I bought my first 3D printer expecting to make toys, gadgets, and the occasional product prototype. Instead, one of my most useful prints is simply a plastic clamp whose whole job is to get chewed up by my CNC bit. Plastic clamps save my bits when a cut goes wrong, but buying injection-molded ones over and over got old fast. Now I print them for pennies a dozen at a time.
When you look at a roll of 3D printing filament you've never seen before, it comes with a lot of on-paper information. You know the primary materials, roughly what additives are in them, and the recommended temperatures and settings.
A rainy weekend stuck indoors is the perfect excuse to put your 3D printer to work on the house itself. While it hums along, you can line up new cabinet pulls without eyeballing them, replace that broken clip nobody sells anymore, and finally get the junk drawer under control. None of these projects need a garage full of tools, and by Sunday night something in your home will actually work better than it did on Friday.
There's a common thing that happens with tech enthusiasts where, instead of being a means to an end, the actual technology becomes their hobby.
3D printing can be fun, practical, and all-consuming. It can also be incredibly annoying, both to deal with and on a higher level. Here are some things that really irk me about this hobby, and I bet they annoy you too.
3D printers are a fantastic tool for making basically anything you could want. This weekend, I wanted to make my house a little less annoying. So, I set out to find three things I could fix that would make my everyday life a little better, and it took me under an hour to complete.
Want to 3D print items that live outside? One option is to throw caution to the wind, print with whatever material you like, and seal everything up with an aftercoat. Unfortunately, this requires time and money, and things can still wear with time.
Did you know that 3D printing and woodworking are very similar? They're actually way more similar than you might think. I've woodworked for longer than I've 3D printed, and these are the tricks that I think you should steal to take your 3D printing to the next level.
A custom-built home is all about designing elements that feel perfectly adapted to your space and routine. With a 3D printer, you can retroactively apply this concept to the objects inside your home, to great effect.
There are many ways to tinker with 3D printers. You can mod the software, add extra lights, build filter boxes, and so much more. What if I told you that I decided to buy a simple $2 humidity sensor before doing anything else to my 3D printer—including buying extra filament? Here's why a humidity sensor is important in my 3D printing setup.
Minecraft_’s blocky, pixelated aesthetic transfers surprisingly well to 3D printing. You don’t need to worry about making models look realistic or be concerned with curves if you’re a Minecraft_ fan who wants to bring Mojang’s intoxicating world to life.
Not every 3D printing project needs to be practical. Sometimes you just want to burn through some filament in the interest of having fun. These projects might seem pointless and even verge on wasteful at times, but if they bring a bit of joy to your day, then they’ve done their job.
Login