2 ms·

I’ve owned a 3D printer for 11 years. I found myself cured of the desire to print doodads pretty quickly, because they just become “stuff” lying around your hou

I’ve owned a 3D printer for 11 years. I found myself cured of the desire to print doodads pretty quickly, because they just become “stuff” lying around your house. While it’s cool to see the printer produce some of these things, I feel a bit like I’m burdening myself with trying to figure out how to deal with this in the future. I’ve found that the most useful stuff to print is not random items I find online, but things I model on my own. Most recently this was a series of mounts for the electronics for my Halloween display. 3/4 were my work, the last was a repurposed raspi mount. My favorite thing about the work was that I was solving a problem unique to me. It was a one-off, just-in-time solution.

jackyinger 5y ago
Yep, designing and printing ones own designs is great fun. Unfortunately few folks know how to use CAD. I was lucky enough to learn in high school. Most of my designs aren’t glamorous, mostly functional items like mounts, standoffs, etc. I did print a ergo keyboard I designed (a la dactyl) but it turns out I suck at ergo design. Probably haven’t gotten my money’s worth for the printer, but realizing relatively simple designs can be gratifying. Designing for print-ability with minimal supports is a fun challenge.