4 ms·

I really enjoy my 3D printer but the number of real use cases is fairly low in terms of day-to-day utility. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me exci

I really enjoy my 3D printer but the number of real use cases is fairly low in terms of day-to-day utility. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me excited about the future of the hobby.

RowanH 4y ago
Use cases may be low, but when you find "the one" it's just nothing short of epic. For me it was my Sim Rig... needed a 3d printer to make the carrier blocks for the actuators, which then triggered a whole rabbit hole of designing & building a (slightly over the top) simulator* The amount of stuff I've printed with it, km's and km's of filament and the little beast still keeps squirting out molten plastic. Last time I looked at the stats, 91 days print time, 6355m of filament. One of the best tool purchases in the shed ever. Really stoked with it. * https://www.rowanhick.com/motion-simulator https://www.rowanhick.com/motion-simulator
- t0mas88 4y ago
  Nice! I have a few 3D printed components for my sim racing setup, but it's only a few brackets and a custom face part for my VR headset. I've always done the 3D printing by uploading the design and having it delivered. That uses to be easily in the $ 10 per part kind of price range but recently there are higher minimum order prices (50 or 75 or so) everywhere. What kind of printer do you have and what did it cost?
spoonjim 4y ago
Really? This camera lens is essentially a POS. I find tons of real world use cases of my 3D printer and this isn't even the ballpark.
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  It's all relative. If you have a 3D printer and are just a hobby photographer, this is great. Super cheap. Mixes your hobbies. But I agree that the real world uses of 3D printers are endless. Although often you need to know how to use CAD.
  - spoonjim 4y ago
    Owning a 3D printer without knowing basic CAD seems pointless beyond description.
    - LASR 4y ago
      Hard disagree. You’re forgetting the long tail of consumer-only usecases. That’s like saying owning a computer without basic programming knowledge seems pointless. Obviously 3D printers are useful even if you never create or modify 3D models.
      - MezzoDelCammin 4y ago
        Well, someone has to create the models. If You're lucky and there's plenty of good modellers in Your use case / hobby, good for You. Have fun printing. What the OP however refers to is the "rapid prototyping" that 3D printers unlocked for masses. If You learn even some basic modelling (e.g. few primitives in OpenSCAD for programmers), it's trivial to do test fits and whatever gigs You need. I haven't realized it myself until some months ago I needed a small funnel for a bottle. After some thinking I realized it's much easier/faster to throw together a difference of two cones and two cylinders in OpenSCAD in about 10min and print it in maybe another 20 than spend the time looking around stores to find some close compromise.
      - jjk166 4y ago
        I think it's more like owning a computer without being able to use a text editor or a spreadsheet program. You can open files you get from other people but you can't make changes or generate anything original. Programming in this analogy would be modifying your printer itself. Obviously there have been some successful computers where users don't modify their files, like mp3 players, but those are much cheaper and more user friendly than general purpose computers.
    - johnandrews911 4y ago
      You can still download and print designs, so its certainly not pointless
- andybak 4y ago
  Isn't this intended to be a creative lens? "POS" is a bit harsh - I can imagine some gorgeous uses of this thing.
ge96 4y ago
It's great for robotics. Designing/printing parts of various shapes.
jnovek 4y ago
After 3D printing for years I started teaching myself how to use FreeCAD. It’s not the most newbie-friendly software but being able to design your own parts is incredibly powerful. I design and print parts for the most mundane tasks. These days I find designing a part relaxing, similar to the feeling of writing code for a personal project. Apparently Fusion 360 is also free for hobbyists, I’m guessing that it’s a bit easier to learn than FreeCAD. (I realize that designing your own parts isn’t practical for most folks but I think HN is a good audience for this.)
- dceddia 4y ago
  Came here to say the same, except so far I’ve been using Blender with the CAD Transforms plugin (mainly for the Sketch-like snapping abilities). I watched a few videos on Blender for Precision Modeling (search youtube) and started playing around. I’ve been meaning to learn FreeCAD or one of the others because the parametric modeling seems useful, but Blender has been good enough for my purposes so far - mostly adapters for tool vacuum ports, and other little things around the house and workshop.
- dekhn 4y ago
  I moved from FreeCAD to Fusion360 (I pay for a pro license) and the difference was astounding. Once I grokked the fusion360 model (which is both easier and more complex than FreeCAD) I was able to make forward progress very quickly. There are a lot of subtle little touches in the Fusion360 UI that make design easy.
dekhn 4y ago
I've had a lot of fun with my printer. Some days it runs almost 24/7 and then I don't use it for a while. Recently, I wanted to make a sliding barn door. Spent some time looking at the products online, then designed the same thing in Fusion 360, and after a few test prints, I had all the parts to make the door. Similarly, all my shelf brackets are 3d printed now. THe thing that holds up my custom LED light is 3d printed. Some of the art I have around the house is printed...

I really enjoy my 3D printer but the number of real use cases is fairly low in terms of day-to-day utility. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me excited about the future of the hobby.

RowanH 4y ago

Use cases may be low, but when you find "the one" it's just nothing short of epic. For me it was my Sim Rig... needed a 3d printer to make the carrier blocks for the actuators, which then triggered a whole rabbit hole of designing & building a (slightly over the top) simulator* The amount of stuff I've printed with it, km's and km's of filament and the little beast still keeps squirting out molten plastic. Last time I looked at the stats, 91 days print time, 6355m of filament. One of the best tool purchases in the shed ever. Really stoked with it. * https://www.rowanhick.com/motion-simulator https://www.rowanhick.com/motion-simulator

t0mas88 4y ago
Nice! I have a few 3D printed components for my sim racing setup, but it's only a few brackets and a custom face part for my VR headset. I've always done the 3D printing by uploading the design and having it delivered. That uses to be easily in the $ 10 per part kind of price range but recently there are higher minimum order prices (50 or 75 or so) everywhere. What kind of printer do you have and what did it cost?

spoonjim 4y ago

Really? This camera lens is essentially a POS. I find tons of real world use cases of my 3D printer and this isn't even the ballpark.

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
It's all relative. If you have a 3D printer and are just a hobby photographer, this is great. Super cheap. Mixes your hobbies. But I agree that the real world uses of 3D printers are endless. Although often you need to know how to use CAD.
- spoonjim 4y ago
  Owning a 3D printer without knowing basic CAD seems pointless beyond description.
  - LASR 4y ago
    Hard disagree. You’re forgetting the long tail of consumer-only usecases. That’s like saying owning a computer without basic programming knowledge seems pointless. Obviously 3D printers are useful even if you never create or modify 3D models.
    - MezzoDelCammin 4y ago
      Well, someone has to create the models. If You're lucky and there's plenty of good modellers in Your use case / hobby, good for You. Have fun printing. What the OP however refers to is the "rapid prototyping" that 3D printers unlocked for masses. If You learn even some basic modelling (e.g. few primitives in OpenSCAD for programmers), it's trivial to do test fits and whatever gigs You need. I haven't realized it myself until some months ago I needed a small funnel for a bottle. After some thinking I realized it's much easier/faster to throw together a difference of two cones and two cylinders in OpenSCAD in about 10min and print it in maybe another 20 than spend the time looking around stores to find some close compromise.
    - jjk166 4y ago
      I think it's more like owning a computer without being able to use a text editor or a spreadsheet program. You can open files you get from other people but you can't make changes or generate anything original. Programming in this analogy would be modifying your printer itself. Obviously there have been some successful computers where users don't modify their files, like mp3 players, but those are much cheaper and more user friendly than general purpose computers.
  - johnandrews911 4y ago
    You can still download and print designs, so its certainly not pointless
andybak 4y ago
Isn't this intended to be a creative lens? "POS" is a bit harsh - I can imagine some gorgeous uses of this thing.

ge96 4y ago

It's great for robotics. Designing/printing parts of various shapes.

jnovek 4y ago

After 3D printing for years I started teaching myself how to use FreeCAD. It’s not the most newbie-friendly software but being able to design your own parts is incredibly powerful. I design and print parts for the most mundane tasks. These days I find designing a part relaxing, similar to the feeling of writing code for a personal project. Apparently Fusion 360 is also free for hobbyists, I’m guessing that it’s a bit easier to learn than FreeCAD. (I realize that designing your own parts isn’t practical for most folks but I think HN is a good audience for this.)

dceddia 4y ago
Came here to say the same, except so far I’ve been using Blender with the CAD Transforms plugin (mainly for the Sketch-like snapping abilities). I watched a few videos on Blender for Precision Modeling (search youtube) and started playing around. I’ve been meaning to learn FreeCAD or one of the others because the parametric modeling seems useful, but Blender has been good enough for my purposes so far - mostly adapters for tool vacuum ports, and other little things around the house and workshop.
dekhn 4y ago
I moved from FreeCAD to Fusion360 (I pay for a pro license) and the difference was astounding. Once I grokked the fusion360 model (which is both easier and more complex than FreeCAD) I was able to make forward progress very quickly. There are a lot of subtle little touches in the Fusion360 UI that make design easy.

dekhn 4y ago

I've had a lot of fun with my printer. Some days it runs almost 24/7 and then I don't use it for a while. Recently, I wanted to make a sliding barn door. Spent some time looking at the products online, then designed the same thing in Fusion 360, and after a few test prints, I had all the parts to make the door. Similarly, all my shelf brackets are 3d printed now. THe thing that holds up my custom LED light is 3d printed. Some of the art I have around the house is printed...