LEGO and 3D printing occupy similar creative territory, both letting you turn ideas into physical objects through systematic processes. Yet despite this natural kinship, there’s never been an official LEGO model of the specific machine that’s currently democratizing small-scale manufacturing. This fan submission fixes that gap with a recognizably Ender-inspired design that captures both the utilitarian aesthetic and basic kinematic structure of Creality’s popular printer lineup.

The build doesn’t actually function like some ambitious LEGO projects (there’s a working LEGO Turing machine out there made from 2,900 bricks), but that’s not really the point. Someone unfamiliar with 3D printing could assemble this and understand how Cartesian motion systems work, how the hotend assembly relates to the build plate, and why those vertical lead screws matter for Z-axis stability. For people who already own an Ender or similar machine, it’s more about the novelty and nostalgia of seeing familiar hardware translated into a tabletop collectible to admire and cherish.

Designer: Guris14

Paying homage to the Ender 3 is fitting, since it was literally the first 3D printer for so many people, quite like an entire generation having a Nokia first phone. Creality sold hundreds of thousands of these things, maybe millions at this point, and the design became the default mental image of what a 3D printer looks like for an entire generation of makers. That boxy aluminum frame, the single Z-axis lead screw on earlier models (this LEGO version appears to reference the dual-screw V2), the bowden extruder setup with that blue PTFE tube snaking from the frame-mounted motor to the hotend. That characteristic black and silver color scheme with blue accent components has become as visually shorthand for “budget 3D printer” as the beige tower was for 90s PCs. Designer Guris14 scaled the model down from the Ender 3 V2’s actual 220x220x250mm build volume to something desk-friendly, but kept the proportions honest enough that you immediately recognize what you’re looking at.

What’s impressive is how the mechanical systems translate into LEGO’s vocabulary without completely abandoning accuracy. The Z-axis uses what appears to be LEGO’s ribbed hose pieces to represent lead screws, with the gantry able to move up and down the vertical supports. The X-axis gantry rides on a black beam that mimics the 2040 aluminum extrusion found on real Enders, while the hotend assembly hangs from a carriage with that signature blue bowden tube curling back toward the extruder. The build plate sits on a Y-axis assembly with its own lead screw mechanism, and there’s even a LEGO logo on the build-plate, like perfectly placed branding!

Flip the model and you’ll find representations of the motherboard and power supply tucked beneath the build plate, exactly where Creality positions them on the actual hardware. There’s that angled LCD screen mount on the front right corner, positioned just like the stock Ender setup. Even the spool holder perched on the top frame gets included, which is the kind of completeness that separates a thoughtful recreation from a surface-level approximation. You could hand this to someone who’s never seen a 3D printer and they’d walk away with a surprisingly accurate mental model of how these machines are structured.

The project currently sits on the LEGO Ideas website, where fans share their own creations and vote for their favorites. Lucky builds that hit the 10,000 vote mark move to the review stage where LEGO actually considers it for production. That’s always been the tricky part with Ideas submissions. You need a concept that’s simultaneously niche enough to excite enthusiasts but broad enough that LEGO thinks they can sell tens of thousands of units through their retail channels. A 3D printer model lives in an interesting space there. The maker community overlap is real and passionate, but you’re also asking LEGO to produce a set celebrating a technology that competes with their own manufacturing process in certain contexts.

Still, LEGO has greenlit plenty of sets that celebrate tools and technology. The Typewriter, the Polaroid camera, the various Technic construction vehicles, all of these acknowledge that people enjoy building detailed models of machines they find interesting or useful. A 3D printer fits that pattern perfectly, especially as these devices become more common in homes and schools. The educational angle writes itself: here’s a hands-on way to understand additive manufacturing without dealing with bed leveling or filament moisture. Whether that’s enough to get LEGO’s product team on board is another question entirely, but stranger things have made it through the Ideas gauntlet. The NASA Apollo Saturn V started as a fan submission. So did the ship in a bottle.