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I bought new eye glasses, but the frame was slightly too large for me. This resulted in glasses from constantly slipping and eventually falling down.

When this happened, I thought it was funny...
... but it wasn't so funny when this happened!

I liked the frame itself, so I didn't want to go with a different design. That got me looking on the internet for a possible solution. The first one I found was a wax-in-a-stick called NerdWax.

This is one of the stupidest thing I've ever seen. You have to apply a lot of it, likely smudging it on your glasses, and according to the reviews, it doesn't even last that long. I don't even want to think what happens when it's hot and you're sweating. Not to mention that a lot of people were complaining about getting a rash on their skin.

Searching further, I've seen a few ear hooks that you can simply slide on to your glasses. This looked much better and would be easy to design and 3D print myself.

The design process was very simple and it only took me a few minutes. Here's how the first prototype looked like.

I could print this with PLA, but it probably won't be comfortable to wear. Instead, I'll try it with something flexible, like TPU. Printing with flexibles can be difficult, so here are a few tips:

  • Print very slowly, around 20mm/s.
  • Disable retractions completely. The filament is too soft to be pulled in-and-out reliably and you'll just end up with a mess.
  • The bed should be at around 30' - anything over might soften the filament too much. Some brands require a higher temperature, but most don't.
  • Adding more infill will make the part less flexible.

Here's how it came out; it actually works!

You only notice it directly from behind, it's otherwise not visible from most angles.

I also came across this type. They don't hold as strongly, but still better than nothing.

I've tested both models for about a week each.

The hook really holds the glasses in place. In fact, you can use just one and it still works the same. On the downside, it's harder to put glasses on or off, and my ears hurt a bit at the end of the day, as it's quite thick. I went back and designed an improved version, which doesn't put so much stress on your ears.

The circle version one is my favourite though. It's smaller and less visible, doesn't hurt your ears but more importantly, it worked without issues. Unless you're doing some sort of sport where you need a really strong grip on your glasses, I'd recommend you go with the round version.

If your glasses have a very thick earpiece but a thin temple, then you can snap the hook in place by creating a notch on one side.

Because glasses come in a million different shapes, I'm including a blank design as well. You can then use Tinkercad and create a hole of any shape and size that you need for your specific glasses.

STL files

You can find all the STL files on Thingiverse.