Here’s what PLA 3D printing filament can be put to use: Awesomely innovative toys for kids and adults

PLA and ABS are hands down the most commonly used 3D printing filament. Polylactic acid or PLA for short is used widely for a host of industries by factory units, workshops, 3D printing companies and home-based users.

Since PLA is a thermoplastic plant-based material made up of lactic acid building blocks, it is biodegradable. Usually made from corn starch, cassava roots, sugarcane and even crop residues, PLA is considered to be environmentally friendly. Plus, 3D printing with PLA is non-toxic since it doesn’t release fumes.

However, it has a low melting point. This means PLA cannot be used to make objects that have a potential to get heated up. Say for example, PLA cannot be used to make mugs or cups or even car accessories.

Since most of the toys for adults and children do not need a high melting point but require non-toxicity to be the main criteria, PLA offers to be a great candidate as a 3D printing filament for toys. So, hang around as we discuss 4 awesomely creative ideas for making PLA based innovative toys for children and adults!

1. Board games
Yes, board games! Who in the world hasn’t played them at least once in their life time! And with 3D printing, you can get creative too.
So, as an adult or a teen, if you come up with designing your own game, its currency (if its on the lines of monopoly) or components (pawns if it is on the lines of Ludo) or cards, you could use PLA.
The design files could be simply sent to the 3D printing workshop and they could have the game sent back to you.

2. Toys for toddlers:
As a toddler, toys are specifically important for developing gross and fine motor skills. Toddlers are generally found playing with sand toys, play houses, Barbie’s, vehicles, caricatures, puppets and figurines. What if you could gift your tot tailor made accessories for their barbie and figurines? Or, what if you could design a unique play house based on your child’s imagination and not the one commonly available in the market!

Well, you may not be a designer but many 3D printing companies have in-house designers who can convert sketches into 3D printable designs. Tesseract, for example, has a team of expert designers specializing in curating custom based designs. You could simply sketch your child’s imagination and our designing team can lead you into making your child’s imagination a reality!

3. Kids jewellery:
Did you live under the assumption that only adults love to wear jewellery? If yes, maybe you should attend some kid’s birthday party and then you’ll realize that kids fancy jewellery and accessories like adults equally, if not more.

PLA filament can be used to make some of the most cool and funky neck pieces, rings, ear rings, bracelets and anklets. Obviously, this is more with girls than boys but boys too have their own peculiar taste when it comes to jewellery say bracelets and rings for example.

If you have a 3D printer at home, you could download tons of designs available online and have them printed with PLA. Available in a host of colours and variants, PLA proves to be one of the easiest 3D printing filaments to work with.

4. Educational toys:
Depending on the age, educational toys could be used for learning concepts as basic as colours and shapes to something as complex as a human brain!

Instead of a 2D images or learning from videos, 3D printed educational toys are far more interactive as they offer the benefit of touch and feel.

In our blog on Made in India toys, we have discussed 3D printing’s potential for making STEM toys.
Considering that most children have to comply with online schooling due to COVID, 3D printed educational toys have the capacity to bring the school lab home!

Some Caveats

While we have discussed how PLA can be a highly useful 3D printable filament, it has its drawbacks too. PLA’s disadvantages such as low heat resistance and lack of impact resistance are covered up by other filaments like ASA. This makes PLA a less likely candidate when toys are required to last for longer and need to be sturdier. PLA cannot withstand wear and tear for long and the toys may disintegrate if adequate care is not taken.

The right PLA
Also, one has to be careful of choosing PLA from the right vendor. If the PLA quality is poor, it could lead to warping and wasting time trouble shooting printing issues.

Tesseract – one of India’s leading 3D printer filament supplier, therefore takes special care to ensure that its 3D printing filaments are made with superior quality, industry leading high precision tolerance and makes for hassle-free printing. For more info and better discounts check out our e-store or contact us at +91-8268441506 or +91-7977220865.