Mother’s Day Gift Idea: 3D Print This Amazing Geared Heart Pendant

In 85 countries around the world, today marks a special day for the vast majority of people living in these nations. Today is Mother’s Day, a day in which we let our moms know just how much we love them, or sit back and remember how much our mothers meant to us. From the United States, to Singapore, Brazil and Antigua, sales of chocolate, greeting cards, and flowers will skyrocket. We all have mothers, and if nothing else, we should at least be happy for the greatest gift anyone could provide to us — life.

Not all countries on Earth celebrate Mother’s Day today. France, for instance, will celebrate it at the end of the month, while the United Kingdom celebrated it last week. No matter when it is observed, however, just about every country in the world has a special day to celebrate motherhood.

Moms are all used to the same old gifts when it comes to this loving holiday. If it isn’t the aforementioned flowers, candy, and greeting cards, then it is probably a nice dinner at her favorite restaurant — that is of course if you were smart enough to make reservations last month. This year though, you can be different by 3D printing Mom a one-of-a-kind gift from the comfort of your own home. That is “IF” you have access to a 3D printer.

Two men, named Simone Fontana and Ricardo Salomao originally met at the MyMiniFactory Academy, and since then have become great friends and colleagues. They both have an affinity for 3D design and 3D printing, so they decided to form a collaboration called 3DNA. One of their latest projects that they undertook was to design a necklace pendant unlike anything currently available. Originally designed for Valentine’s Day, their creation makes for the perfect gift for Mom on her special day as well.

Simone Fontana and Ricardo Salomao

“We wanted to do a different jewelry piece, wearable and printed in FDM,” Fontana tells 3DPrint.com. A mix between organic and mechanic pieces. It is Partially inspired by the filigree style from the north of Portugal (Viana) and with a steampunk vibe. It’s meant to be an interactive piece and a declaration of love.”

To design the incredible piece, Fontana and Salomao used Rhino3D and Solidworks. The design process took 2 full days of non-stop work to complete before they 3D printed it on their Ultimaker 2 3D printer. For printing the piece, the two men used red PLA and bronzeFill filaments. The bronzeFill was then sanded and polished to give it a sleek, and slightly shiny look.

The rather large pendant is meant to dangle from a necklace chain, and it features a key, which when inserted, turns the gears within. The key is intended to be used as a keychain, thus allowing the wearer to have both pieces wherever they go.

This would make for the perfect Mother’s Day gift for just about any mother, and if you have a 3D printer, you can download the design right now for free on MyMiniFactory.com, and have it printed within hours. Fontana and Salomao have made two separate sets of files available. One is for a movable version that can be printed on most FFF/FDM 3D printers and the other is for one that has been “meshed together” for printing on resin based (SLA) printers.

What do you think? Have you printed this yet? We’d love to see your results. Discuss in the 3D printed geared heart pendant forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video of the heart pendant in action below.