"But with plastics you can usually only repair broken plastic parts - maybe you shouldn't have bought a cheap plastic thing that breaks down fast in the first p

"But with plastics you can usually only repair broken plastic parts - maybe you shouldn't have bought a cheap plastic thing that breaks down fast in the first place." That's what I believed when I started. But you can "print" a CNC machine and make pieces in aluminum, copper or bronze. I do it routinely. The CNC uses very similar components to the 3d printer. In fact, you are not printing lots of metal components, like the steel bars. But those things are commodities and incredibly inexpensive. The best thing you can do is find a maker community so you don't need to have all the tools yourself, but can share it. My CNC is not in my house, but in a maker space. I only use it for like 5% of the time. Giving it away I can use other's people tools(and expertise) for free.