I got tired of dumping a shop-vac filter that looked like a flour storm every other weekend. Fine dust from sanding, PLA shavings, and drywall grit were cooking the filter and choking suction halfway through a cleanup. A cyclone separator sitting on a cheap bucket fixed that almost overnight.

This is a two-piece printed cyclone designed around a 35 mm vacuum hose. Air spins in through the side inlet, heavy dust drops into the clear bucket below, and cleaner air exits the top toward the vac. You see the pile grow. You empty a bucket instead of a filter. That is the whole pitch — and it works.

Here is why this stuck with me: it is not a boutique dust system. It is a lid, a cyclone, and whatever bucket you already own. Tape the two printed halves, drop it on the lid, hose it up, and suddenly the vac stays useful for months longer. Watching chips spiral down the first time you run it is weirdly satisfying.

Print notes that matter: print in PETG at 0.2 mm with about 15% infill. Put supports on the build plate for the top piece only — the bottom is friendly. The Large size is what we ship as the default on the site; it matches common 35 mm shop hoses. Seal the joint between the halves with tape (or a thin bead of silicone if you want it permanent), then screw or clamp the flange to your bucket lid.

If your filter still looks brand new after a dusty afternoon, you did it right.