Coffee is a daily eye-opener for almost the entire planet, but for me, it walks the fine line between a hobby and obsession. I enjoy the caffeine kick too, but like a true coffee geek, I always try to extract the most flavor and aroma out of my specialty beans. So, you can imagine the excitement when I got my first 3D printer and found out all the useful coffee 3D models you can print with it. I’d love to show you some of them and hopefully pave the way for a smoother brewing experience.

How does a 3D printer help an excited coffee enthusiast? As in other areas of life, 3D printing shines when it comes to that “little thing” you didn’t know you needed. Once you have it, you can no longer do (brew) without it. Plus, with the rising popularity of home brewing, a lot of modern gear bears a hefty price tag. Hardwood and steel look nice, yet many brewing accessories can do just fine with plastic, making the Gear Acquisition Syndrome, widespread among coffee geeks, much cheaper. What’s more, the filaments come in countless colors, so matching your creations to your home decor won’t be an issue.

(Food) Safety First

Before we get immersed in coffee-friendly 3D prints, we should address food safety. Though most of our PLA and PETG Prusaments are food-safe, the 3D prints made from them fall into a grey area. By definition, layered, 3D-printed surfaces are never 100% smooth. This may encourage bacterial growth if you put food or drinks in them. Most of the designs I’ll show will at most touch dry coffee beans, but I’d still like to point you to our previous article about curing prints with resin for culinary use.

Now, with this out of the way, let me show you how I’ve enhanced my coffee setup, and you can do the same with your trusty 3D printer. We’ll start with 3D prints for the most essential accessory – the coffee grinder. Then, we’ll move to prints aimed at the two main coffee styles: filter (drip) coffee and espresso.

GRINDERS

For every coffee connoisseur, pre-ground coffee is a no-go. Coffee tastes best freshly ground, so a good grinder is number one on the gear list. While 3D printing a grinder might seem appealing due to their high cost, even 3D printers have their limits. The grinder body and burrs have to be super sturdy and made of metal, best manufactured using heavy machinery.

This doesn’t mean you can’t get custom 3D-printed accessories for them, though. I love grinding coffee by hand as it gives a nice ritual feeling to the process. I have two manual coffee grinders, and Printables.com has numerous add-ons for both of them.

To my Comandante MK4, which shares a name with our famous 3D printer, I got a handy top lid with a clip for the handle. This solves the pain of storing it with the handle always getting in the way. I also printed this dosing ring to always get all the beans in.

Many of today’s grinders are rather slimmer and taller, which makes them prone to falling over. Some 600+ grams of aluminium can make a dent in your kitchen counter (trust me, I speak from experience). So, I secured my Kingrinder K6 in this nifty holder. It slides right in, and I don’t have to worry about my clumsy hands anymore.

Kingrinder K6 stand by quorth

Of course, not everyone enjoys the hand grinding workout and prefers the single-button convenience of an electric grinder. If you own one, rest assured you’ll be able to print many (spare) parts, knobs, and trays, and other useful components.

If you were to, say, lose or break the lid on your Fellow Ode, the .stl file is here for you! You can also improve the grinding experience with your Eureka Mignon using this tray or dosing cup holder, or gain better control of your Baratza Encore with this lever.

There are files for replacement parts and add-ons for almost any major grinder out there, so you’ll most likely find one for yourself. And if you have design skills (unlike me), you can always upgrade your grinder with your own designs. Or, learn how to model in Fusion 360 here.

FILTER

Honestly, I just prefer the tea-like taste of filter coffee. As you might have guessed, my coffee cupboard is packed with various brewers. However, the paper filters are the biggest source of clutter, at least for me. Especially if you use various sizes and thicknesses, they can get mixed up and storing them in their original packaging is usually very impractical.

If there’s one thing 3D printing excels at, it’s keeping your stuff organized. I printed myself a set of filter holders for the conical V60 brewer for both the 01 and 02 sizes. I liked the ones below the most, but there are many other designs, even for flat-bottom filters, e.g., for a Kalita.

Hario V60-2 coffee filter holder by Damian; Filter Paper Holder for April or Kalita Wave papers – with cover by dweller

And for the thin AeroPress filters that always get wrinkled when I travel with them, I’ve printed this box with a lid. My AeroPress is blue, so I had to match it using the Prusament Azure Blue.

Aeropress Filter Container by Mikkelcv

Talking about AeroPress – it’s an amazing way to make a tasty cup of coffee, but it’s somewhat bulky. And the cupboard I mentioned just cannot accommodate more gear. So, I’ve 3D printed this holder to mount it on the side to save space. If you’re less of a brewer collector and mainly use an AeroPress, you can print a drying station and put it on your kitchen counter.

AeroPress Kitchen Organizer by mttcx

Hand brewing requires a lot of time and care, so I completely get if you’d rather leave your morning cup of joe in the hands of a drip machine. You guessed right, they can be 3D-upgraded as well. There are dozens of models for the iconic Moccamaster, like this Drip Stop Plug or filter holder. If you use Breville Precision Maker, you can print out a smart organizer for your Fellow Aiden or search for models and mods for your specific machine.

ESPRESSO

Espresso is the pinnacle of coffee brewing, so despite being mostly a filter person, I couldn’t do without owning an espresso machine, and upgrading it with some 3D designs. Espresso preparation involves a lot of steps, including ground distribution in the portafilter, tamping, setting up the proper temperatures and times, leaving plenty of room for tweaking with various tools.

Just note not all of them might be worth getting. To prevent upgradatis from thinning your account, you can find a model for most of the latest espresso gadgets, 3D print them at minimal cost to see first whether they’re really worth it for you and use your spared money on some delicious beans.

The first tool I printed for my espresso setup was a WDT. This needle-based tool excels at distributing ground coffee in your portafilter, so that water can flow evenly through it. The model consists of a 3D-printed handle and acupuncture needles. When ordering them, feel free to add a few extra, they’ll come in handy later for nozzle cleaning. In the future, I plan to assemble this overengineered WDT.

9 Prong Espresso Distribution Tool WDT by jkim_makes

To avoid making a mess when getting the finely ground coffee to the portafilter, I printed (yet another) funnel. I was happy to find a 51mm one, which is less used than the standard 58mm one, but there’s always the option to tweak the model dimensions in PrusaSlicer.

Having broken the rim of my plastic trash can when cleaning my portafilter, I’ve decided to get something sturdier. A couple of hours later, I had a compact knock box in the color I liked. I went for ultimate durability, used PETG, cranked the infill to 80% and selected the Gyroid pattern. This way, I can clean out my portafilter with ease every time.

Knockbox by flaska9999

When it comes to the espresso machine itself, I own a lesser-known model with no printable additions made for it. But, if you brew with a widely used machine, you’ll definitely find something useful. Be it a slim drip tray for Gaggia Classic, this tamping station for Breville Bambino or a sleek portafilter holder for Rancilio Silvia.

There’s one more brewer often compared to espresso that I shouldn’t leave out – the moka pot. Though I don’t personally use it, I am well aware of its popularity and the countless 3D designs for it. If you use this iconic brewer, just type it in Printables and start browsing. You’ll find everything from stands, to funnels or drying stations.

Some time ago, I saw the coffee star James Hoffmann 3D printing coffee gear on his Prusa MK3 and I remember thinking how neat it looked. Little did I know, a few years later I’d be considerably improving my own setup with so many neat 3D prints. I hope you found my model tips useful and they help you kick-start your brewing upgrade journey the same way a great cup of coffee kick-starts your productive day. If you still seek more inspiration, check out our recent Printables Contest focused on coffee gear.

Happy (caffeinated) printing!