Articles · Learning path · Intermediate

New maker tricks worth trying in 2026

20 lessons: new 3D printing techniques, new ESP32 chips, buildable toys and free tools that just landed.

20 lessons · about 106 min in total

  1. 1 Z anti-aliasing: smooth shallow slopes with micro non-planar printingZAA nudges the nozzle height within a layer so 5–25° top surfaces come out about 3× smoother (Ra ~80 → ~25 µm). In OrcaSlicer 2.4 and later. Where it helps and where not. 5 min read
  2. 2 90° overhangs without supports: wave toolpaths (wave overhangs)A 2026 paper lays lines as waves spreading from the edge, so flat overhangs print with no supports: 30–48% less sag than arc overhangs on hard shapes, at about 2 mm/s. 4 min read
  3. 3 Conical slicing: support-free overhangs on a 3-axis printer with cone layersWarp the model so layers print as cones: outward-flaring overhangs need no supports on a normal printer. Two Python scripts. Limits: head clearance, inward overhangs. 5 min read
  4. 4 Mix new colours from the filament you have with thin alternating layersSlicers now alternate thin layers of 2–3 colours so the eye sees a new one (Bambu Studio 2.5.3+, OrcaSlicer 2.5 alpha). Ratios and single-nozzle purge waste, worked out. 5 min read
  5. 5 Paint fuzzy skin where you want it: grippy handles, fur, extrusion and rippleFuzzy skin no longer covers the whole part. Paint it on a handle or an animal, pick displacement, extrusion or combined mode, try ripple, see how far the surface moves. 5 min read
  6. 6 Print fabric on a stock FDM printer: DefeXtiles and deliberate under-extrusionMIT's DefeXtiles sets flow so low the line breaks into a tulle-like mesh of PLA or TPU on an ordinary printer. The settings, your first piece, and the limits. 5 min read
  7. 7 Foaming PLA (LW-PLA): set density with nozzle temperature, and what you give upPLA that foams in the hotend: hotter means lighter, great for gliders and cosplay. Independent tests show less weight saved than claimed and strength falling faster. 5 min read
  8. 8 Make TPU and PLA hold together: beam interlocking in PrusaSlicer 2.9.1Materials that do not bond, like PLA and TPU, lock together with beams woven across the boundary. What each setting does, the cell maths, and when to use something else. 5 min read
  9. 9 ESP32-C5: the first ESP32 on 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and what it means for your toysIn mass production since April 2025, the ESP32-C5 is Espressif's first chip with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 plus BLE and Thread/Zigbee. When 5 GHz helps a toy, and when not. 5 min read
  10. 10 Use Wi-Fi as a motion sensor with CSI on the ESP32Wi-Fi Channel State Information shifts when people move. Build a camera-free presence sensor with esp-radar and esp_wifi_sensing, with privacy in mind. 5 min read
  11. 11 A toy remote with ESP-NOW: boards talking directly, no router neededSend commands from one ESP32 to another with ESP-NOW, no home Wi-Fi. 250-byte messages, MicroPython sender and receiver, a signal-loss failsafe and long-range mode. 6 min read
  12. 12 USB-C board dead on a C-to-C cable? It is missing 5.1 kΩ on the CC pinsA USB-C board that powers up on an A-to-C cable but not on C-to-C lacks a separate 5.1 kΩ on CC1 and CC2. Why the charger gives 0 V, how to measure it and how to fix it. 5 min read
  13. 13 Touch buttons on 3D-printed parts with ESP32 touch pins and conductive paintMake touch buttons on printed toys with ESP32 touch pins and conductive paint or filament. Set the threshold from a baseline; ESP32 readings fall on touch, S2/S3 rise. 7 min read
  14. 14 3D print onto tulle for bendable toys: pause, lay the fabric, print over itPause after the first layers, stretch tulle over the bed and resume. Plastic flows through the mesh and locks the fabric in, so segmented toys can bend. 5 min read
  15. 15 NFC music box: embed an NTAG215 in a printed token, read it with ESP32 + PN532Seal an NTAG215 tag in a printed token with a mid-print pause; an ESP32 and PN532 read its UID and play that token's song. Pocket depth and pause maths included. 7 min read
  16. 16 Drive an ESP32 robot car with a console gamepad using Bluepad32Pair a console gamepad with an ESP32 via Bluepad32 and drive a two-wheel car through a TB6612FNG. Only the original ESP32 takes every controller; power motors apart. 7 min read
  17. 17 Talking AI toy on ESP32-S3 with xiaozhi-esp32: on-board wake word, cloud LLMA toy that talks back, built on open-source xiaozhi-esp32: the board hears the wake word, a cloud LLM answers. Plus kids' privacy and a mic light. 5 min read
  18. 18 Simulate ESP32 circuits in the browser with Wokwi before you wireTry ESP32 code and circuits in Wokwi before touching a jumper wire: what each chip supports, simulated Wi-Fi, a logic analyser for signals, and running it from VS Code. 5 min read
  19. 19 Your first PCB for an ESP32 toy with KiCad 10Breadboard to PCB with KiCad 10: place an ESP32-S3 module so the antenna works, size power traces, set rules graphically, use variants for two builds. 5 min read
  20. 20 OpenSCAD with Manifold: how much faster parametric toys really renderManifold, OpenSCAD's new geometry engine, renders far faster, but most speed-up figures come from users. What is confirmed, what is anecdotal, how to measure. 5 min read