, and as a cat owner with a constant pile of recycling I can see this being actually useful if I wanna avoid spending $20-$40 on one of those fancier cardboard cat scratchers from Target or whatever.
I mean that’s kinda the whole deal with 3d printing, it’s useful for really niche applications where you can just add a small amount of convenience to your life.
Is it? All I ever request to be printed is the proprietary part that prematurely broke as it was designed to do.
Someone else commented about this being good for school kids
Instead of teaching them to use scissors? We’re raising a generation that can’t think or do for themselves. They’re reliant upon consumption.
as a cat owner with a constant pile of recycling I can see this being actually useful
As an adult you think it’s more useful than a box knife? It’s not even going to be faster than a box knife with straight edge. And, why do you need a product to pet your cat?
Cutting carboard with scissors? It can be done, but it’s a chore amd the results are poor. I wouldn’t wish it on school children.
Cutting carboard with scissors? It can be done, but it’s a chore amd the results are poor. I wouldn’t wish it on school children.
Your tools probably suck.
Any knife and straight edge is faster and easier. Any warehouse worker knows this. Any compost bin is better than cat scratchers. Any environmentalist knows this.
For scissors I recommend Fiskars titanium nitride. Just yesterday they gave me a nice curve in 1/16th aluminum. Cardboard cuts like a hot knife through butter. And, I bet they cost less than the materials used in the tool in the OP.
Box knife reco: any metal housing without an auto-retract safety feature but with a retractable blade
Knife reco: Morakniv Companion: cheap, sharp, extremely versatile.
Aviation snips reco: Klein J1102S will take 12" cheater bars and be fine
Fence: use a metal level instead of a metal ruler to prevent mistakes
Learn how to make a jig for speed and accuracy in any repetive cutting task.
Well, I don’t think we’re on the same page. I’m not really into OP’s design, but I also don’t think that school children use Fiskars scissors. Don’t know what’s wrong with cat scratchers. Cats love them, and if you use an environmentally friendly glue you can still compost them later. I do have good tools at home, but I trully appreciate your recomendations - that’s rather wholesome of you, thanks.
For adults: box knife with a jig consisting of a fence and stop block
For children: auto-retract safety knife and add a second fence to keep the blade enclosed
A child learns nothing but dependance on stupid gadgets from the device in the OP.
I work with kids with significant disabilities who we keep in public school until they’re age 22. They do unskilled jobs and volunteer ‘work’ and safety is a big concern. If there are five students and one teacher at a table, a plastic device that automatically measures and has a hidden blade is going to be much better for them than scissors or box knives. Yes, we do need to teach children to safely use everyday items and for most kids that’s fine, but there are some for whom ‘just do it my way’ doesn’t work. Your life experience may not be the same as that of other people. Teach generally, but make space for the individual.
That’s great. Use this thing. It’s what I’d give my developmentally disabled 55 year old uncle as well.
But, it’s definitely not what I’d teach my child or the vast majority of other children. A typical child only needs a couple of safety accommodations relative an adult: an auto-reteact safety knife and a double fence.
Boomer posting
“Kids today!!!”
Not a boomer and it’s not just kids. My suburban neighbors are calling plumbers to fix toilets and electrician to fix light switches. They just mindlessly consume resources, as they’ve been instructed. They’re choosing fiscal slavery, like lemmings off a cliff.
You don’t have to be a Boomer to be boomer posting.
“Kids today” is an illustrative phrase, not a literal one.
People have been interested in new gadgets for all of human history, no matter the cost or utility. Acting like something changed is boomer posting.
People have been interested in useless gadgets since capitalism has mandated perpetual increase in consumption. It’s now so bad that the solution to all problems is needless consumption.
But, neolibs gonna’ neolib until they can’t afford their filament.
🥱
I hope you only drink room temperature tap water. Any flavor makes you a hypocrite.
Your reasoning is so obscure very few will follow. CONSUME!
