Paint Roll Hack - Text and Massage (customised 3D Printed Adaptors) Samuel N Bernier

This hacking project was made in collaboration with ADEO a group that owns many tool brands such as Dexter. We brainstormed as a team and came up with many funny ideas to hack products selected among a thick catalogue.

I got to work on printed accessories for standard 120mm paint rolls.

Here is what I got for you :

- Customisable text/image/patterns paint roll
- Massage paint roll

You will need :

- a 3D printer
- a 12 cm paint roll
- a 12 cm paint roll handle
- Paint or ink

Maybe SolidWorks 2010 if you wish to customize the text or the massage model

Open the SolidWorks 2010 file and change the text in the appropriate function.
Remember that the text has to be written backward to be printed in the good direction. 
Don't make your letters too thin.
Also, give a slight angle to your text so the paint roll works smoothly.

If you want to replace the letters by patterns, feel free to experiment!
Extrude approximately 2mm from the cylinder. 
Repeat around the shape until the pattern is regular. 


For the massage roll, be creative. Look on internet to get inspiration for new textures. 

This step, once you experted the .stl file and sliced it with the printer's software, should take 2-3 hours.

Try to give it the best resolution possible. Makerbot replicator 2 gives you an amazing 0,1mm layer!

If your resolution isn't good enough, a little bit of sandpaper 500 will do the job.

Remove the plastic peg in the paint roll and insert it in your freshly printed roll!
Now take the roll and insert it on the handle

Spread the paint on a smooth surface and roll your text in it until all the letters are covered.

Make your own tapestry.

Or... use the massage option to make someone happy and improve your Karma.

Have fun.


-Sam and the LPFP team