These top 3D prints fix your robot vacuum cleaner’s biggest issues

Published Oct 20, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT Tim has been covering technology for almost 20 years, in that time spanning a broad range of topics from security to product reviews. He is especially focused on the Apple ecosystem, productivity, and consumer advice. Over the years Tim has written thousands of articles, reviews, and round-ups in addition to producing video content and original photography. A graduate of journalism, he found his footing as a freelancer with a laptop and loves how he is able to work from practically anywhere. Now a Senior Editor for iPhone, Mac, and Smart Home at How-To Geek, Tim still loves to write. He can also be found crafting round-ups and productivity posts for the Zapier blog. Earlier in his career Tim spent nearly a decade as a writer and eventually Apple section editor for MakeUseOf. Tim currently lives in Brisbane, Australia. Outside of work he loves to hike and work out, play video games, and spend quality time with his wonderful partner and two cats Inka and Roger. Robot vacuums are supposed to save you time by keeping your house clean, so they shouldn’t require additional work on your part. Thankfully, a 3D printer can help solve some of the most common problems people encounter with robot vacuums. Ramps for navigating your home Help your robot buddy get around Credit: Dr.Peter / MakerWorld Robot vacuums have come a long way since the early days, but there are still limits to where they can go. All vacuums have a threshold in terms of what obstacles they can overcome, but you’re not out of luck if the topology of your home is testing the limits of your vacuum’s mountaineering abilities. You can just print a ramp instead. A well-designed ramp should be gradual enough for your vacuum to navigate safely but strong enough that you can step on it. There are many such designs available, like this simple robot vacuum ramp or a modular ramp design with different heights and travel distances. Alternatively, you could break out the digital calipers and design your own relatively quickly in a simple CAD app like Tinkercad. Bumper extensions Stop your robot getting stuck or climbing Credit: btwvince / MakerWorld Sometimes, a robot vacuum’s biggest problem is that it goes places it shouldn’t. This can lead to your friend getting stuck or sucking up items that they shouldn’t have. By nerfing your vacuum slightly, you can prevent it from disappearing under furniture or passing through the point of no return. These are model-dependent, though some manufacturers share designs and dimensions between models. You might need to hunt around for your particular model, with many Roborock designs available (including this one), plus others for SharkIQ, Roomba, Eufy, and more. Riser feet for drying racks and similar items A problem so prevalent it’s been addressed many times If you have a clothes-drying rack (also known as a clothes horse), you might find that your vacuum frequently becomes stuck by beaching itself on the rack’s legs. If you haven’t had this problem, then you’re lucky since it appears to be so common that it has been solved many times over. There are parametric guards that you can adapt to your particular drying rack (and alternative parametric designs), feet that raise the drying rack up, a similar design that zip ties to your rack, and other designs for specific-sized racks. Of course, another option would be to use… Small barriers to fence off areas Not everywhere is robot-vacuum friendly Credit: jdormer9 / MakerWorld While it’s nice to have a robot clean the house for you, there are times when the vacuum creates more problems than it solves. This is especially true for areas that feature lots of thin cables. Many vacuums see cables as debris and try to suck them up, sometimes with devastating results after a long night of cleaning. The solution is to physically block off the space so that the vacuum doesn’t even attempt to go there. You can do this with a small purpose-built 3D-printed wall, or design something specific for the area you want to defend. 3D-printed brush replacement Using cheap broom bristles or improved designs Credit: ShatteredVirtue / MakerWorld Robot vacuums use far-reaching brushes on the front and sides to sweep in debris so that it can be sucked up. These are designed to be replaceable, but sometimes ordering a replacement isn’t particularly desirable. Aftermarket first-party replacements might be expensive and take a while to arrive. The solution to both of these is to 3D print your own. You’ll need to hunt for your specific model or design your own. Some claim to be widely-used, others are designed for specific manufacturers like Xiaomi, Shark, and Dreame or Roborock. Main sweeper roll replacements More replacement parts you can make at home Credit: icode / MakerWorld Just like brushes, sweeper rolls are vital to your robot vacuum’s function. Once the smaller brushes have grabbed hold of debris, the sweeper roll carries the debris into the belly of the beast. Thankfully, there are a good number of 3D-printable replacements which are once again model- and manufacturer-specific. Take a look replacements for Roborock, iRobot, and Xiaomi cleaners which can be printed for the fraction of the price of a new one (without having to wait around for shipping). Robot vacuum eyes The most important upgrade of all Credit: FunctionalChaos3D / MakerWorld Not all robot vacuum upgrades need to be serious. If you haven’t printed a set of eyes to give yours a bit more personality, you’re missing out. Choose from a simple design, or pick from different expressions to give your friend a funny expression. The suggested models featured here are just that—suggestions to get you started. Searching your favorite model repositories for device and manufacturer-specific models will give you a fuller picture of what’s available. Looking for a fully offline, cloud-free robot vacuum experience? Consider replacing the firmware with Valetudo.