Industrial/steampunk stepper motor cover for CNC or 3D printer (NEMA17 motor)

myminifactory

I decided to give my CNC machine's NEMA17 stepper motors an extra boost of flair so I thought why not 3D print some custom covers for them. After considering several options, I settled on an industrial-style design that resembles what you see with motors and transformers in professional settings, and this is the outcome. You could even say that the design has a steampunk vibe, especially when printed with the right colors. And they undoubtedly add a conversational touch to my CNC machine. To achieve the steampunk-inspired look, I chose to use gold PLA for most of the build, with some silver PETG for the inlay pieces that fit snugly over the top and side inset pieces. The inlays are relatively thin, so PETG seemed like an ideal choice since it's easier to remove from the print bed in one piece. Assembly is quite straightforward: simply glue the inset pieces into the inside of the cover's frame, then the inlays can be secured with a little glue. The inlays are sized closely to the dimensions of the parts they cover, ensuring a neat fit when installed, so some light filing/sanding of their edges may be necessary to remove over-extrusion. If you'd like to make modifications or even remix the design for a different motor or purpose, the OpenSCAD file is included in the downloads.