Larsie, a Thingiverse user and MakerBot owner, whipped up these 3D-printed shoelace-toggles for his kindergarten-aged son’s sneakers, helping the lad tighten his own shoes:
Tying knots in shoelaces has got to be one of the most ridiculous activities in the world. It’s difficult to learn as a child,1 the laces always come undone at inconvenient times, you can trip on them when they do, and you never notice until its too late. Thankfully I don’t remember the days when I was frustrated with the vagaries and inefficiencies that are shoelaces. 2
Can you imagine putting yourself in larsie’s son’s place? 3 The poor guy was so frustrated with tying his shoes that he didn’t want to wear them on the way to kindergarten! Thus, today’s MakerBot hero is larsie for leaping into action and realizing he could design and print spring-operated toggles so quickly he could get his child to school on time!