15 kooky objects we produced on the TechHive 3D printers

Albert Filice, one of the top-notch interns in the TechHive Labs, spent hours assembling and calibrating several 3D printers. He quickly became our in-house 3D expert and evangelist.

We then trolled the user-generated content on Makerbot's Thingiverse for hidden treasures to print out. (Makerbot sells printers and supplies and hosts user-generated, 3D model files for free on Thingiverse.)

Some of the designs came out great, some not so much, but the wacky process, managed by Albert (left), was always fascinating.

Now you can get beaten up for invading people's privacy without spending $1500.

This 3D-printed Google Glass does everything the real one does except, you know, all the stuff Google Glass actually does.

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Just in time for 2008, now you can make your own pair of retro-fashionable shades for the low, low price of one 3D printer.

Bonus points if you, like us, print them without earpieces, Morpheus-style.

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Next time you have a strict deadline and your significant other is desperately trying to spend time with you, just say “Let’s go minigolfing!” and then break out this set and then cry because you haven’t seen the sun in four days and your significant other is made of Lego bricks.

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These plastic handcuffs are absolutely strong enough to constrain your average toddler or a weak seven-year-old. Of course, not everybody wants to escape their handcuffs…

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Doesn't this seem like an accidental shooting waiting to happen?

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This is exactly like all those times your creepy uncle said “I’ve got your nose!”

...then, in some Kafkaesque nightmare, your nose ripped itself from your face, sprouted legs, and ran off on its own.

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We don’t know why exactly, but Albert's 3D-printed necktie seems like it would fit in perfectly in the classic 1995 film Hackers.

For reference, the villain in that film rides into his lair on a skateboard and the main character goes by the alias “Crash Override.”

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Another one from the nightmare box, this unholy fusion originally included Stephen Colbert, a T-rex, and a pizza cutter.

Side note: we printed ours very tiny, so some parts snapped off and left the end result looking like a plucked chicken. You’d get better results with a larger print.

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For the real board-game aficionados, these 3D-printed pieces are a much-needed upgrade to your standard cardboard tile set.

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Have you ever realized the Monolith from 2001 is just one big rectangle?

Warning: If your Monolith starts to show signs of accelerating human evolution (or attracting octopus swarms), destroy immediately.

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There’s a joke in here somewhere about keeping something as archaic as business cards in such a futuristic, 3D-printed container.

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Reenact your own Wicker Man scenes with this beautiful bee home.

(Hey, your acting couldn't be worse than Nicolas Cage's.)

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The creator of this fine instrument says it’s a “professional tool for removing nasal-based accretions and excretions from personal passages.” Yeah.

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If you need to convey that you are “nothing to f*** with” (you remember the Wu-Tang Clan, right?), I strongly recommend dropping a few of these around your house or cubicle. Just casually.

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Now that you’ve built a 3D printer, why don’t you print the parts to build another 3D printer? And then have both those 3D printers print two more 3D printers?

Give it a few weeks; you could become the premier 3D printer manufacturer.

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Photography by TechHive's Michael Homnick; special thanks to Albert Filice of TechHive Labs for his obsession with 3D printing