I say to people : if you’re interested in 3D printing, you need two hobbies. 3D printing and anything else. The second hobby can be repairing things, a sport (spearfishing for me), board games, electronics, etc.

I started with a 100€ very small 3D printer for years (Tina2) and that was so worth it. Now I have a Bambulab with AMS and it’s night and day.

Absolutely. If you learn Freecad.

• Radar detector mount
• Furniture pieces
• Pegboard holders
• Custom vent for indoor fireplace

Just a few of the things I’ve designed and made recently.

So my printer (elegoo neptune 4 pro) is 300-400 I think and the filament is nearing $200 now. Printers are cheap, filament cost accumulates.

I print all kinds of usefull stuff.
Custom installation panel for after market navigator/media center for my car, upholstery fasteners for the same, custom panels for usb button box, cable organizers for lan cabling, newspaper reading stand, you name it.
Might not be financially feasible, but it’s fun.

Honestly I don’t really know, and don’t really care. I enjoy sporadically using it, and I’ve enjoyed making both useful, and some useless things.

Trust me, I’ve spent far more on dumber shit that I use half as often.

Literally use it every day for a year now but It’s also an extensions for My other hobby. Also Great way to make presents for people. Before I got a printer I made a list of things I planned to make for it. I suggest doing the same before buying one. That way is can help figure out the size you want too.

It would be worth it if I had an actual decent printer. As it stands now, I feel like I just wasted money because all I can print small, pla objects, after days of trial and error and adjusting settings. Saving up for a prusa, hopefully will make it worth it.

financially worth it?

Probably not.

Did it give me brief respites of light against the clawing, ever encroaching abyssal darkness of life and misery?

Yes.

My 3D printer does occasionally prove itself useful. I print stuff to help me out in the shop, adapters for shop vacs, tool holders, stuff like that. I could do without it but it is a useful tool to have.

I print warhammer for friends for money. So that plus the money I saved on models for myself, I’d say it’s worth it.

But it’s also a hobby, learning how the things work and how to model is a lot of fun!

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I think you shouldn’t forget that we’re here at c/3dprinting, where only enthusiasts join together. Of course everyone here is a huge fan of 3D printers, those who got frustrated and sold their device aren’t here anymore.

First of all, I’m very happy about having a printer, but more onto that later.

I had two ones yet, and both sucked.

The first was older, shitty and way too big. I wasted many weekends tinkering with that crap, until I accidentally destroyed it and sold it. My second one is the one I still use. It’s a device from China, and the company doesn’t exist anymore. So, if I want to buy replacement parts, I can just pray generic ones fit. And the customer support has always been shit, and the whole company and products seem very wonky in hindsight.

If I would have to buy another printer, it would definitely be something popular, like a Prusa one. It should be very small, silent and easily repairable. I don’t care anymore about fancy features (maybe except auto leveling), it should just not annoy me.

Having a printer is like having a drill or soldering iron. You don’t need it daily, but you’re glad that you have it when you need it. And my friends are too! I’m printing more for my family, neighbours and friends than for myself.

Having a printer without CAD skills is nonsense. But once you can create your own stuff, you have endless capabilities.

I couldn’t live without one by now.

The Ender probably wasn’t. It was a lot of effort, and mostly not the interesting kind, and fairly little reward. Although when it worked, it was really good. In the end. Sometimes. And it’s way too big.

The Kingroon, very much yes. It’s cheap, kind of trashy, but compact. Just prints stuff. Parts detach great. Works just about every time. Quiet out of the box. Just kind of annoying to preheat at the start and end of the session to load and unload filament. Very annoying touchscreen. But those are minor things and I’m not tempted to fix it or upgrade anything. I have actual projects to do. Too many actual projects to do.

Oh, and why? Custom parts that are impossible to buy and a lot of work or impossible to machine or fabricate otherwise. Saves a trip to the local library or hackerspace or wherever things could be printed.

Financially yes. I pretty much only print functional things. I probably have saved enough money just in printing chip clips to buy two printers.

Not really. I purchased one with pretty significant maintenance/process requirements, had I gotten one a little more seamless (self leveling/etc) I think I’d use it far more often than I do now.