A fully-working, 3D-printable elevator for kids who are obsessed with elevators.
Three floors. A real winch mechanism. A cabin big enough for a Duplo figure. Print it with a hand crank, or wire it up to two buttons and a motor. No supports, no glue-heavy nightmare, no tiny parts a toddler could swallow.
Some kids love dinosaurs. Some love trains. My son loves elevators — every elevator, everywhere, without exception. So I built him one he can operate with his own hands: crank a handle (or push a button), and a real cabin rides up three floors on a real string-and-reel winch, clicking into place at each stop.
This repo is the result: a fully parametric, print-and-play elevator, tuned for small hands and short attention spans, verified to print clean on a Bambu Lab printer without supports.
- 🛗 A real winch mechanism — string, reel, shaft, and gravity. Not a static toy: cranking (or pressing a button) actually lifts the cabin.
- 🖐️ Open cabin, both sides — the cabin has no back or front wall, just a floor and two side rails with a top crossbar. A figure walks straight through it, elevator-style.
- 🔔 Floor clicks — soft detents let the cabin snap into place at each of the 3 floors, so it doesn't slide around when let go.
- 🧒 Designed around a toddler, not a spec sheet — rounded base, embossed (not glued-on) floor numbers and call buttons, no loose small parts once assembled, cabin sized for LEGO Duplo figures.
- 🖨️ Zero supports, by construction — every part was designed print-orientation-first: 45° self-supporting gussets, no flat bridges over 45 mm, nothing floating.
- ⚙️ Two ways to power it — a hand crank (satisfying, mechanical, no batteries) or a real DC motor + two push-buttons (up / down) using Bambu Lab's Maker's Beginner Kit.
- ✏️ Personalize it — a name (or anything else) embosses into the base in one parameter change.
- 🎨 AMS-friendly — every part is a separate STL, ready for one filament per object.
| v1 — Hand Crank | v2 — Open-Through & Motorized | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Manual hand crank | Manual crank or motor + 2 buttons (selectable) |
| Cabin | Open front, closed back | Open front AND back — walk straight through |
| Tower back panel | Closed (string fully enclosed) | Removed — lighter, see-through, string runs down the center |
| Power | None | None (manual mode) or 2×AAA + 030 DC motor (motor mode) |
| Best for | Simplicity, maximum rigidity, fully enclosed string | The full experience — open cabin + optional motorization |
| Parts to print | 8 | 8 (manual) or 11 (motorized) |
Not sure which one? Start with v2 — it contains both the manual and motorized mode in one parametric file, and the open-through cabin is simply more fun to play with. Pick v1 if you want maximum structural rigidity and a fully enclosed string, or you don't have (or want) the printable-supports/gearbox complexity of the motor kit.
- A 3D printer with a ~250 mm × 250 mm × 250 mm build volume (this was designed and tested on a Bambu Lab P1S, PLA, 0.4 mm nozzle, no supports).
- ~40 cm / 16 in of thin cotton string or a spare shoelace.
- Cyanoacrylate (super) glue.
- Motorized version only: Bambu Lab Maker's Beginner Kit (030 DC motor + 1:49.7 reduction gearbox + 2×AAA battery leads) and two SPDT momentary push-buttons. Full BOM and wiring diagram in
v2/README.md.
Full print settings, assembly steps, and safety notes live in each version's own README — v1/README.md and v2/README.md.
The whole model is one ascensor.scad file (OpenSCAD) per version — floor count, floor height, cabin size, clearances, and (in v2) motor/gearbox and battery dimensions are all named parameters at the top of the file. Change a number, re-run render.sh, done. Both READMEs list the parameters worth tweaking.
- Designed for supervised play, not unsupervised use — it has a string and small-ish printed parts, like most winch toys.
- After assembly there are no loose parts small enough to be a choking hazard: the reel is glued to the shaft, and the shaft is capped on both ends.
- Keep the string short and taut; don't leave slack loops a child could get a finger or something else caught in.
- The motorized version runs at low voltage (3 V) with a small motor that stalls harmlessly if the cabin is obstructed — but don't hold the "up" button once the cabin has reached the top floor.
- This is a hobby project, not a certified toy. Use your judgment, print in a non-toxic filament (standard PLA is fine), and keep an eye on playtime.
Design files (OpenSCAD source + STLs) are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — free to print, remix, and share for personal and non-commercial use, with attribution, under the same license. Not licensed for resale of the printed object or the design files.
Designed for my son, who will absolutely press every button on this thing immediately. Built with OpenSCAD, sliced in Bambu Studio, and drafted with the help of Claude Code.
If you print one, I'd love to see it. 🛗