Spyker Workshop unveils his new and improved fully 3D printed snow blower, which is designed to attach to a remote controlled snow groomer.

Those of you living in the more seasonally inclined areas of the world know the tiring and uncomfortable tasks that come with managing a snowstorm. While we’d all prefer to be sitting inside around a fireplace sipping on hot cocoa, there are icy car windshields to be scraped, porches to be cleared, and of course, driveways to be plowed.

Back in 2015, the one-man design team at Spyker Workshop — aka — decided to take matters into his own hands by designing his own 3D printed snow blower. The maker found his retail snow blower inadequate in a number of ways, leading him to redesign the entire utility tool with 3D printing in mind. His first iteration was printed on the

His first iteration was printed on the XYZprinting da Vinci 1.0 desktop 3D printer in just 40 hours, but he soon discovered certain areas of improvements that could be made to the next model.

3D Printed Snow Blower: Improving the Design

One major benefit to using 3D printing for utility-based projects like this is that it’s convenient to jump back to the drawing board and make improvements to your project. In the case of ’s 3D printed snow blower, he was able to enhance certain aspects based on his first version of the machine. His latest iteration includes thicker and more capable blades, as well as a slipper clutch that extends durability by preventing damage from rocks and ice chunks.

This year’s model was also created to be attached to the front of an RC snow groomer, allowing the user to control the entire task from the comfort of their own home. According to the Hackaday, the entire contraption is 3D printed aside from the bolts and nuts. The large parts were printed at 0.4mm resolution, while more detailed parts like the gears and shafts were printed at 0.2mm resolution. If you still need evidence to prove the awesomeness of this machine, check out the video of the 3D printed snow blower in action below.

3D Printed Snow Blower: Can You Build It Yourself?

Although the STL files for the snow blower components aren’t freely available, the project as a whole is quite affordable. The Snow Blower Kit is available on the Spyker Workshop website for $260, while additional electronics and assembly components can cost anywhere from another $100 to $200. You can also purchase a pre-assembled version of the 3D printed snow blower through the $200 “Ready to Run” kit (in addition to purchasing the main kit). The STL files come as a part of the primary kit, and can also be purchased separately for $60.

While this 3D printed snow blower is an ambitious and relatively costly project, it’s hard to put a price on getting to operate your own remote-controlled snow blower from the comfort of your own warm home. All in all, this project proves the increasing value that 3D printing technology has provided utility-driven tasks. Not only does accessibility to this emerging technology make our lives easier, it also enables us to improve, enhance, and tinker with preexisting creations at the click of button.