Feb.5, 2015 | By Alec

While it depends on where you live, chances are that you’re currently facing snow storms and icy roads on a daily basis right now. Not only can this be annoying and exhausting (nobody enjoys shovelling snow on a daily basis!), it can also be dangerous: even a thin sheet of ice is enough to slip on and break your arm or something. Though being careful and prepared are the best ways to deal with these obstacles, now your desktop FDM printer can be very helpful too!

How, you ask? Well, with a surprisingly simple 3D printing project devised by Carmelito Andrade, you can easily make your shoes snow-proof and never have to worry about slippery snow or ice again. Carmelito himself lives in Stamford, Connecticut, and therefore knows a thing or two about living through snow storms. To make things easier, he has designed surprisingly basic STL files for traction spikes you can attach to your shoes before stepping outside: "My motivation for this 3D printed Traction Spikes part was a close call that I had a couple of days back, while walking on a icy walkway with my sneakers, to get to my car. [With these], you'll be able to confidently stand, walk, or run on just about any icy terrain." And as you can see in the video below, they are easy to wear and work great!

Now these are very easy to make. Simply download Carmelito’s ready-made STL files from his Instructables page here, and slice them in whatever program you usually use (Repetier Host, slic3r and so on). Then 3D print them on just about any type of desktop FDM 3D printer. He 3D printed his pair in 1.75 mm PLA on his Printrbot Simple Metal 3D printer. It won’t take more than 20 to 25 minutes to 3D print one of them, depending on the type of printer you have of course.

Then it’s just a simple matter of completing them with a handful of screws and a piece of Velcro. Carmelito used 32 half-inch screws, though you can probably don’t need all of them – just see what you have laying around. These were screwed in place while the plastic component was tightly held with a pair of clippers, but just do it safely. Then simply add a Velcro strap (about half an inch wide) long enough to ensure they easily fit around your shoes.

And that’s basically all there is to it! It’s a very easy project that will make your live considerably easier when faced with winter weather. It also perfectly captures the potential of 3D printing: easily making something useful for just a few bucks.

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

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