Convince me that I need a 3D printer

GeneT45 said:
Boy that's an understatement! I had a few ideas, mostly related to reloading. I checked out "printables.com" this morning and not only found a dozen ideas, but existing files for every single idea I had...

For those sharing my line of questioning - 30 minutes of searching generic topics of interest (e.g. "reloading") on printables yielded many more practical examples than a general web search for "practical 3D printing projects" - which yielded mostly toys.

GsT
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Check thingiverse.com
 
I'm printing off a custom headlight housing for my Argo (8x8 ATV) as we speak.

It's an unusual one off thing that's not available anywhere, but I can build a 3d model in an hour or so and a day or two to print both sides.
 
I already have a case for my TS100, but this "rugged" case from printables had me kinda intrigued.

I wanted to see how it would turn out.

I gotta say, it's a really good design. It used two m3x20 screws and four m3x16 screws. And a few dabs off super glue to hold in the inserts and the tpu gasket.

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3d printers are cool :)
 
GeneT45 said:
OK, I actually had one ~10 years ago, and never got past making happy meal toys. I'm still fascinated by them, but when I look at what people are doing with them it's ... happy meal toys... I've seen a few ideas here, but am starting this thread in the hopes that I can collect "practical" uses for an FDM printer - particularly from those that already own machine tools. I'm not really interested in 'how' in this thread - just 'what'. I really *do* want a 3D printer (again, sigh) but I can't come up with enough ideas to convince myself that it would be useful in proportion to its modest price.

TIA,

GsT
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I used acetone to clean my brand new all steel 8x16 Chinese lathe. Only it was not. The protractor on it was made of plastic which was disguised by the cosmoline sprayed on the parts. I build my own 3D printers, and the next day I made this part and am back up and running.
 

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weston1968 said:
I used acetone to clean my brand new all steel 8x16 Chinese lathe. Only it was not. The protractor on it was made of plastic which was disguised by the cosmoline sprayed on the parts. I build my own 3D printers, and the next day I made this part and am back up and running.
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It is like any other tool, with the exception that it can get you out of trouble. My daughter had a contractor come in an put up finished 3/4 board in a Florida room. They made the hole around the wall fixture for a lamp way too large. No problem I printed out a very nice adapter to cover the hole and mount the lamp. Looks factory. The point being, I use it as much as I use my mill or lathe. The mill and lathe are just toys for adults.
 
Something 3d printing does that I think makes having one worth it alone is you can design something in CAD and print the part to check for fitment, features, etc with essentially zero effort. Especially so with the Bambu Labs X1 Carbon. It has yet to have a failed print and the parts it makes are as near flawless as one can expect from a filament printer. I wouldn't be without it and will probably buy another. I have printed hundreds of items for the shop with my 3d printers. I can't emphasize the effortless part with the Bambu X1C enough.
 
I was convinced two printers ago... ;-) My first, an Ender3 V2 Neo is about as turnkey as you could want. I've had one failed print with it, and it was the second print I did, using the included hank of filament. The filament (not being spooled) got tangled up and starved the extruder... Put a real spool on and it hasn't failed yet. It's just about done with it's second spool of filament. The second printer is an Anycubic Kobra Max because the one significant shortcoming of the Ender is its build size. I've found a lot to do - a much better experience than my first!

And already planning a Voron build...

GsT
 
slodat said:
Something 3d printing does that I think makes having one worth it alone is you can design something in CAD and print the part to check for fitmen
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I think this is where so many people get tripped up. I know that without my knowledge of CAD, my 3D printer would sit mostly idle, but because I am proficient with CAD, my 3D printer becomes a tool. Learning CAD is an uphill battle with a steep learning curve, but it becomes invaluable once you get to what I call the "breakthrough" point.
Here is a picture of my ShopVac with an Oneida Dust Deputy hooked up. My original design had the hose at the top, which caused the whole contraption to tip over once or twice. When I worked on it yesterday, I realized I did not have any clamps for the PVC. Sure, I could have fabricobbled something together, but instead, I drew them up and printed them off. 10 minutes of CAD time and 1.5 hours to print.
 

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