Today I Printed: Super Slick (Bright Orange) Sunnies

So this all started when I lost my first pair of clip-on sunnies on my honeymoon. At the time I thought it would be no problem - I’d just buy a new pair from the same place that sold my glasses.

It was not to be. ðŸ˜¥

My glasses are no longer being made! In fact I should never have been able to buy my glasses in the first place! Needless to say, a new pair of sunnies was out of the question.

I fell back to my default solution to “I can’t get something I want”. Some reference photos, a bit of 3D modelling, multiple failed prints, and I was starting to get results!

It turns out that the way to get a perfect fit was to print the frames out flat (which is also much neater to print), then soften it with a heat gun and mold it to the glasses. Thankfully whatever the glasses are made of has a much higher melting temperature than PLA!

Getting the perfect fit

I bought some car window tints, and cut them into the right shape. After a few failed attempts with super glue, I found a much easier way to attach them, using a soldering iron around the edges.

Attaching the lenses

With that done, I just had to glue the magnets in and presto! A lightweight, bright orange pair of sunnies! Of course now that I knew what I was doing, I had to make another couple of pairs - now they can be stacked for extra sun protection!

The finished product