🤖3D Printers and Printing🟢

[nightglow]

So... I have through the years continued to find myself purchasing 3D printed stuff from other people which is fine, however I do feel like the price on them seem kinda high sometimes. I don't know if it really is "too high" I don't know all that goes into printing something or if the person even designed the 3D model themselves (which I suck at 3D modeling and would really need to take a class on that to fix my incompetence) and many times I'm buying from someone over seas which doesn't help. I thought perhaps it would be beneficial to just get a 3d printer and find a site where I could just buy product plans for personal use. Maybe if I can figure it out through time and familiarity, try making my own plans.
Does anyone 3D print stuff? What printer would be good for someone who knows nothing?
Other thoughts on 3D printing?
Also, not a deal breaker but curious, is it possible to used recycled material for the printing?

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Very long post incoming. My husband bought a 3D printer years ago; I only know a little bit about 3D printing through him.

I know there are different types of 3D printers -- ours (Flashforge) uses a plastic filament called PLA. The filament comes in big spools and in all different kinds of colors, there's even glow-in-the-dark filament and some weird shiny iridescent kinda filament which we haven't gotten around to trying yet, but it looks so cool

An example of what a 3D printer filament spool looks like, but also, ooo, shiny​

The other main type of 3D printer I think is the one that prints with Resin material, but it's absolutely required to have proper ventilation for that (a YouTuber I follow has her resin printer in her garage), and you also need to know how to work with resin in general, though you can probably learn about working with resin on YouTube.

I think there are also ceramic 3D printers? And maybe other types of plastic 3D printers? Not sure how commercially available ceramic or other non-plastic 3D printers are.

As for ours though, it's pretty cool, but to be honest we don't use it very often. When it comes to the 3D model files themselves, you can either design your own things to print if you know how to 3D model, or you can use other peoples' designs. I love the website Thingiverse, they have a lot of free-to-use files for 3D printing (just make sure that the file you want to print is compatible with your printers' filament type). I had my husband print a cat from there in glow-in-the-dark filament. There are other websites too, some of them you have to buy the 3D model files.. There are these ACNH gyroid files that I have been dying to print for years now

The cat​

Obviously when printing something it can take a really long time, depending on the size of the thing and also depending on the detail setting. You can have the printer print something relatively fast in low detail, resulting in a coarser print where you can see in between the layers much more easily (doesn't look great), or you can go all the way up to super fine detail where it takes many, many hours to print something much more smooth. With super fine 3D prints I'm able to sand, gesso, and paint the model, and in the end its not as obvious that it was printed, at least when you're not looking at it super up close lol. But even something very small (an inch or two high maybe) printed in super fine detail can take a couple hours to print.

I 3D printed these quail-sized eggs for my entry in TBT's 3rd egg decorating contest (2023)​

The most annoying part about 3D printing is that if you have a very organic design, something with drastically concave and convex elements, then supports are required to print these things so that they don't collapse while being printed. It's annoying to deal with getting rid of all the supports once the print is done. Sometimes they all snap off super easily, other times you have to use scissors, pliers, and/or other tools. Even something as simple as an egg can require supports, unless you cut the egg in half vertically and print it flat sides down (then glue the sides together to make the full egg).

some examples of what supports can look like. not my images​

My husband says the printer we have (Flashforge) is good for beginners so long as you are prepared to learn something. There are likely cheaper, easier-to-use 3D printers out there, though. I'm not sure if there are recycled-material type filaments

 

[nightglow]

Very long post incoming. My husband bought a 3D printer years ago; I only know a little bit about 3D printing through him.

I know there are different types of 3D printers -- ours (Flashforge) uses a plastic filament called PLA. The filament comes in big spools and in all different kinds of colors, there's even glow-in-the-dark filament and some weird shiny iridescent kinda filament which we haven't gotten around to trying yet, but it looks so cool

View attachment 570791
An example of what a 3D printer filament spool looks like, but also, ooo, shiny​

The other main type of 3D printer I think is the one that prints with Resin material, but it's absolutely required to have proper ventilation for that (a YouTuber I follow has her resin printer in her garage), and you also need to know how to work with resin in general, though you can probably learn about working with resin on YouTube.

I think there are also ceramic 3D printers? And maybe other types of plastic 3D printers? Not sure how commercially available ceramic or other non-plastic 3D printers are.

As for ours though, it's pretty cool, but to be honest we don't use it very often. When it comes to the 3D model files themselves, you can either design your own things to print if you know how to 3D model, or you can use other peoples' designs. I love the website Thingiverse, they have a lot of free-to-use files for 3D printing (just make sure that the file you want to print is compatible with your printers' filament type). I had my husband print a cat from there in glow-in-the-dark filament. There are other websites too, some of them you have to buy the 3D model files.. There are these ACNH gyroid files that I have been dying to print for years now

The cat​

Obviously when printing something it can take a really long time, depending on the size of the thing and also depending on the detail setting. You can have the printer print something relatively fast in low detail, resulting in a coarser print where you can see in between the layers much more easily (doesn't look great), or you can go all the way up to super fine detail where it takes many, many hours to print something much more smooth. With super fine 3D prints I'm able to sand, gesso, and paint the model, and in the end its not as obvious that it was printed, at least when you're not looking at it super up close lol. But even something very small (an inch or two high maybe) printed in super fine detail can take a couple hours to print.

I 3D printed these quail-sized eggs for my entry in TBT's 3rd egg decorating contest (2023)​

The most annoying part about 3D printing is that if you have a very organic design, something with drastically concave and convex elements, then supports are required to print these things so that they don't collapse while being printed. It's annoying to deal with getting rid of all the supports once the print is done. Sometimes they all snap off super easily, other times you have to use scissors, pliers, and/or other tools. Even something as simple as an egg can require supports, unless you cut the egg in half vertically and print it flat sides down (then glue the sides together to make the full egg).

View attachment 570783 View attachment 570784
some examples of what supports can look like. not my images​

My husband says the printer we have (Flashforge) is good for beginners so long as you are prepared to learn something. There are likely cheaper, easier-to-use 3D printers out there, though. I'm not sure if there are recycled-material type filaments

Yeah. It seems like so much info out there haha. I think PETG filament? Is animal safe, arguably, so I would have to go with a printer that can take that. My fish seem fine with the PLA made thingy someone made so far though.
I suppose you don't know how difficult or easy it is to deal with files? Or if you could change the size of the item in the blueprint with a couple of button presses on the printer? Maybe it depends on the printer..
It is interesting for sure though! Succulent pots would be so fun to print or aquarium filters and parts. I thought about picking up a used printer from someone who doesn't want it anymore and see if I could play around with it. Not sure if it would be a good idea or not though. I wouldnt even know what to look for if something was wrong with it.
People make such interesting stuff with them though and it seems fun.

 

[rocketspruggs]

I do know about 3D printing, and my friends have used 3D printing stuff before, but I don't know how to actually use it.
It feels more like it takes a professional to be really able to use a 3D printer responsibly.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Yeah. It seems like so much info out there haha. I think PETG filament? Is animal safe, arguably, so I would have to go with a printer that can take that. My fish seem fine with the PLA made thingy someone made so far though.
I suppose you don't know how difficult or easy it is to deal with files? Or if you could change the size of the item in the blueprint with a couple of button presses on the printer? Maybe it depends on the printer..
It is interesting for sure though! Succulent pots would be so fun to print or aquarium filters and parts. I thought about picking up a used printer from someone who doesn't want it anymore and see if I could play around with it. Not sure if it would be a good idea or not though. I wouldnt even know what to look for if something was wrong with it.
People make such interesting stuff with them though and it seems fun.

Sorry for the late reply, wanted to ask my husband about this first and then kept forgetting to do so

Changing the size of an item is possible but you can't do so via the printer directly, you have to do it through a slicing program. He was originally using the printers' software to alter the files but there was some kind of virus issue with it (idk??) so he switched to a free-to-use program called Ultimaker Cura. You just export the file to that program and then you can adjust the size, detail setting, etc from there. Then you can take that file and export it to your printer and then you can begin printing it. Hopefully I explained it well enough but I have the memory of a goldfish and he's busy right now as I'm typing this

One thing I do know for sure though -- be careful about printing stuff that gets exposed to direct sunlight; 3D printed objects made of PLA do not last when placed outside.. He once printed a glow-in-the-dark planter pot for the backyard and it broke down within months. BUT who knows, there's likely some kind of coating that you can apply to prints so that they're able to last in the outdoors! I'd definitely consider looking into aquarium-friendly coating as well because you can never be too careful