3D printing is in essence adding a 3rd dimension to a traditional printer to create objects. This is where we can now make the assumption that given how finicky and frustrating a normal paper printer can be, the 3D printer is therefore a nightmare! Hence the Office Space clip below!
Hitting it will definitely not fix things and smashing the electronics probably wont help either, but this is how a 3D printer can make you feel when it becomes obstinate.
Now that we have covered that, you have to master your printer. Even the most expensive printers have quirks and if you can tease them out and adjust your printer to compensate, you can create amazing things! To tune my printer I have added blue tape to the print bed and a layer of glue from a glue stick to hold the prints down during printing.
The printer I am using is now unfortunately discontinued and the company went under, The PrintrBot Play. RIP
I did have some issues with the controller board and its weak micro-usb port. It is a pretty solid printer with a full metal chassis. It is a good solid printer and am sorry to see the company go under.
Can you even model?
Well you have your brand new printer what do you create? There are thousands of things on sites such as Thingiverse that you can download for free and print to your heart’s content. But what if you can’t find the thing you need? That means you need to create and model the 3D part in software such Fusion360. The software can be quite complex and difficult to use to create the part you want.
This is the main caveat to getting a 3D printer as it requires you to learn 3D modeling. I have mainly used my printer to print parts for my racing drones. 3D printing is big in the drone community so there are a lot of things to print off of Thingiverse. I have also created my own parts for mechanical components. The most important tool I have found for creating your own parts is a good pair of calipers for defining measurements of the part you want to create.
Should you get a 3D Printer?
If you are willing to tinker, get your hands dirty, spend a few days tuning the printer, learn how to 3D model, and have a big drive to create your own parts then you should definitely get a 3D printer. If you are hesitant I would suggest holding off and researching 3D printing more as it is getting easier.
What printer to get
Since the one I am using is no longer on the market, I would suggest getting an original Prusa i3 kit from their website. It is an advanced printer with a great feature set that should help starters automatically tune their printer to get great prints right out of the prebuilt box or from the kit.
