So curious who may have a 3D printer. I just got mine, a Prusa Mini+, to start with and see if I want to get more involved in it.

So far my only prints have been a whistle that deafens you, a Give a Fuck coin, and a business card holder that I didn't have enough filament to complete (lost the top inch).

The main issue I had out of the box was the calibration. Not so much an issue with the device, but an issue with my understanding of what to expect. I had to adjust my nozzle height a LOT more than I was expecting so it took me a week and a couple videos to feel more confident in what changes I was making. Now though I have it dialed in to a point where the layers are barely noticeable, so super excited to start doing more prints. Of course the wife already had a laundry list of things she wants for her hobbies (doll collection/restoration) and her makeup storage.

So far I have only used plans I have downloaded from Printables but have dusted off my calipers and have a few things in mind I might try to design and print. Does anyone have anything they have created themselves or any cool ideas you have solved with a 3D printer?

While I haven’t been doing much printing recently, I used to print quite a bit on my FlashForge Adventure 3. I wasn’t the best at designing anything (although I really like doing it) so I mainly just printed things from off the internet. Something I also liked doing was participating in competitions. I never won any, but it was always a fun challenge. If you were looking for more things to design and print, I would recommend doing these.

For me, my biggest problems have been getting the bed to be perfectly level and filament getting stuck in the nozzle. So far, I have just been having to calibrate and fully clean it every few times I use it. This has worked pretty well for me so far. The main problems that I can see with what is prints is that any supports seem to be fused to the print. I’m sure, after more trial and error I can get the settings right though.

I was just browsing Printables because of your post and I have found a few cool things that I will probably go and print now. Thanks for the reminder!

Edit: I just saw that Printables also hosts competitions. Here is the link.

Just spent an hour browsing some of the contests, might need to level up my CAD skills and get to working. Bed leveling doesn't seem to be an issue I have run into (yet) so I guess I am lucky there, but took me a while to get my nozzle height adjusted properly. And as we speak now the wife is getting a new make-up organizer printing.

I just did some Googling and I realised that I was using the wrong term. I was getting bed levelling and nozzle height mixed up. Oops! In that case, while I haven’t had to level the bed yet, I have had to do quite a bit of nozzle height calibrating.

Today I decided to try and recalibrate it and do another print. After calibrating the nozzle height, I went to load the filament in, but the intake gears started jamming and jumping. I ended up having to take my extruder out and clean it out. Luckily that was easy though because mine is detachable. I think the reason it jams sometimes is from switching between different types of filaments and some of my filament spools resisting too much from being pulled. Luckily, I think I managed to fix it for now and I have been doing a test print of a Benchy all day.

Also, I was looking more into Printables and it looks like you can earn real filament just by posting prints and using their platform! I’m going to start using them in the future now to try and get some free filament.

Out of curiosity, what software were you planning on using to design your own prints?

Yeah, I think bed leveling kind of refers to the nozzle height but I am still learning the terms as well.

Not sure how similar the Flashfore is for calibrating but mine was done in the calibration wizard and then I did some fine tuning using an almost full sheet 1st layer calibration. I was going to link it but I cannot log into Printables at work because the login servers are geo-blocked at our firewall (so I can't look at my collections). Once I get home I will take a look to see where I got the download or I will upload and share it for you. But since it does a single layer across most of the board you can really watch it and live tune your settings to get the right height, though with yours being in an enclosure not sure how easy it will be to watch closely compared to mine which it wide open. As a side note, here is a video (Youtube) I watched and I have made some of the changes, just haven't tested yet.

No issues with any jams yet but I think I might have to clean mine out soon. I opted to get a filament sensor so if I am not around it won't keep trying to print and it has helped me a few times already.

For software right now I am playing with TinkerCAD which is recommended by Printables (Help KB) but I think I might go back to SketchUp since I have an account there already and have used it a bit in the past for some wood working projects. I still suck at it though so I guess its time to really buckle down and learn one of them.

I've been pretty actively 3d printing since round 2015. I currently own around 8 3D printers, so I'm totally open to help out if you have any questions. In fact in college I ran a print farm on my campus; all i did was fix 3d printers and answer questions from students. I 3D print mostly for random projects, I'm currently working on a modular electric guitar inspired by the PrusaCaster and Fern Guitars modular guitars , but I plan to use all custom parts instead of a cheep parts kit.

With the all the printers I've worked with the biggest issue I run into often is poor build quality. Due to this I recently indulged in Prusa mk3s+. I have to say they are built like a fucking tank, and have allowed me to focus on my designs instead of fixing small issues with printers that only re-break a week later.

Famous last words, might take you up on that.

I have been looking at the PrusaCaster, looks like a blast to print and build, though I am not sure my little Mini can get all the parts done unless I cut them up. I will have to load up the file for it in Slicer and see how it looks. Maybe I can make a Ukulele instead. Side note, those Fern Guitars look pretty damn slick with being able to swap out your pickups and controls.

I watched a lot of videos and did a lot of reading before picking the Prusa Mini+ and I am loving it. I have run into a lot of things I want to make though that won't fit my bed unless I start doing things in parts. I have a few items I have printed that I have scaled up/down as needed to fit but scaling down really limits the usefulness of some prints. And I agree, those Prusa's are built like tanks. At first I was afraid I would drop it or bend something I shouldn't but I think it will take me out before I can take it out. If this endeavor works out I think I might move up to the mk3s+ myself for a larger printing area.

So calling this my first true 3D Print since it required assembly, has moving parts, and it is now assembled. Just a rugged USB storage box (A & C).

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I recently acquired a Bambu Labs X1C + AMS, and for all its negatives (Cost being a big one, but also closed source HW/FW and general Apple/DJI/Tesla like tendencies towards that direction), it's a damn fine machine. There is something to be said about "buy thing and use thing" as opposed to making it into a hobby in and of itself... I've printed more in the ~month since I've had the X1C than I did in the 3+ years I had the worlds most temperamental CR-10 (which I lobotomized and upgraded more than I printed on...).

Printables is a fantastic site, as well. It is still slightly lagging behind in library size, at least compared to Thingiverse, but that's simply because it's newer. Given some time I think it'll grow into the size of Thingiverse and beyond no problem.

A few choice models I've enjoyed and printed recently Full Scale 3D Scan of a Human Skull - SO wanted to do art-ey things with it, then immediately asked me for two more after it finished printing because it was just neat.

Titanfall 2 Jumpkit (Grapple Pilot) - I'm a sucker for Titanfall 2, and this is a super well designed model. It goes together really easily and has room/routing channels if you want to be extra fancy and install electronics in it.

Honeycomb Storage Wall - This is a super nifty little wall based organizer system that's easy to print and has a lot of different options and community created things.

Lots of cases for many different tools - Cause you know what's better than using a tool? Storing it in a custom designed box.

the cutest dinosaur you'll ever see - he's just a little guy