How to Make a 3D Printed Keychain with GenShapr

Hi friends! Welcome back to Alina Craft Studio. Today I am continuing my 3D printing series with a simple project that is perfect for beginners: a personalized name keychain.

Finished name keychains for Eva, Lera, Alina, Ms.Andre, and Mr.Stewart laid out with colorful tassels

You can make one for yourself, give it as a gift, or sell a small batch on Etsy. The same idea works for party favors, school events, wedding favors, team gifts, and other small products.

Black and white Mr.Stewart keychain held in front of pastel name keychains

You do not need advanced 3D modeling skills. In GenShapr you type a name or short word, pick a font, adjust the size, generate the model, and download it ready for the printer.

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What you need #

For this project, I used:

GenShapr to create the keychain model
Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer
Bambu 1.75 mm PLA Matte refill filament
Key ring with chain and open jump ring
Tassels for keychains
Jewelry pliers
Long needle round nose cutting wire pliers

The printer makes the name plate. The key ring, tassel, and pliers are for finishing it the way the examples are assembled. Use two filament colors if you want the letters to stand out from the backing.

Open the Keychain tool in GenShapr #

Go to the GenShapr website and choose Keychain. This mode builds a two-layer keychain: raised text on an offset backing plate, with a loop for a keyring.

GenShapr creation modes for a cake topper, cookie cutter, and keychain

Type a name and choose a font #

Enter any name or short text. In this walkthrough the design is Alina. Then pick a font and a font size. GenShapr includes several fonts, and the same word looks very different from one to the next.

Here the name is set in Baloo 2 Bold at 20 mm. The preview shows the raised letters, the backing plate, and the little loop on the left, along with the overall width and height.

GenShapr keychain editor with Alina in Baloo 2 Bold and the size, layer, and keyring settings

Switching to a script font such as Pacifico changes the shape right away. Some letters are wider, some are narrower, and the spacing changes the outline of the whole keychain. Try a few fonts before you settle on one.

The same Alina keychain redrawn in the Pacifico script font

Adjust the size, thickness, and keyring #

Next, set the size of the keychain. The controls that matter are:

Font size, which scales the letters
Text depth, the height of the raised letter layer
Base depth, the thickness of the backing plate and the keyring loop
Outline offset, how far the backing plate extends around the text
Ring diameter and ring hole, which size the round attachment loop for the hardware you plan to use

I recommend trying different fonts, sizes, and settings before you generate the final design. Uppercase and lowercase also change the look. ALINA in all caps is wider and shorter than Alina in title case, even at a similar font size. In the version below, the text depth and outline offset are both 2.5 mm, and the ring hole is opened up to 4 mm.

Uppercase ALINA keychain in GenShapr with updated text depth, outline offset, and ring size

Once everything looks the way you want, download the model. GenShapr exports a 3MF file you can open in your slicer. That is the whole design step.

Prepare the print in Bambu Studio #

I print these on a Bambu Lab P1S, so I open the file in Bambu Studio.

After you import it, the keychain is two separate objects: the bottom layer, and the top layer with the text. Select both objects and assign the filament colors you want. The examples in this tutorial use two colors, with a lighter letter layer on a stronger backing color.

Then check the print settings. For my keychains I use the Optimal preset. You can experiment with other presets, but this is the one I usually use. In Bambu Studio it is listed as 0.16 mm Optimal.

Bambu Studio with the 0.16 mm Optimal preset selected for the Alina keychain

You can also turn on ironing if you want a smoother top surface. If you decide to use it, set the ironing type to Top surfaces. This step is completely optional.

Bambu Studio ironing type set to Top surfaces

When you are happy with the settings, click Preview and check how the keychain will print. Then click Print Plate. You will see the estimated printing time and the filament colors the project needs. Before you start, double-check that everything looks right and that the correct colors are selected.

That is it. The keychain is ready to print.

Finished two-color Eva keychain in pale pink and purple

The same file works for any short name. I printed Eva, Lera, Alina, Ms.Andre, and Mr.Stewart, each in a different color pair. Add a key ring and a tassel if you want a finished gift, or leave the printed name as a simple bag tag.

Alina keychain on a metal ring with a pink tassel, next to the rest of the printed names

I hope this gives you a starting point for your own 3D printing projects. Change the name, the font, and the two filament colors, and you have a new keychain every time.