Fidget Stones

In general, I'm not a huge fan of the '"fidgets" that have become increasingly popular in the past decade. While I can certainly understand the focusing value of these objects in theory, they often seem to have almost the opposite impact because of the audible clicking, popping, or spinning elements of their design. An engineering teacher by day and student by night, I have grown dispassionate about toys like fidget spinners and poppers due to the distraction they can cause in the classroom. I was intrigued, however, when I saw someone rolling a fidget stone around in their hand that was simply a multi-textured object they could manipulate while working without the distracting qualities of other fidgets I have seen.

So, I modeled and 3D printed some fidget stones of my own to try out and found them to be both calming and focusing. I liked them so much, I designed a few more and printed enough for both me and my students to enjoy and use. This instructable gives you the tools and instructions needed to print and/or design your own fidget stones.

Minimum supplies needed: 3D printer

Optional supplies for your own optimization: Computer access to Fusion360

After seeing someone with a fidget stone, I did a little research to see what was out there and how I could get my hands on one. There are several options for purchasing these, ranging from bulk options (~$30) to custom orders (~$10+ per stone). I thought I could design and print these much more cost-effectively, though, so I set out to design some of my own.

These stones were quite simple to design (and honestly sort of fun) using Fusion360, but you could easily use another 3D modeling software you are comfortable with like Tinkercad, etc. to create your own stones).

If you do opt to design your own, making these stones is a simple, not-so-technical way to practice using tools like splines, revolves, extrusions and fillets. These could also be a great introductory 3D modeling project for younger students where they could design and print their own fidget stone.

The files needed to print the fidget stones shown are attached below. Based on your personal preferences, you can print them with a bigger or smaller amount of infill to change the weight and feel of the stone in your hand. Also, feel free to adjust the scale, etc. to make these fit your hand as desired. This project offers a simple and easy-to-understand way to physically show students how manipulating different 3D printing variables impacts the final product.

Now that you have your stones printed, they are yours to enjoy. Keep them near your computer or books to pick up whenever you need a little extra help staying focused!