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The Steam Machine design makes for a frightfully good tissue box, and now you can 3D print your own
A fan-made 3D-printable design has turned Valve's upcoming Steam Machine into a tissue box, poking fun at how closely the console-sized PC's boxy, vented enclosure resembles an everyday household item. The design has been shared online for anyone with a 3D printer to download and make their own, adding a lighthearted spin to the anticipation surrounding Valve's new hardware.
The Steam Machine, revealed by Valve as a compact living-room gaming PC, has a distinctive cube-like shape with a perforated pattern that several commentators noted looks similar to a tissue dispenser. Taking the joke further, a maker created a printable model replicating the console's exterior so fans can use it to hold tissues at home, with the file available for download to owners of 3D printers who want to print their own version.
In short
- Steam Machine's boxy design inspired a 3D-printable tissue box
- The printable model mimics Valve's console shape and vents
- Fans can download and print the design themselves
Explained simply
Valve is a US company best known for making the PC game platform Steam and games such as Half-Life. It has also made gaming hardware, including the Steam Deck, a handheld computer for playing PC games.
The Steam Machine is Valve’s announced compact PC for playing games on a television. Its cube-like case has ventilation holes to help air circulate, and its shape has prompted comparisons with a tissue dispenser.
3D printing builds an object from a digital design, usually by laying down material in layers. Fan-made printable models let people make their own versions of objects, though the result depends on the printer and materials they use.