For one reason or another, my kids asked me to make them toy eyeballs for their play kitchen. I decided not to use this opportunity to question their imagination but instead to put my 3D modelling abilities to the test.

The result can be printed without supports and with a variety of iris colors. It also holds together without glue (reasonably well) and can be used straight from the printer. I would still recommend you add some adhesive and do a little bit of aftercare for your eyeballs, as one should.

Okay, this was not much of a challenge in terms of design and looks, but I still chose to be proud of it, because not being proud of your work does not make it any better either. And my kids love them.

Step 1: Why Eyeballs?

I think the reai question is, why not eyeballs? Seriously, though, I like the idea of mixing up the traditional play kitchen ingredients with some more esoteric stuff. Eyeballs are just the first step. I have no idea what the other steps will be, but as you can see, these eyeballs look spiffing in a bottle (a simple and quick design that I might share at some point) and are delicious in an eye-pea-soup.

Special shout-out to my oldest daughter who crocheted these peas/beans/cauliflowers.

Looking for bowls and plates for your toy kitchen? Look no further!

For the bowl: Thingiverse - Prusaprinters - Cults3D

For the plate: Thingiverse - Prusaprinters - Cults3D

(links for the actual eyeballs in the next step!)

Step 2: What You Need

Here is what you need to make your own tasty eyeballs:

Tools:

3D-Printer - For obvious reasons. I'm sorry, there is no other way for you to make these 3D-printed eyeballs without a 3D printer. Conversely, there are ways to make eyeballs without a 3D printer, but in terms of this Instructable, those other methods are "out of sight".
File - for filing and...
Sandpaper - for sanding.
Cardboard - and...
Nails - to use as a holder for spraying.

Materials

Eyeball files - Yes, they are digital, but why be so strict about what can actually be a material?
- You can get them on Thingiverse - Prusaprinters - Cults3D - Thangs - for free!
Filament - for 3D printing. I used PLA, white for the eyeball and some other color for the iris.
Glue - one that works on PLA. I used CA glue, but hot glue should do the trick as well.
Spray Lacquer - to coat the eyeballs I recommend the glossy variant.
Paint - if you decide to print the iris in white and color it yourself.

Step 3: How to Print

You can see in which orientation the three parts are meant to be printed in the image. I recommend using PLA with a layer height of 0.2 mm - no need for added detail when we are going to sand later anyway.

Eyeball: I printed the eyeballs in white. Using something near-white like ivory or even beige should work as well. Seriously, if you want pink eyeballs in your toy kitchen menu I won't stop you.

Here is what I did to make the eyeballs a magnitude more fun - I printed what would be the back end, i.e. the top third of the part labeled bottom, with 100% infill. This makes the eye roll and wobble in a much more satisfying fashion. Without this change, the eyeballs would often just lay on the flat spot of the iris. I did this using modificators in the slicer, and so can you! I believe in you!

Iris:The general idea for the iris is to print it in a different color, and that works just fine. If you want to save time in terms of print jobs while simultaneously getting more creative you could print the iris in white as well and use paint to create a more realistic iris. Which is no doubt the more creative but also more work-intensive method (see picture).

I designed the hole with the opening behind it to make the pupil appear darker, which frankly does not work well with brighter colors (and especially transparent filament). One way to fix that would be to insert a filament change in your slicer somewhere above the bottom of the cavity in the iris. I would recommend using black below and whatever you want above that.

Of course you could also use a syringe and insert some black paint into the pupil, feeling like some shrewd 80s movie villain in the process, but I prefer the more civilized approach of the filament change.

Step 4: Assembly & Gluing

Once you have printed all three pieces (or a multitude thereof, which is what I would recommend), they are easy to put togther. Insert the iris into the top part, then push the buttom end of the iris into the bottom of the eyeball.

I designed the eyeballs to provide a good friction fit when pushed together. Depending on your printer this might be more or less enough to hold the eyes together during actual play. But if you want to be on the safe side I recommend gluing the bottom of the iris in place. CA glue works well for that, but a little bit of hot glue should also be enough to keep things stuck in place.

Step 5: Filing & Sanding

The eyes straight from the printer work well for playing due to the imagination involved. No amount of sanding can replace that. But that does not mean that a decent amount of sanding would be misplaced in this project.

First, I use a file to flatten the "equator" where the two halves meet. This might not be as pronounced on your printer depending on your settings and set-up. The added benefit, though, is that it tends to fill any gap between the parts with plastic and thus covers it up.

Next, I use sandpaper (180 grit, but this is not set in stone) to flatten the print lines all over the eye.

Step 6: Spraying the Eyes

High quality culinary eyeballs need to be fresh and thus look wet. The best way to achieve that is to use glossy spray lacquer. And the best way to hold the eyes for easy spraying are nails pushed through a piece of cardboard.

I used one large nail to "impale" the iris upon at first. Then I tried three smaller nails arranged in a triangle, and that worked even better since it allowed me to rotate the eye and achieve even coverage. I recommend you use liberal amounts of lacquer, but make sure to let it dry properly before moving the eye and repeating the process.

Step 7: Look Into My Eyes

Aren't they beautiful?

I know they are.

Thanks for checking out this Instructable! I would love to see the eyes you print, so why not share them below? And if you have ideas on how to improve them I am sure others would benefit from that as well!

Be Inspired!