A 3D Printed Lens Step-Up Ring Cost Six Cents and Works Perfectly

Sometimes the best 3D print is the one you actually need

Tim Brookes at How-To Geek set up a Bambu Lab P2S last week and immediately started testing it. After the usual calibration prints, he remembered a problem he had been putting off. His new infrared filter was 52mm, but the lens he wanted to use took 49mm filters.

Instead of ordering an adapter, he downloaded a step-up ring model from MakerWorld. The print used a few cents worth of filament and took minutes. The result fit so well that he called it his best 3D printing lightbulb moment.

Why it worked so well

The model was designed by MakerWorld user M3 Makes. It comes in dozens of sizes for almost any filter combination you can think of. The author updates the listing with new variations on request.

Brookes printed the ring in PETG on the P2S. The final part required no sanding or rework. It threaded smoothly onto both the filter and the lens.

The takeaway

This is the kind of project that shows what 3D printing is actually for. You do not need a fancy prototype or a complex design. You need a small plastic part that would otherwise take days to arrive and cost more than the filament used to make it.

The full story is a good reminder to check MakerWorld before buying cheap adapters online. Chances are someone already modeled exactly what you need.