Feeling stressed? Distract your mind with a hot cup of coffee and a ridiculously challenging 3D printing project! The end result is impressive and oddly fun to play with.

The “swivel snaps” allow the molecule to twist and turn in space. The model above is all white, but coloured atoms look great! This post is dedicated to the caffeine molecule, but these atoms can be pulled apart and snapped together to model any organic molecule.

Caffeine (C8H10N4O2), the stimulant found in coffee, is made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen atoms in the following covalent bonding structures:

Carbon (with 4 single bonds): 3 Carbon (with 1 double, 2 single bonds): 5 Nitrogen (with 3 single bonds): 3 Nitrogen (with 1 double and 1 single bond): 1 Oxygen (with one double bond): 2 Hydrogen (with one single bond): 10

Here are the files that you will need for each atom:

Carbon (with 4 single bonds): Large 4 Tetrahedral (male and female) and 4 swivel snaps Carbon (with 1 double, 2 single bonds): Large 3 Trigonal Pyramidal (male and female) and 3 swivel snaps Nitrogen (with 3 single bonds): Large 3 Trigonal Pyramidal (male and female) and 3 swivel snaps Nitrogen (with 1 double and 1 single bond): Large 2 Angular (male and female) and 2 swivel snaps Oxygen (with two single bonds): Medium 2 Linear (male and female) and 2 swivel snaps Oxygen (with one double bond): Medium 1, no swivel snaps Hydrogen (with one single bond): Small 1, no swivel snaps

See here for directions on assembling the atoms: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4675660

Once you have all the atoms printed and assembled, follow the line diagram of the caffeine molecule above to snap the pieces together in the correct order.

Relaxed yet?